This movie didn't suck nearly as much as I thought it would. I confess, when I Netflixed it, I thought I was getting a cool anime about vampires. Then I checked out RottenTomatoes and found that, no, I was getting a live-action movie based on a cool anime about vampires. I was chagrined to say the least.
I decided to watch it anyway because, well, it was at my house already and fuck it, you know? I have to say, I was pleasantly surprised. By which I mean, I didn't want to scratch out my eyes.
I really only have one complaint: the animation makes this movie seem 10 years older than it actually is. (Yes, I could complain about the wooden/sub-par acting or the Empire Strikes Back on estrogen storyline but that's just being mean. These elements are no worse than Underworld.)
It's ironic that the animation would be bad in a movie based on an anime. But the creatures look like something Ray Harryhausen would make out of modeling clay and chicken wire. No disrespect to the Harryhousen, if this movie were made back in 1970 it would have been a masterpiece. But it was completed in 2009. 2009, people! In a post-Matrix world, there is no excuse for flying blood that looks like Jell-O.
Other than that one tiny thing, I quite enjoyed the movie. The fight scenes are nicely done, seeing as they were supervised by Cory Yuen, the same guy who gave us The Transporter, Kiss of the Dragon, and Hero. The soundtrack is good, full of upbeat Vietnam-era songs (did I mention that the movie is set in 1970 at an Air Force base in Japan? No? Well, it is.) The main character is a katana-wielding, half-vampire teenaged girl wearing braided pigtails and a sailor suit.... Yeah, okay, that last part is a little weird but it's based on anime so I suppose we're lucky that the costume is extremely modest. No Sailor Moon panty-shots, which I for one, appreciate.
I wouldn't buy it, but it's worth a rental if you like the genre and want to see something a little newer and fresher than Rise of the Lycans.
No comments:
Post a Comment