Vexille - Movie - Special Edition - S.A.V.E.

As a fan of Asian cinema, I've often wondered why I haven't reviewed more Japanese anime. Traditional anime has very complex storylines that can put most movies to shame. "VEXILLE" (a.k.a. Vexille 2077 Nihon Sakaku, Isolation) is from the same folks responsible for Appleseed and Ghost in the Shell: S.A.C.. Director Fumihiko Sori and writer Haruka Handa's latest is a blend of traditional 2 dimensional animation and 3-D effects that gives us a vision of a futuristic world. People who saw Appleseed may notice the similarities to Masamune Shirow's futuristic designs since they both worked on the 2004 hit animated film.

The story in "Vexille" begins as Daiwa Industries leads Japan in technological advancements as an attempt for Imperial Aspirations (recalls Japan in WWII). Daiwa began experimenting in extreme cloning, bio-engineering human tissue to combine with machine parts. Enraged with these experiments, the U.N. orders Japan to cease all activities. In retaliation, Japan sanctions a rule of total isolation from the rest of the world, and the country even goes as far as generating a magnetic force field around its borders.
After 10 years, American intelligence intercepts information that Japan has developed a procedure that can turn humans into cyborgs. A black ops group called "S.W.O.R.D." is sent to infiltrate isolated Japan to find the truth of this matter and stop it if necessary. Vexille, one of the commando units sent to Japan soon finds herself the lone survivor who may be able to stop Daiwa with its sinister plans. She hooks up with Maria and her gang of renegades to infiltrate Daiwa. But is Maria more than what she seems? The shocking secret may be more than they bargained for....

I've read that "Vexille" wasn't such a huge hit when it came out in Japan. Perhaps, anime fans experienced some "cyberpunk" overload because there are quite a lot of features that show a futuristic world with "mechas" involved; or maybe because the plot in "Vexille" portrays the country as a "rogue" government in the world's eyes. I wouldn't know the true reason. But this original work by Sori and Handa seemed too similar to Shirow's past works. It incorporates familiar themes of the usual corporate entity that wants to play God, a strong-willed, gutsy but beautiful heroine, futuristic military weaponry and the premise of man vs. machine or the morality of man and machine. The film may actually be homage to Masamune Shirow.

The animation in "Vexille" is kind of a mixed bag. I loved the fact that the characters don't have the usual over-expressive "bulging" eyes, odd colored hair and perfect complexion. Vexille and Maria (as well the entire supporting cast) looked almost realistic in their features, it sidestepped the usual anime conventions that we're used to in the past. Their movements are also very fluid and smooth that outshines the motion capture in "Beowulf" but comes a lot short of the quality of the fantastic animation in "Final Fantasy: Advent Children". I also found it a bit amusing that Americans looked like they're mixed and still looked a tad Asian. (Not complaining, just stating an observation) Also, I saw this film in its original Japanese language; voice actors Yasuko Matsuyuri as sexy rebel, Maria (This character makes me want to become a cartoon) and Meisa Kuroki as Vexille do a very decent job in expressing emotions.

The film totally looks enchanting with the execution of CGI and traditional cell animation. The effects work by Oxybot is perfect for this type of movie. "Vexille" seems to borrow elements from Ghost in the Shell, Blade Runner and even Dune. (You'll be impressed once you see the "Jags") The one fault that the film has, that somewhat lost its effectiveness is the lack of dramatic impact. The story is deep enough to keep experienced viewers interested but the execution seemed a bit lackluster. It opted to settle for the usual histrionics and missed a fantastic opportunity for emotional content by exploring the dramatic repercussions of the film's main premise. Graphics can only carry an animated feature so far.

Overall, I did enjoy "Vexille" more than I did "Appleseed Ex Machina". I guess I'm so used to Anime with all the dramatic elements explored that I was somewhat disappointed. The film had all the dynamic potential with its deep premise that wasn't fully realized.

Recommended! For Japanese Anime or Sci-Fi films FANS! [3  Stars]

After reading a short synopsis and the Japanese version trailer of this movie (when looking for something to go see one evening), I figured I'd check it out. I'm not a huge fan of a lot of Japanese anime, though some of it is cool, and I'm not normally a big fan of animated drama/action in general, but WOW was Vexille a pleasant surprise! If I had to compare it to something, I would say it's Final Fantasy meets Titan A.E. and maybe a little bit of the Matrix.

The animation style was just beautiful! The mix of cartoon with computer-generated animation was a brilliant sight to behold. The scenes in this movie had fantastic dimension, color, style, and a totally mesmerizing quality. It definitely made it very easy to find myself drawn into this futuristic world.

The story is great too! Good character development and a sci-fi element that is at least partially believable (and certainly, if nothing else, entertaining). Set in the year 2077, the technology is slick, clever, and cool - yet not so far fetched that you can't imagine the possibilities suggested. Unplug and buy into the fantasy and you'll have a great time. The movie has a bit of a Matrix quality in that (aside from its obvious political elements) there is the strong sense of an underlying (almost spiritual) theme driving the story but it's just far enough removed from the surface story that you can dig for messages if you want to or just enjoy the ride without getting into the philosophy of the film. I like movies that have multi-faceted elements like this. It made me want to see it again to try and draw more out of it.

In short, the movie is great! It's more of a drama than out and out action (so it might strike some viewers as a little slow-paced in places), but the action is fun and the story is good. The characters are such that you care about them and that draws you even further into the story. There is also some cool music in the film, well placed with the various scenes and unique enough so that it doesn't strike as typical. My favorite songs are "Target Practice" by Asian Dub Foundation, "Bird Flu" by M.I.A. and "The Virus" by Paul Oakenfold. Again, the artwork and C.G. effects are beautiful and really fun to watch.

I loved the movie and would see it again (and will) because I'm ordering it today! Parents who are curious about the content will be happy to know that there are no sexual themes in this film. There is a light sub context of a love story present, but it's not the main focus of the film. There is sci-fi action and violence but nothing bloody or grotesque. There is a little bit of language, thus earning it its PG-13 rating.

If you like anime or just good sci-fi, both elements should please. I recommend it.

I'm not a huge Anime fan, I used to be during the first real big boom here in the States, but quickly got tired of it as alot of it all kinda seems the same to me. Don't get me wrong, I still love the classics such as "Ghost In The Shell", "Ninja Scroll", "Fist Of The Northstar", "Guyver", "Neon Genesis", "Gundam", "Robotech", anything from Miyazaki/"Studio Ghibli" & (of course, my very favorite of them all) "Macross Plus", but I don't know. It just kinda seems that production started going downhill & people were just eating up anything so long as it was a cartoon with characters with big eyes & spikey hair coming out of Japan. There just wasn't anything impressive or exciting anymore for me to oogle at.

I'll be honest & start by saying the main problem I have with most Anime is that they're almost all always soooooooooooooooooo over dramatic. I wind up getting put to sleep by the 1st 20 minutes of lovey-dovey crap before they get to the 5 minutes of big cool robot eye candy action part. Otherwise they're usually way to kiddie/cutesy/cuddley for me. The other thing that winds up bothering me is that the voice acting doesn't always transfer over well when done in English. The other option there is to watch it with the original Japanese language & then just read the subtitles, but it kinda takes you out of the movie having to read everything. In some case it's worth it (for me at least), but that's not always the case. Well, "Vexille" doesn't suffer from any of this at all, in fact it's AMAZING!!!

"Vexille" is from the creators of Anime classic "Appleseed", so right away you should know you're getting into something of quality. It's done in the same style as "Karas" from 2007 & the newer "Appleseed" titles with equal parts of both CGI & traditional animation. Let me tell ya, I'm being wowed again with the abundance of eye-candy through out this film. While "Karas" suffered in story (I didn't know what was going on through out that entire movie), "Vexille" doesn't.

I'm not gonna go into the plot of the movie (I hate it when reviewers do that & then ruin the entire film for anyone reading), as I'm sure there'll be plenty of other reviews that'll do that if you're interested. Just know that you're getting, some seriously epic sci-fi, action packed, animation just as good as any big budget summer flic in the theatre (why this wasn't in theatres is beyond me). Also, the score/soundtrack is done by electronic music legend Paul Oakenfold. It's a fast paced futuristic sound that only adds to the feel of the film.

Bottom line, check this movie out whether you're an Anime junky or are just plane looking for a great action movie, I'm sure glad I did!!

P.S. Where's the Blu-Ray?!?!?!

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