Review of Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007) by Loïc F — 01 Jul 2008

This painful edition to the franchise adds new meaning the word "gimmick." Yes, the visuals have been upgraded from odd-looking cell-shaded characters to all-around smooth and high quality figures, but that alone does not make a movie.

Not only has this "visual upgrade" dramatically changed the appearance of both main and supporting characters alike to the point of not being able to recognize them, it makes the movie look like nothing more than an extended video game clip.

The voiceover is lacking as the actors from the previous movie are nowhere to be found and their replacements sound like they're working their first dubbing job. John Woo, who claims to have had little to do with this movie other than producer, obviously dipped his fingers in this film to and tainted it anyway.

The action is broken and constantly going into slow motion, seemingly just to fill in a few extra seconds. The entire story is not only forced, but an outright chop-job of several movie scenes ranging from Castle in the Sky to Resident Evil to Star Wars forcing the question of its originality.

If you're a fan of Appleseed, stick with the 2004 release.