Review of Casshern (2004) by Christopher W — 10 Nov 2008

Ugh. This movie epitomizes everything I loathe about bad JRPG's and anime. It is pretty, sure, and sometimes sweeping in its artistic vision... but it gets so wrapped up in its overly-complex plot and its overwrought emotion that it's almost unwatchable. How many stories like this need to combine hard-hitting action scenes with soft, gentle musical scores and overlong sequences where the character is anguishing over some emotionally-charged flashback scene. The girlfriend character, Luna, hugs our hero and spends five minutes whispering poetic nothings about how she "wishes all the fighting could stop." Because, you know, war is BAD. And then our hero cries over his dead mother, lamenting at how he "couldn't stop the fighting". Oh noes!

I can be as moved as anyone by a good, dramatic story. Seriously. But if this is what passes for drama then I could seriously do without it. Take about an hour off the length of this movie and make some of the emotional points a bit more subtle than a sledgehammer and maybe we might have something here. Otherwise? There just isn't enough action to hold one's attention. Pass.