Review of Patema Inverted (2013) by Chris B — 02 Mar 2016

Patema Inverted is an anime film that I have had my eye on for a long time. The art style, the dramatic trailer and the concept all had me quite interested. Unfortunately, a good premise was not enough to keep my interest, which is especially surprising considering the film is only 90 minutes long.

There are two groups of humans living on the same world, but their gravity pulls them in opposite directions, and their has been a long standing feud between the two factions. This idea is rife for exploration, but instead of exploring the themes available to them, this is just another coming of age love story wrapped up in science fiction paper.

And paper thin is exactly how I would describe both the story and the characters. To be fair, the animation is gorgeous, but it is let down by poor direction, sluggish pacing, lazy writing and even a generic score.

I would pass on this one unless you are really desperate for an anime film that came out in the last year. 2 out of 5 stars.