Review of Gantz (2010) by Alexander A — 02 Oct 2011

Iâ(TM)m a big fan of the manga and anime Gantz, and Iâ(TM)m happy to say that I had a great time watching Shinsuke Satoâ(TM)s first of two Gantz films. The movie gets it all practically perfect; from the great special effects and costumes that realize the Gantz âsituationâ?, to some very nice casting for the characters included in the movie.

Sato does a pretty masterful job bringing the major points of the Gantz story alive while making decent cuts for the filmâ(TM)s running time and includes some interesting surprises and variations to the story for Gantz fans.

As an action horror adventure story, Iâ(TM)d be curious to see how audiences not familiar with Gantz would react to the film, and if the goings on are clear enough for them, but I thought Sato mapped out the premise very well.

And I particularly loved how he brought the Gantz âtransportationâ? effect to live action. Looked great!

My friend and I watching felt the only frustrating problem with the film is in the initial pacing of the actions scenes due to the charactersâ(TM) inability to act quickly in the face of the violence they see and the imminent danger directed their way. This is a problem in the anime as well. You have to wonder if this is a cultural effect rather than a direction problem. A depiction of a reluctance and reticence of a Japanese personâ(TM)s willingness to pick up a gun and strike back, perhaps?