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Steamboy - Director's Cut (Widescreen Edition) Actors: Anna Paquin, Patrick Stewart, Alfred Molina Director: Katsuhiro Ôtomo Number of Items: 1 Format: Animated, Color, Widescreen Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested) Studio: Columbia Tristar Hom Region Code: 99 Product Group: DVD Release Date: 2005-07-26 Buy from Amazon |
 "Incredibly Animated Film by Otomo"Akira's creator is back with a vengeance with his new offering: "Steamboy". This adventure film tour-de-force centers around a family of inventors and how their creations changed (and almost destroyed) the world. The whole movie reminds me alot of the old "Rocketeer" graphic novels (especially if you watch the closing credits). This movie's main message that technology is a double edged sword is hammered home in grand style utilizing some truly amazing graphics. Well worth your cash, more Steam Boy please.... "awesome animation"this was one of the most beautiful animated movies i have watched. everything from the entwining machinery to the fast paced action sequences left me in awe. the storyline was a bit dry during the first half of the movie with the exception of a chase scene involving a steam powered automobile and a train. you could just tell that the creators of this movie were so deeply involved with the way the movie looked that they somewhat sidestepped the editting process. same thing happened with the first final fantasy movie. overall though, this was still a gorgeous picture worth a look by any fan of anime. "Quality Animation, Slightly lacking in Plot..."The animation of Steamboy is nothing less than breathtaking. I really loved how they rotated the "camera" angles during periods of chase and shifted the background to move with the character. It made the film seem more alive. The creators of the film seemed to focus in too much upon the animation though and less upon character development and plot. The three main characters are a Grandfather, Father and Son (Old Mr. Steam, Middle-aged Mr. Steam and Kid Steam). Each is fairly fleshed out, but the son is rather typical and bland. The most interesting of which is probably the excitable grandfather. The father was uhh prophetic. All together it was a great film, and my eyes were glued to the screen watching it. The end animation sequences tended to draw out a bit and the plot/character development was bland. Overall tho, worthy to pick up to add to anyone's anime collection. "Anime is Great!!"I've always been interested in animation from Japan and it amazes me with their inventive style on reality. Steam powered universe is a very different concept and the way it was portrayed in the movie was ingenuis!!  "Outstanding animation"This movie is unlike Otomo's "Akira" in evey way but one: excellence. Although the movie is set in Victorian England, it's thoroughly Japanese. For one thing, the metal monster tears up the city in the big finale - this time, the city is London. It's a good story, though, with an enticing bit of sequel-bait at the end. The animation is all you could hope for. I'm convinced Otomo picked Victorian technology because it's so visually understandable, so easy to respond to. A silicon chip may have far more potential in it, but huge clashing gears, striking sparks as they engage, project a tangible sense of power. Voice commands to a computer could have consequences of any magnitude, but it means a lot more to see human muscle wrestling against a giant lever. The good vs. bad technology issue is drawn without subtlety, but probably works at a level that kids can approach. It's kid-friendly in other ways, too: there's some violence, but bloodless, people keep their clothes on, and some ugly realities of steam technology have been tamed. Pipes and boilers burst a few times in the movie, but no one really gets hurt by it - when that happened in the real world, people died in horrific ways. It's not Akira, but rises to Akira's standards in every way. Steamboy is a new requirement for any collection of anime. //wiredweird |
