Reviews

I have been tempted to check out the Anime for a while now but I seriously hope it is better then the movie and I suspect that it is.

Aki Maeda pulls off a good performance but has little to work with and had zero chemistry with her co-star which leads to a number of awkward scenes especially when ever they are meant to be intimate.

Another major flaw is that nothing is explained, we have no idea how Chise was chosen to become a Weapon (and where does she hide all those parts?) nor do we even have any idea who Japan are at War with or even why for that matter.

Painfully average and a great premise that sadly just doesn't pay off.

To be totally honest I wasn't expecting much at all going into 9 Souls even after reading heap upon heap of praise plied upon it but to say I was surprised would be a major understatement, in short I was totally blown away.

The basic plot is as simple as they come, nine prison inmates ranging from a drug pusher all the way up to multiple murderer's escape from prison and go in search of a secret stash presumed to be forged money hidden by a tenth inmate who cracked and was dragged away by guards shortly before their escape but it's the direction that director Toshiaki Toyoda takes this simple story that is so brilliant and original perfectly blending drama, comedy and violence creating a truly one of kind movie that deserve's to be seen not only fans of Asian cinema but cinema in general.

Superbly acted, emotional, funny, violent and at times very surreal this is a movie has it all.

I'll be honest and say right now that I wasn't expecting much from this movie but it turned out to be one of the best movies I have seen in years and is also the best Japanese movie I have seen since Battle Royale.

SPOILERS.

The plot is basically about three close friends who in their search for paradise (a beach they don't know the location of in picture they have) decide to rob a bank to get the money to find that paradise and things quickly go wrong turning the robbery into a hostage crisis but in a strange turn of events the hostage's (ranging from a shy bank employee all the way up to a wanted international terrorist) don't seem to mind being held hostage after a while and actually end up joining the robbers and taking on the roles of characters from one of the gang members favorite anime series "Space Travelers" a show in which each character has a shocking similarity to each hostage and robber.

IMHO the basic story here is about escaping reality, the bank robbers want to escape to their paradise and for a short time the hostages all get to escape from their pasts or their boring, unhappy lives but the other side of the coin is the the dangers of trying to hard to escape reality with the tragic ending that You know is coming but still packs a hell of a punch.

A great movie filled with strong likable characters and some very touching moments which is a great way to waste 2 hours on the weekend, 9/10.