Mike86

E Unit

I believe some thought Cameron would be more hands on with this in terms of producer, but that's what it seemed like to me, just a handoff. I thought Rodriguez was just a director for hire for this, but after reading some of the reviews, the movie apparently has a crammed plot with too many characters. Sounds like Rodriguez threw in his own vision on it, and the movie is the result.

faust69

Saw it, liked it. It's certainly not the embarrassment that was Ghost in the Shell. However, it mixes a little too much of the manga with the anime adaptation. That crams some stuff in there that wasn't needed, like Jennifer Connelly. Otherwise, it's a little too referential to the manga (I've been reading the manga since 1990, yes, it's still going) so the movie takes a bit of time to gain steam. But the action is quite good and the visuals are absolutely beautiful.

Overall, it gets a recommendation from me who is a lifelong fan of the property. It's good, but not great and i lay that at Rodriguez. There were times I felt it needed that extra zing that only someone like Cameron can give that I don't think Rodriguez has in him.

OldBoy

^ did you see in 3D? how was that?

TomOpus

Chris Stuckmann said he's not a 3D fan but thought it added to the film, much like Avatar.

btw, he's a big fan of the manga, and anime in general, and gave the movie a B.

DJariya

So it looks like AMC is having a special early Dolby 3D Fan event on the 11th and 12th. You also get a free Alita Funko keychain.

A-List actually pays for it as well. I have no plans on Monday the 11th, so I'm going to go. It's a $20 ticket for it in my area, so it's cool that A-List pays for it.

I'm not big on 3D, but I also watched Stuckmann's review and he recommends seeing it that way, so why not? I'm not paying anything extra out of pocket.

faust69

Yes, saw it in 3-D in a Dolby Atmos theatre. The 3-D was very good. Reminded me of Avatar where it's not trying to be flashy but just add depth to the surroundings. I saw it with 5 friends, two who hate 3-D. They walked out praising the 3-D.

Decker

Thanks. I was going to see it by myself anyway, so might as well go then.

Why So Blu?

Avatar was shot in 3-D, though. Was this also shot in native 3-D?

melasnus

What was gained by using a CGI face over the actor's?

OldBoy

that is what i was hoping since Cameron heavily involved and Rodriguez no stranger to 3D either. might see it just for that and damn the critics be...

dhmac

Here's the review by Chris Stuckmann



Stuckmann gives the movie a B rating

d2cheer

Almost no one has a more irritating mug than that guy.

Paul_SD

Not a fan of Stuckmann, but that was actually a great review in that he laid out his pros and cons in a pleasingly subdued and dispassionate way (despite, as he says, being a very passionate fan of the source material).
As a more casual fan of the manga, I'm sure it will be worth the watch for me.
But I'm left wondering at what it was that his non-fan friends went in expecting to see and didn't get. For that reason, it doesn't sound like this will make many new converts.

tanman

3-D dolby digital? That's weird. I don't think my AMC ever has that available. The dolby digital theater is always 2D.

Decker

faust69

It was the first time I've seen 3-D in a Dolby Cinema theatre so I was surprised as well. I had heard that it was going to be IMAX 3-D so I was quite surprised when they led us into the DC theatre instead.

Eric F

Still think this is going to flop.

I'll wait for it to hit video.

brainee

Up to 58% now. Being a flop looks pretty imminent, but I'm hopeful this will still be something I'll enjoy.

Josh-da-man

brayzie

You mean that Hollywood thinks they do.
I'm a big manga and anime fan and I'm not asking for, nor wanting, a live-action American adaptation of Akira. I always thought most fans were like me, in that they were perfectly satisfied with the animated films. If a live-action adaptation were to be made, I'd expect it to be Japanese produced, but that's not realistic for properties like Neon Genesis Evangelion, and Akira that are epic in scale.

I also think there's a problem with the execution of these Hollywood adaptions.
I'm a big anime/manga nerd and I wasn't interested in seeing Speed Racer, Dragon Ball Evolution, or Ghost in The Shell.
In the case of GITS, the Hollywood version was very comic book-y. The Rodriguez/Snyder literal approach is there in certain scenes and it ironically makes it look too over-the-top.
The 1997 Mamoru Oshii anime adaptation feels much more realistic and grounded. That version traded in the manga's big eyed look for less stylized faces, and made the setting look like then-modern day Hong Kong. The Scarlett Johansson one looks like it takes place in a video game world that's digitally tinted blue.

RichC2

You can adapt a property but it still needs to have a hook to sell. Ghost in the Shell never really explained it's plot in any trailers and expected the visuals to do the heavy lifting. Well that and most anime watchers I know always found GitS boring, if that means anything .

A central mystery or good plot is a necessity but seems to get brushed off anymore

melasnus

Absolutely right.
I have no idea why anime/manga fans would think otherwise...guess they only talk/socialize with themselves.
Stand on any street corner in this country and ask passers-by "What is manga?" and see how many correct answers you get.

fujishig

I'll agree with this. I didn't see any of those three in the theater and I'm a big anime fan, and an especially big Dragon Ball fan. In fact, the only one I actually watched was Speed Racer, and that was actually an incredible adaptation of anime (though not the Speed Racer anime) onto a big screen, and it flopped huge.

I'll still see Alita eventually, maybe through A-list or maybe through a rental, but it wasn't something I was waiting for, and I've been especially critical of the eyes from the start. Not many people who were fans of the original property wanted huge eyes, as if that was the main draw of the manga. It does seem like a lot of the complaints reviews have of the plot are because they stayed too close to the manga, though.

melasnus

I second the Wachowski's Speed Racer.
Truly amazing AND underrated IMO.

Not surprising.