Old school revisited
Even though these two are from 1985, they look sharper than ever.
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Some things never go out of style. In the case of Appleseed, after nearly 30 years since it was first released as a manga, the popularity of the series continues to endure, grow and influence. Several of today's anime and Hollywood films credits Appleseed as their inspiration (and for some the standard) for creating intriguing storylines that deal with ecological and political issues set in a science fiction backdrop. It's strange that despite this, the series itself has yet to receive a proper theatrical release. The 2004 film Appleseed, was only given a limited release in the U.S. whereas the sequel Appleseed Ex Machina was released direct-
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to-video in 2008, the latter which was directed by famed action director John woo. The latest sequel follows the latter however, Appleseed: Alpha serves as both a prequel to the previous two films, and a reboot for the franchise. Anyone who has read the original manga or seen the early 1988 animated film will notice some key differences in this prequel from the books. It loosely follows the original story, instead retelling the origins of Deunan Knute (voiced by Luci Christian) and her cyborg partner Briareos (voiced by David Matranga). In the 22nd century, the world is left in chaos and destruction from the result of a world war which neither side won. Governments and international relations collapse, and cities remain empty as the populace leaves to find safe refuge elsewhere. Deunan and Braireos are soldiers for hire who want to earn enough to find a better life outside the ruins of New York City, particularly in Olympus; a city that has become the most powerful and stable state in the world after the war ended. During a simple delivery run, the two are ambushed in the NYC subway and nearly killed, with the contents of their delivery destroyed. Braireos quickly reaches the conclusion that it was Two-Horns (voiced by Wendel Calvert), the person who hired them in the aftermath of the war and the one that assigned them the mission, who secretly sabotaged their delivery run. Knowing how resourceful the two are, Two-Horns plotted the ambush beforehand in order to continue having them at his disposal. Left with no choice, Briareos and Deunan relentlessly accept
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another assignment from Two-Horns, this time dispatching of old war drones outside of the city limits. There they encounter a cyborg soldier named Olson (voiced by Adam Gibbs) accompanying a bioroid girl named Iris (voiced by Brina Palencia). After saving the two from a trap from the war drones, Deunan and Briareos learn that these two carry a secret that can help them find Olympus but could also put them in further danger. From start to finish, the movie was an absolute blast. Prior to watching, I didn't warm up to the new CGI
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Appleseed Alpha delivers plenty of fluid and vivid action.
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look the movie adopted for this sequel, leaving behind the anime-look the previous two utilized. However, it grew on me and saw how well it worked with the action happening on-screen. Another thing I noticed was that the lip-syncing between the characters and the voices has improved. The first two were originally dubbed in Japanese and voiced over in English; this time around it seems the film was dubbed in English first. As a result, the voice acting feels more organic, thus keeping the script from being overly cheesy. In conclusion, Appleseed: Alpha was a thoroughly enjoyable film that will entice action fanatics and will satisfy followers of the series even if the movie feels different from its' manga counterpart.
-Reviewed by Razor, 9/9/14
-Reviewed by Razor, 9/9/14