Review of Steamboy (2004) by Xavier D — 10 Oct 2005

Steamboy begins very hopefully. I'm no anime expert but I was taken by the detailed mix of mostly cel animation blended with a bit of 3D. They spent a lot of time on appearances and it shows. The story as well gets off to a good start with palpable tension. You can almost imagine the scenes really taking place.

The monstrous machine that becomes the center of attention is a sight to behold. It reminded me of heavily geared contraptions of that era which fascinate with movements as complicated as a Swiss watch. You can't really see it all at once its too damn big. The kid in the title role (voiced actually by Anna Paquin) sort of reminded me of a junior Rocketeer. The voice acting is generally quality work and includes Patrick Stewart and Alfred Molina.

By the last act, however, Steamboy runs out of, you know, steam. A fairly thin plot at the start becomes a very loud and repetitive series of crashes, groaning metal, popped rivets, screams and yells. Almost all the adults wind up bad guys to one degree or another. Up til then it was in 9/10 range but limps home with a soso 8/10.

The DVD has excellent video and audio. The 5.1 soundtrack has plenty of effects to keep your attention. Extras are fairly basic with interviews of the voice actors and some of the crew. The DVD also gets an 8/10.