At a time that I cannot really recall clearly, some little switch inside my peabrain was flipped and I gave up on seeing movies just because they looked "cool." For some reason, I wasn't satisfied any longer with the promise of "great graphical representation" over substance.
Sure I've seen some great looking stuff here and there since, but I haven't really gone bananas over many feature-length films because of the way they look.
Enter the very fine Japanese import, "Casshern," and watch me do a reverse .....
Superhero anime comes to life: In an apocalypse-now future, the Asian world is rocked with intercontinental war. Populations are decimated, and little future awaits any of the civilizations engaged in the robot-driven super battle.
Just as things couldn't get more out of control, a genetics program spawns a new breed of mutated humans bent on annihilating its predecessors.
All seems lost until a mythical superhero emerges, seemingly capable of changing the world forever.
CG in overdrive: Where to begin with this one ....
Apparently, the source material for the film was a 1970s anime series with similar themes and characters. Though I wasn't familiar with the original program, this 2004 release did more than hold its own.
As I said at the beginning, this is a visually startling production. The computer-driven scenery is nearly flawless in places, and the animated backdrop greatly accentuates the bleak and gritty drama and action.
Overall, the story tends to lean on the thin, if not a bit patchy, side. But at the end of the day, this is a superhero movie, and most of those titles tend to be vacuous. The great graphics more than make up for places where the production otherwise limps along.
Check your brain at the door, grab some greasy popcorn and give this one a spin when you wanna have your eyes tickled for a bit.
Grade: B- (for wowing me time and again with some special heroics ...)
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