Appleseed: Alpha [Blu-ray] [Region B]

I saw the beginning of this film (about 10 mins or so) round a friends house a few months back and liked what I saw. So much so I decided to order my own copy..I like cgi movies and this one in particular has a good story and some lovely graphics. I wont spoil the story for anyone contemplating a purchase but will instead say the voice acting is of a very high standard and you do sympathize with the two main characters and the struggle they are going through. The film has detailed and varied locations and has great atmosphere and some emotional scenes. There is also action and suspense and I cannot recommend Appleseed Alpha enough to either anime fans, cgi film fans and (due to the nature of the film) videogame fans as well.

Review of the Appleseed Alpha [Blu-ray] [2014] [US Import] version. Very happy to find that this IS an all region disk! Phew! Bought on spec as I love this film and didn't want to wait for the UK release, so very happy to find it played perfectly on my non multi region Blu-ray player. An excellent film, the CGI format is getting better and better and difficult to tell, in places, that it wasn't live-action. I confess to being a huge anime fan and really enjoy the Appleseed series, this prequal is great fun as well as an excellent syfi film in it's own right.

I love the Appleseed movies and this latest Reboot/Origin episode is no exception. As stated in pretty much every other review here, the CGI & Animation sets a new bar for the genre, especially for the fraction of the budget of CGI-heavy films like Transformers. Animation is fantastic, though if I had one gripe, the lip-synch is nearly always off by a fraction of a second. Not enough to ruin the viewing, but enough to be noticeable. This film would have had 5 stars if it had had a little more depth. Its a strong, if predicatable 'safe' plot and enjoyable despite is slight shortcomings. The story is essentially an expansion of the 'Flashback' scenes from the previous movies. If you ever wondered how Deunan and Briareos found their way to Olympus, this film will fill in some of the blanks for you. Ideally, I would have liked to see a true origin story of how the two first met, the incident that caused Briareos his horrific injuries and the effect that his transformation into a Hecatoncharies had on them both in those early stages. There is potential there for much greater emotional depth and exploration. Instead we are dropped into their lives some time after, when they are both trying to find their place in the ravaged post-war landscape. With no army left to find they are left to put their skills to scavenging precious items and taking out problematic targets for dodgy linch-pins. Whilst the story itself is a fresh and more expansive perspective on their early days together, the premise itself is nothing really new to the Appleseed saga. A great film, diminished only by its lack of invention and its reluctance to begin even further back in the timeline, but highly recommended nonetheless. TIP TO THE WARY CONSUMER: Don't buy this directly from Amazon, they have it at nearly TWICE the price of the lowest competitor. I bought it new from "Logistics 101" for £12.41 incl. P&P - Arrived after 4 days.

😀

Just watched this film thanks to my Prime account and I have to say that I'm absolutely blown away. Many criticize the story and the fact that it did not adhere to the manga... well that maybe, but the CGI effects are the best I've ever seen.... the movement of the hair or the expressions on the cyborgs... wow! someone also criticize also that the vehicles looked like made of paper or something... well, not sure which mangas have you seen where they looked any better. So that the story is weak?? well War & Peace it's not... that's for sure but it is OK. And with regard to the dialog...seen quite a lot of japanese manga and believe me it probably gets lost in translation because some times are soooo lame. So this one is kind of with the rest out there. Basically don't look too closely to the critics and just enjoy.

The arch of the story was good

As in the previous review the animation is amazing unlike any I have seen before the characters are well rendered as is the scenery in the opening sequence you would think you are watching a live action film this is how good the animation is.It has come leaps and bounds since the first Appleseed movies and far surpasses them.The story is before Deunan and Briareos came to Olympus and takes place in the world outside of Olympus in what is left of the world following countless wars.The story its self is fairly basic but has some content but the action scenes are truly amazing and this is what makes the film for me.it would not be an Appleseed film without the action.This is one for the fans of Appleseed but keep watching to the end as there is some extra footage after the credits have finished rolling. Specials include the making of commentary and previews. Languages are English,German and Italian 5.1 DTS-HD MA and Japanese 5.1 with English,German and Italian subtitles.

My first experience of the Appleseed universe was over 25 years ago, on a second-hand videocassette of the OVA (Otiginal Video Animation). At the time I was impressed by the way it treated its audience as adults, without the need to resort to ultraviolence or explicit and graphic imagery (yes, I am looking at you Urotsukodoji), but disappointed at the sometimes confusing plot. However, it did introduce two of anime's most resilient characters: the feisty Duenan and her cyborg partner Briarios. Over the years, Appleseed has been updated to reflect changing styles in animation, world view and writing styles, with mixed results. But, with the release of Appleseed Alpha we seem to have finally returned to the heart of Shirow Masamune's incredible world. Alpha is different from previous material in several ways: firstly, the animation. Is incredibly detailed, right down to imperfections in the fabrics that people wear; secondly, the story is much more coherent and has a proper narrative flow that you can understand in a single viewing and finally, it is a prequel, taking us back to before everything we have hitherto seen and introducing Deunan and Briarios in a whole new way. It is this final element that is perhaps most compelling, the decision to take our heroes back to before they found Olympus and made it their home is a brave one. We see the detail of the post-apocalyptic world they came much more, with a beautifully realised and entirely recognisable New York acting as a focal point for much of the film. The reboot has stripped away some of the naive idealism and clumsy moralising that had entrenched itself in parts of Appleseed, replacing it with a sense of desperation and disillusionment, with the only the tiniest promise of hope: the war had clearly gone on for too long, with too much destroyed and far too many people killed. Our heroes are living day by day, working on pointless 'missions' for a ruthless gang boss who is largely running the city and they struggle to see a way forward. The way forward comes unexpectedly, in the form of a pair of individuals claiming to be on a mission for the mythical city of Olympus, and it is down to Deunan and Briarios to either help them complete it, or watch what's left of the world be destroyed. The world and our heroes are in need of redemption. Who will get what and how they will get it is where this film is taking us. And what a visually stunning journey it is. Hopefully, this marks a new series of Appleseed adventures that take us all the way back home. The disc [Blu-Ray] The image is pin-sharp and fantastically detailed, with every pock-mark, crumbling piece of concrete and piece of dirt on Deunan's top popping out of the screen in outstanding clarity. The colours are also well-balanced with a broad palette throughout, as you would expect on such high-end digitally sourced material, but these are somewhat weakened by the poor contrast and black level. Many of the black and shadow areas disappear into a murky grey that lets down the other elements of the picture. Riding the contrast on the TV helped to compensate, but this shouldn't be necessary on a release like this. The sound is generally good, with the mix being put to some work in the battle scenes, managing to provide good bass levels and clear speech. The extras informative and interesting, without being groundbreaking. That so many had previously worked on other Applseed projects explains why so much care and attention had gone into the production and such information makes the extras worth a watch.