Reviews

Pretty visuals and a lot of fights make not a good movie. And that is precisely what happened here.

First off, let me admit, I am yet to play FFVII (I intend to order it soon). However, I did do research to familiarise myself with the characters and the story. However, not everyone has the luxury of time to research things like this, and Advent Children demands that knowledge of FFVII is required.

In spite of incredible visuals, I can't say there is too much thats new. We've seen it in Final Fantasy: The Spirits Within, and apart from some better movement, I can't say they've done lots of super-daring stuff with this.

The fight scenes - well, they are a bit of fun. Still, how could we ever doubt the result of any of them. This one was boringly classic - there were three fights with the bad guys, following the standard procedure (the hero, Cloud, gets smashed, then he almost gets there and gets smashed, and then finally wins). The reason I say it was boringly classic was that it is used a great deal, but in this case is poorly executed. I'll touch on that later.

The English dub seemed fine to me, though I didn't watch it in Japanese, so I shan't judge the Japanese dub, but only the English one. I'll say this - I've heard plenty of better ones, even in my limited repertoire.

And now, the plot. Ummm... what plot? Let me be frank, this movie is nought but a fan service, a chance to see the FFVII characters on the big screen with lovely eye candy. As I said earlier, the fights seem to just happen for no reason. The opening fight is never explained, Kadaj seems to have neither ambition to destroy the world himself nor any real motivation to do anything nasty. Cloud sits around moping for the entire film, and pretty much everyone else gets an obligatory cameo.

Really, FFVII was an ensemble piece. Advent Children is anything but. If they'd managed to give everyone some significant story role (Star Trek: First Contact proved it was possible, I might add), then this could have been a lot better. Naturally, that would have changed the plot too, which, lets be honest, is almost set to be better than the one we got.

Characters were also generally either unused or virtually forgotten. The members of Avalanche (thats the group Cloud worked with in FFVII, for those who don't know) get 2 scenes (3 in the case of Vincent Valentine, and some get even less). Hell, the bad guys get more lines than these guys, and that is pretty bad.

The music... well, I don't care if Nobuo Uematsu is God Himself, he botched this film big time. Advent One Winged Angel was the only decent piece. Otherwise, he couldn't decide whether to be epic (and orchestral) or fun (with electric guitar). When he switched from one to the other, you felt it as though he'd taken a sledgehammer to your head.

And that last point on whether this movie was epic or fun... it tried to be both, and failed miserably. Honestly, you can't please everyone and do everything. The movie also tried to be deep (you can go epic and deep, or fun and deep, but all three is too much), but failed here too. The last scene, which is reminiscent of a baptismal ceremony, was thrown in there for what looks like the sake of it. You don't need to be a Christian to just shake your head and cry there. That scene just didn't belong in the film (and nor did Aerith's frequent appearances - she's dead Jim!).

Given just how fantastic I've heard Final Fantasy VII to be, this movie is nothing short of a gigantic disappointment. Because of the beautiful visuals, I give it a 2 out of 10.

OK, don't get me wrong - I like my superhero films. But this was just... bad. The writing, the choreography, it was just unable to come together to make a decent film.

Lets start with the writing then, shall we? With gags so bad you can choke on them, writing so lackluster you wonder what else there is you can do to pass the time, around a concept that is hardly realistic, I really am disappointed. From professional writers, I'd expect them to provide at least something decent. But they went for stupid jokes (pipes), inversions (kid beating up his teacher) and clichés. Honestly, can't there be anything new? But no, it gets worse. The choreography follows suit with those bad gags from the writing. A hot poker up a bad guy's bum, women fighting in heavy mid-19th Century dresses (a woman would struggle running, much less fighting), honestly, it just became either boring or unbelievable (and sometimes both).

Though Bandares tries to save the film, with only a few good lines, he fails. Zeta-Jones suffered from the fault of poor writing, and our villain was so clichéd as to incite rabid yawning.

This film was very very bad. Big on special effects, and with a few good scenes, it fails just about everywhere else. The entire movie collapsed with the poor writing and directing, and the lackluster plot is moved forward in ways that make you cry.

Honestly, to give this a good rating is to be far too easily impressed.

A 2 out of 10.

Over-powered mobile suits that can annihilate entire armies - Check! Weapons that hardly need to be aimed and still annihilate everything - Check! Mobile suits based on angels - Check!

OK - its a Gundam series. This one, Gundam Wing, has good character development, real-world complexity, interesting ideas and some pretty eye-candy.

With characters, the initially weak Relena Dorlan (later Peacecraft, then back to Dorlan) gets stronger and more independent (although is still absolutely besotted with Heero Yuy, the series main character). The aforementioned Heero, initially a cold, hard butcherer, becomes more and more human, while still remaining in-character. And seeing the lost Millardo Peacecraft (whos nomm de guerre is Zechs Marquise) float between OZ, freelance, and command of White Fang shows how some people can really lose themselves in their own creations.

The complexity of the political and military situation is also quite good - reflecting how the real world works. However, in 49 half-hour episodes, it does become a bit of a liability in that this complexity isn't used to its full potential.

The ideas at the core of the series - the necessity of fighting, the desire for peace, etc - are ones that resonate even today. In retrospect, the series was ahead of its time, what with the "War on Terrorism" and all. But its exploration of these ideas, the monologues, especially those of Treize Kushrenada, is an incredible dramatic piece, forming some of the best writing in the series.

But that sometimes good writing is also sometimes extremely poor, which dramatically causes it to lose some of its edge.

In terms of eye-candy, which is what this one has in bucketloads, everything from the mobile suits to the battleship Libra (No not the tampons you idiot!) is wells designed, and explodes in big balls of orange (which is bad, because better animation would've had better explosions). But who cares?! Stuff explodes, and thats all that matters.

In short though, the sheer complexity of the series means that if you miss out on a few episodes, you've missed out on a lot. The poor writing can leave you cringing, and sometimes the animation makes you go "WTF?!?!" But this is made up for in its classic animation style, its scale, sparks of incredible dialogue, and its more mature exploration that one expects of such Japenese animations.

Eragon is not a bad film. In the same stream, it isn't a good film either. About a boy called Eragon (change E to D, see any connection?), who finds a dragon egg. It hatches, and he has to save his homeland, Alagaseia from the evil king Galbatorix. This is, however, the first part in a trilogy, which is somewhat fitting, given that Eragon's author, Christopher Paolini, is nuts about all things Tolkein.

Not having read the book, I've no idea whether or not the problem is with Paolini or its adaptation. However, in spite of Jeremy Irons (Brom) and John Malkovich's (Galbatorix) best, they can't save the poor writing. Ed Speelers is in his first feature film, and it shows. Rachel Weisz does a brilliant job as the telepathic dragon Saphira, although sometimes the lines aren't what you'd call first rate.

The dialogue is sorely lacking in many areas (such as the climax of the film), and a lot of the minor characters are underused. The special effects feast which is the final battle places too much focus on Eragon and Saphira - its as though their duel with Durza is the main event, and the main battle just a sideshow. Don't get me wrong, its not that it wasn't fun, its that a lot was missed out on (what with LOTR, Star Wars, Troy, all with thousands of computer generated soldiers fighting each other).

This exposes another of the film's flaws - it clocks in at less than 1 hour and 40 minutes. Being longer could've allowed a greater use of the minor characters and more dialogue. Whether that was the fault of editing or lazy writing, I'll never know.

In terms of the raw special effects though, its certainly something. Saphira is the centerpiece, and is most certainly something - you could go and see the movie just for her (but tickets being so expensive, I'm not so sure about that). Some other parts, though, could've used more attention - I'm not sure what was happening to Durza's face at the end, and Galbatorix's fortress, while still good, might've been a bit more menacing than a stone box.

Really, while this film could've been something great, it was let down by poor writing, an editor who was too happy to cut out scenes, and a lack of imagination. Speelers didn't do too bad a job, all things considered, but not even the best efforts of Malkovich and Irons can save this film.

5 out of 10

To be blunt, this is a very good series. Compared with the other Gundam series I've seen (Gundam Wing), this one is far superior. The characters are believable, as is the plot, there's some good sci-fi in there, and there is character development.

I'll give as little of the actual plot away as I can, but given the guilt and remorse shown by the main characters when team mates and enemies get killed, I'll say its incredibly human. Unlike what you'd think watching James Bond, Kill Bill, et al, killing someone IS a big step, even in war. The regret, remorse, and yes, boys crying, does demonstrate this. And yes, it is OK for boys to be emotional. We just don't usually do it all that often.

The sci-fi is good too - genetic enhancements increasing our abilities (represented by the coordinaters) is an obvious extrapolation of modern science and research. The mobile suits that are the mainstay of the series also have some interesting ideas - phase shift armour, mirage colloid, etc.

The plot is all about right and wrong, and what falls into each category. Is vengeance against a whole race right just for your loss? Is killing ever just? And so on. Pretty meaty stuff. And the way the plot falls is reasonably logical and easy to understand.

Characters do actually develop. The main 4 - Athrun Zala, Kira Yamato, Cagalli Uli Attha and Lacus Clyne - all develop through loss of friends, family, and the turn of events. Even the minor characters do this; Yzak and Dearka make some decisions that you wouldn't've expected looking at their initial characterisation.

And through it all, there is Rau le Creuset. Mask? Check! Sadistically evil? Check! And that makes it even more Gundam - there's always some guy in a mask.

The revealing of certain characters pasts, eg Mu la Flaga and Rau le Creuset, does add a certain depth. Not everything is known at once, and their emnity is revealed to be deep-seated, as are the character relations throughout the series.

Also, as an side, I'd like to say that I have not seen the Japanese version of Gundam Seed, only its English dub. Given I don't know Japanese vocal expressions and don't particularly like subtitles, I think I probably get the best out of the English version, at least orally. However, in terms on animation and sequences, there are some extra in the Japanese versions that were edited out of the English dub, and so I have not seen these. Just so you know though, there are some extra sequences to it.

Although it could have had some plot tweaks, better animation in some sequences, and possibly less of the ZAFT-rules-all attitude that seems rather prevalent (some battles are almost farcical in how powerful ZAFT mobile suits are), it adds together quite nicely overall.

8 out of 10.

I will say this now - I thoroughly enjoyed the Full Metal Alchemist series. This makes me biased, but I think my bias is because it was well written, acted and brought to life.

I enjoyed The Conqueror of Shamballa for many of the same reasons. The plot is believable (yes, there was a Thule Society, and yes, they were into the occult), and the characters have additions that would naturally occur over two years.

However, I felt that while this is the story of the Elric brothers, I did feel that Mustang, Armstrong, Winry et al could have been used a lot more. Eckhart was a decent bad girl (she had the prerequisite maniacal laugh when she shoots down Ed), and provides plenty of food for thought (methinks she and Yoda should have a talk about fear - watch it if you don't know what I mean).

The story could have also been explored in more detail. For a 100 minute movie though, it did quite well. A longer movie might have allowed more screen time for the minor characters too (you could count on two hands the number of lines some of the minor characters, including the military ones, actually got).

I did also like meeting the Earthly equivalent to King Bradley (he played a fairly big role, including a reflection on the pros and cons of science), along with cameos by Lyra, and we see how Hughes would have ended up if he had never married Gracia (they're getting set up by the end).

All in all, with good music (as always) and fairly good animation (apart from a few minor lapses), it was a very good show. If its the end, its a good one, and if its one of a series of movies they'll come out with (we can always hope :D), then its going to be a much better addition. Either way, we're all the better for it in my opinion.

PS - I have watched the English dubbed version; I'm not sure how the original Japanese looked, so any inaccuracies may be due to the translation.

The new Battlestar Galactica series has defined a whole new direction for science-fiction into a far more plausible and real area of our imaginations. While its main focus is the drama and interaction of the characters, this is one of its greatest strengths. It should not be the technology that defines a good science fiction series, but the characters and what they do. The use of bullets over lasers is really quite logical - bullets do more damage, and are thus more effective in combat. And the dull thuds of the guns, while giving a bit of the sound that should never be heard (space is a vacuum, and so sound does not travel very well), gives it a far greater realism.

The style of camera really puts you in the front seat. It is almost as though you are actually there, given how often the camera moves about. The focus on the characters also means that this is a human drama and allows for us to become connected with the characters, rather than simply being awed by eye-candy and technobabble.

The music is also good. It creates tension, and the lack of a definitive theme allows for a huge freedom for the composers. Hearing recycled versions one theme gets rather boring after a while, so the infinite variations allows for music that fits the scene it was written for, and nothing else.

I have also read some of the comments - the more English-like speaking of the characters has opened up the franchise to less fanatical viewers. You no longer need to be a BSG nut to know what the main characters are talking about. The new cylons is a huge redefining of the fleet and its interactions - trying to survive in space is hard enough. Trying to survive while being constantly sabotaged is even worse. Case in point - the Olympic Carrier in "33". And the humour? Well, maybe those who complain about a lack of humour just don't quite manage to get the jokes (because they aren't stupid one-liners).

All-in-all, it is a very good new human drama against a backdrop of science and human difficulty. The interactions of humans and the technology they possess is always of relevance, and this imperfect universe is one in which we can all relate to. There are many other points we can relate to, and far too many to list here. Look at it and see what you can in this. And like all science fiction, be prepared to dismiss a little bit of reality. Hold on and enjoy the ride :D.

I have read a few of the comments on this. In my opinion, it is just a bunch of nostalgic farts who want a remake of "Mulletstar Galactica"!

This miniseries has very little to do with the original series. I say this right now, because it is true. I admit to ignorance on the original series, but from what I've seen of it, it's more dated than Star Trek TOS.

I'll skip a synopsis of the plot (there are plenty around), but get straight on with my opinion of it.

It was a fairly realistic show; a drama set to the backdrop of space. Don't expect sweeping shots of Galactica and and smooth combat scenes - they're not here. Everything is in your face. The documentary style of shooting provided the audience with the feeling that you are almost there with them on the Galactica.

People have complained that there is not enough emotion, not enough humour, and not enough homage to the original series. Well frak that I say! These people are trying to survive, and the galaxy is a hostile place to survive, not to mention if you are being pursued by a relentless foe and have no idea where you are going to go. Hence there is little time for emotional crack-ups by the commanding officers and the leading lady (ie W Adama, Tigh, L Adama and Laura Roslin). The others do show some emotion, but only when it is proper (ie at a time when you can let go of all your responsibilities and have a cry). The humour? Billions have died you fools! Wheres the humour in that? Honestly!

And they don't call it a reimagining of the series for nothing. The character names, the ships, and the basic plot are the same. And there it ends. Better this darker and different idea of another group of worlds (which I might add, does not necessarily need to be in the future) than a bloody disco dance! They try to make this series as real as possible. TOS is, from what I have seen, hardly very real (I mean honestly, it was a macho series filled with camp one-liners from my impressions of it).

And to address a few other problems encountered: 1 - Caprica is the only colony mentioned. Each colony is one world, with 12 colonies making up this bastion of humanity. Picon, Saggitaron, Geminon, etc are all mentioned but not shown. I have read that this is in order to avoid confusion. 2 - Cylons look like humans. After all, he who knows his enemy best will be victorious. And what better way to know your enemy than to become them? 3 - The gender change of Starbuck and Boomer. In line with reimagining the series, this allows for a completely new slate in creating and developing the characters without having to pay too much attention to the original characters. 4 - The culture may be similar to ours, but look at it this way; how else are we supposed to understand it. I mean, its obvious what frak stands in for, but some of the terms the invented for the original series would have driven away many new viewers. And in Star Trek, really, the only race with a native language other than English are the Klingons. Thats obviously not going to happen. So don't be so choosy; you can't have broad appeal with such jargon and BSG-babble.

This is my opinion. I encourage you to form your own, but don't give this series the thumbs down just because it isn't "faithful" enough to the 70s Galactica. Its a different series. But therein lies its strength. It has no need to follow the old series and use the characters. It has been able to completely renew and refresh them, and give them a third dimension (which the 70s version appears to lack), as well as some development. Don't expect tears, childish tantrums, technobabble or stupid one-liners. Expect to see really people going through some extraordinary events.

And even if you don't find the miniseries to your liking, you can always try the TV series. Just don't judge it because its not a blast from the past.