Assault Girls Blu-Ray

The movie is classic Oshii but with out much of a plot. Long moments of slow scenic scenes punctuated by bits of action. When I say long and slow, I mean it. One potion of the move involves a sort of montage of the four characters walking through the desert and dealing with a snail... for 15 minutes.

The action is hokey and done more for imagery then the action itself. Its fun to see the girls pose as they fire guns or spells.

The CG is obvious but sufficient for getting the point across. This is not a big Hollywood blockbuster so don't expect King Kong or Avatar level effects, this is only a step above TV shows like Sanctuary..

The characters are only hinted at. There really isn't any development and they have little dialog. (one has nothing but a few squawks) They are simply defined by mannerisms and costume.

The story is bare one. Its only about the four putting aside their name calling for five minutes to defeat the end boss. That is it. The story could have been done in thirty minutes (or 15) but its Oshii and he loves to draw out scenes of the characters cooking, or watching the sunset or spontaneously dancing. It would have been much better if it had cut down on the sunsets and you could actually see how Grey convinced the other two to join the party.

This isn't a bad flick. Its just not a good one either. Everything is interesting over exciting or dramatic and the philosophical bit are out of place. It has fun moments too, like the duel. All in all, I didn't hate it, but it'll be a rare occurrence when I pull it off the shelf to watch it again.

One thing I want to add. If you have ever played an MMO you will appreciate some of the strangeness of the movie if you catch it. You have four players stuck trying to get past a boss to reach the next level. A solo player who does his own thing and doesn't like to play with others. A player who min/maxes stats and cheats when she can. A player who is hardcore and 'better' then the rest. And one who doesn't take the game seriously and screws around during fights.

Now make them work together to take out the boss.

That amused me.

Though I'm a fan of Oshii's movies, I'm always conflicted about recommending his movies to those who have made a diet of traditional Hollywood films. Many of his films integrate Hollywood style sequences with his preferred style of pacing; which is typically very deliberate and slow. "Assault Girls" is no different, although he does shake things up a bit with the movie's structure. Those who have familiarized themselves with Oshii's work know that extended takes and long monologues are signature of his films. With "Assault Girls" he modulates these elements into chapters. The pre-chapter introduction opens up with a 10 minute monologue that provides a basis for the story, the creation of the game Avalon, as well as giving Oshii a chance to make statements about "Pax Technologica" in a globalized society. The voice over is a bit mumbled and subtitles, which are disabled at this point in the film, would have helped in penetrating the dense editorial text of this narrative. However, after rewinding a few times for clarification, I found the lengthy introduction to be thought-provoking and my favorite segment of the film.

Following the introduction we get five chapters that take us through a sort of mini-plot that finds four competing characters having no choice but to put aside their quarrels in order to battle the big boss of the game Avalon, who otherwise could not be defeated alone. Over the course of the five chapters we get the three cinematic "flavors" that Oshii is known best for: a big-bang opening battle involving three sexy female gamers fighting off oversized sand worms; an entire chapter devoted to long silent takes of the gamers wandering the world of Avalon somewhat aimlessly; and finally, a very amusing chapter where two gamers settle a dispute in one-to-one combat (yes, Oshii does humor every now and then). Chapter 3, the infamous chapter that has our four gamers wandering the dessert of Avalon, feels like a skippable chapter (15 minutes in length), especially since the symbolism, that might make the sequence more meaningful, completely escapes me (there are numerous shots of a snail that, for all I know, could symbolize the slow nature of the sequence itself). But if you can get past Chapter 3 (or if you decide to just skip past it), you might decide that "Assault Girls" makes for an entertaining and even fun "short-film". Newcomers to Oshii's work might understandably be put-off or put to sleep. However, those of us who enjoy absorbing his philosophy through film and animation, have a better chance at being satisfied by this appetizer. I think.

FUN FACT: The points earned for killing one of the sand worms in Avalon have digits that are equal to Pi.

This is a strange, but interesting, film.

If you have played an MMORPG, or games like Diablo, then you'll understand the world in which this film is set. Three gorgeous women and one not-gorgeous man are forced to work together.

I bought this because of the director - Ghost in the Shell is a landmark in anime. I was curious what a live-action film would be like. I have to say that it's nowhere near that standard. It is worth seeing, but it feels like a short film, rather than a full feature.