Japan's impregnable Aegis escort ship is taken over by a rogue commander in this high-seas variant on The Hunt for Red October. A lumbering action-adventure weighted down by the ballast of mechanical aesthetics and pat storytelling, this load is not likely to navigate in commercial waters much beyond the Tokyo area.
On a straight course to Davy Jones' Locker, Aegis never sails beyond the doldrums of its mechanical rendering.
Usually one must attend a science fiction movie to encounter such drab dialogue and clunky expositional narrative. Essentially, the storyline is akin to that of a generic actioner with a mothership-type colossus preparing to launch against the home planet, in this case, Tokyo. A renegade officer has pilfered a deadly toxin from a U.S. military base and has staged a mutiny on the formidable Aegis.
While the plot springs from the political malaise of modern-day Japan -- in which the effete nature of the Japanese military is questioned -- Aegis is, essentially, a load of narrative ballast. The screenplay is strictly by the numbers, and the dialogue is so leaden with exposition that one never identifies with any of the characters: They are all talking heads or, in the case of the casts' uninspired delivery, barking heads.
Visually, Aegis is also a stinker. Despite keen cooperation from Japanese naval authorities, director Junji Sakamoto never captures the dominant stature of the vessel, shooting in a drab glaze of medium-shots, punctuated by talking heads.
While staged with precision, Aegis clanks with the fakeness such micro-aesthetic attention fosters. Most woefully, the action scenes smack of choreography, and what should be visually a "big" movie never sails beyond dinghy dimension.
On a straight course to Davy Jones' Locker, Aegis never sails beyond the doldrums of its mechanical rendering.
Usually one must attend a science fiction movie to encounter such drab dialogue and clunky expositional narrative. Essentially, the storyline is akin to that of a generic actioner with a mothership-type colossus preparing to launch against the home planet, in this case, Tokyo. A renegade officer has pilfered a deadly toxin from a U.S. military base and has staged a mutiny on the formidable Aegis.
While the plot springs from the political malaise of modern-day Japan -- in which the effete nature of the Japanese military is questioned -- Aegis is, essentially, a load of narrative ballast. The screenplay is strictly by the numbers, and the dialogue is so leaden with exposition that one never identifies with any of the characters: They are all talking heads or, in the case of the casts' uninspired delivery, barking heads.
Visually, Aegis is also a stinker. Despite keen cooperation from Japanese naval authorities, director Junji Sakamoto never captures the dominant stature of the vessel, shooting in a drab glaze of medium-shots, punctuated by talking heads.
While staged with precision, Aegis clanks with the fakeness such micro-aesthetic attention fosters. Most woefully, the action scenes smack of choreography, and what should be visually a "big" movie never sails beyond dinghy dimension.
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.