In a world where the second world war never happened, class structure is rigidly enforced, Nikola Telsa wins the Nobel Prize and there are dirigibles, gyro-copters and the like, a villain called K-20 (because he has at least 20 different faces) is going around stealing art treasures from the rich. Well known detective Akechi is called into investigate when K-20 steals the model of a Telsa free energy machine. Things get complicated when circus performer Heikichi Endo is mistaken for K20 by the police when the job of photographing the engagement ceremony of Akechi to his fiancé the Duchess Yoko Hashiba, goes horribly wrong. It soon becomes clear that K-20 has set up Heikichi, and its left to the young circus performer to find away to break free and clear his name.
I have described this as the superhero (Batman like) movie that I have been waiting for but never knew I was waiting for it. For the two hours and twenty minutes of the running time I was the two year old kid with the Batman t-shirt on with his nose literally pressed against the glass of the screen. I was there and going along for the ride where ever the ride took me.
And what a ride. Set in a steam punkish world like our own but different, this is a film that was free to go and do what it wanted. Its a film that takes all the cool things from the pulp fiction of the 1930's and 40's mixes them with the iconic superhero material from today and serves it up into a mixture thats familiar but wonderfully new. Yes you've seen it before, there are shots that are cribbed from a variety of sources (the Batman movies) but they are the right shots to use. They are visual cues that deepen what we are watching.
The plot moves along as a grand mystery, but at the same time odds are you're going to know who's who and whats what. The plot will play out in ways best described as the sort of thing you can guess, but at the same time thats not right. Things play out as they must. This is a retelling of a story that we all know and we laugh and cry out and cheer when the film gets to our favorite parts even though we've never seen them before. Thank god no one was around me in the theater as I repeatedly said "YES!" to myself as the film hit every point exactly as it should.
I loved the characters.Takeshi Kaneshiro as Heikichi Endo is right on target.He is the hero we'd all like to be. Even better is Takako Matsu as Yoko. The prim and proper young lady who proves to be much more than her title suggests. Her refrain that she is a "modest girl from a good family" covers a great deal of kick ass ability. She is now my new ideal woman (sorry Mrs Charles). The rest of the cast is for the most part note perfect.
Is it a perfect film? No, some of the plotting is a bit awkward as if they didn't quite clip it from the source correctly. There are a couple of burps with the CGI of K20 bouncing across the roofs and in one bit the dialog between Heilichi and his young friend is awkward. Other wise its just a great rip roaring adventure that Hollywood should have made but didn't. (Okay twist my arm there aren't enough dirigibles and I would have loved a gyro-copter chase- but I'm being picky.) You want to see this, and you want to see it on as big a screen as possible. This film rocked my world and reduced me to a gibbering idiot as the phone messages I left after seeing it will attest.
This is one of the best films of the year and one of my favorite films, period.
See this film. If they give this film a big screen release in the US go see it you will love it.
Thats it, go see this. (and I haven't even talked about the action which includes one of the best final confrontations between antagonists I've seen. I loved it, really)
I have described this as the superhero (Batman like) movie that I have been waiting for but never knew I was waiting for it. For the two hours and twenty minutes of the running time I was the two year old kid with the Batman t-shirt on with his nose literally pressed against the glass of the screen. I was there and going along for the ride where ever the ride took me.
And what a ride. Set in a steam punkish world like our own but different, this is a film that was free to go and do what it wanted. Its a film that takes all the cool things from the pulp fiction of the 1930's and 40's mixes them with the iconic superhero material from today and serves it up into a mixture thats familiar but wonderfully new. Yes you've seen it before, there are shots that are cribbed from a variety of sources (the Batman movies) but they are the right shots to use. They are visual cues that deepen what we are watching.
The plot moves along as a grand mystery, but at the same time odds are you're going to know who's who and whats what. The plot will play out in ways best described as the sort of thing you can guess, but at the same time thats not right. Things play out as they must. This is a retelling of a story that we all know and we laugh and cry out and cheer when the film gets to our favorite parts even though we've never seen them before. Thank god no one was around me in the theater as I repeatedly said "YES!" to myself as the film hit every point exactly as it should.
I loved the characters.Takeshi Kaneshiro as Heikichi Endo is right on target.He is the hero we'd all like to be. Even better is Takako Matsu as Yoko. The prim and proper young lady who proves to be much more than her title suggests. Her refrain that she is a "modest girl from a good family" covers a great deal of kick ass ability. She is now my new ideal woman (sorry Mrs Charles). The rest of the cast is for the most part note perfect.
Is it a perfect film? No, some of the plotting is a bit awkward as if they didn't quite clip it from the source correctly. There are a couple of burps with the CGI of K20 bouncing across the roofs and in one bit the dialog between Heilichi and his young friend is awkward. Other wise its just a great rip roaring adventure that Hollywood should have made but didn't. (Okay twist my arm there aren't enough dirigibles and I would have loved a gyro-copter chase- but I'm being picky.) You want to see this, and you want to see it on as big a screen as possible. This film rocked my world and reduced me to a gibbering idiot as the phone messages I left after seeing it will attest.
This is one of the best films of the year and one of my favorite films, period.
See this film. If they give this film a big screen release in the US go see it you will love it.
Thats it, go see this. (and I haven't even talked about the action which includes one of the best final confrontations between antagonists I've seen. I loved it, really)