I've read the posted comments at this site, and wow - people are really enjoying ripping this movie to pieces. I admit, it is not a great movie by any standard, and it certainly pales in comparison to 1981's original HM. First, it's too bad that it adapts only one story, and not a diverse selection of linked stories, from the pages of the comics. Second, there are no memorable characters here - no Den, no Harry Canyon. Third, this film lacks humor and it lacks tenderness (the surprising touches of softness helped give soul to the original). YET, the animation is dazzling with a lively combination of computerized and traditional techniques. The action scenes are very exciting. The women (though only two of them) are beautiful. The soundtrack is also excellent, tho, like the film as a whole, it is lacking in tenderness. Not a must-see, but not a disaster. 6/10
100 Reviews
Meh, not a very good sequel
mergatroid-16 October 2011
Heavy Metal magazine was one of the best things growing up. I have both of the movies and still love the original, but this movie does not compare at all. The story is a little laughable. Heavy Metal has literally hundreds of stories to pick from so why they selected this one I just don't know. The animation is good, and so are the acting talents even without John Candy. They could have done so much better though.
One scene is stolen directly from the first movie, almost literally. The heroin babe of the story has to dress in her sexy battle outfit, and they could have just copied and pasted the scene from the first movie considering it's almost exactly the same. Talk about lazy.
If you see this on TV (Teletoon or something) it's worth a watch, but personally I wouldn't pay any more than $5 bargain bin prices for it.
One scene is stolen directly from the first movie, almost literally. The heroin babe of the story has to dress in her sexy battle outfit, and they could have just copied and pasted the scene from the first movie considering it's almost exactly the same. Talk about lazy.
If you see this on TV (Teletoon or something) it's worth a watch, but personally I wouldn't pay any more than $5 bargain bin prices for it.
Highly derivative and in some ways tamer
JoeB13119 April 2009
Unfortunately, this film is just a rehash of the 1981 classic, particularly the last story about Tarna. (They even redid the whole "Swimming to get your battle armor" scene.)
Essentially, the plot is that a guy is infected by a glowing green evil that makes him into a homicidal maniac, seeking to destroy. In the process, they slaughter the heroine's community, and she goes on a quest to hunt down the raiders and avenge them.
Let's talk about sex. This film has a couple of nude shots where it looks like you are going to get some sex scenes, but then they pull out at the last minute. Coitus Interruptus! The 1981 original actually contained several graphic sex scenes. This film pulled out (pun intended) just in time.
Michael Ironside does a great job as the villain, exuding menace over his character's poor animation. But overall, it's barely worth watching...
Essentially, the plot is that a guy is infected by a glowing green evil that makes him into a homicidal maniac, seeking to destroy. In the process, they slaughter the heroine's community, and she goes on a quest to hunt down the raiders and avenge them.
Let's talk about sex. This film has a couple of nude shots where it looks like you are going to get some sex scenes, but then they pull out at the last minute. Coitus Interruptus! The 1981 original actually contained several graphic sex scenes. This film pulled out (pun intended) just in time.
Michael Ironside does a great job as the villain, exuding menace over his character's poor animation. But overall, it's barely worth watching...
Movie similar to TITAN A.E. Not a bad film but...
ghost-920 June 2001
HM 2000 is a fairly good animated movie similar to TITAN A.E. I'm 35 and remember seeing the original HEAVY METAL in 81 and I have stacks of the magazines. I searched through pawn shops till I found a bootleg tape years before it was released. It's one of my favorites. At the theater where I used to work, HEAVY METAL was as popular as ROCKY HORROR at the midnight movies. I wouldn't want my children to watch it, as it was filled with sardonic humor, sarcasm, sex, drug use (nosedive!) and violence. I wouldn't mind my children watching HM2000 as it isn't much worse than what's on t.v. these days. And therein lies the rub, the magazine is not for all ages, and neither was the original movie. Granted, the story could have been a story in HM magazine and is, but the fans expected it to be more like the original. The Rerelease of the original was touted "louder and nastier than ever" and the fans flocked to see it, including a new generation of fans that had heard about the legendary film. The video tapes sold like hot cakes, nearly everyone I know owns a copy. Now supposedly, Kevin Eastman and associates had been working on the new movie for close to 8 years. It was chosen to be one story, instead of an anthology. That's fine if the consensus is that the story is fantastic. Unlike the original, they didn't pick the best stories from the magazine and then bring them to life. Eastman decided it would be cool to use his wife, the beautiful model and actress, Julie Strain as the model for the lead character. Cool, so far so good. Hype showed Julie in skimpy costumes wielding huge swords and submachine guns. Royo and Bisley had done numerous paintings of this Xena, Red Sonja, and Rambo all rolled into one, bad-ass warrior woman. Obviously, she was to be bigger and tougher than Taarna from the original. From Bisley's MELTING POT, the comic on which it was loosely based, one would expect massive battle fields with hand to hand combat, something like the fighting in GLADIATOR, THE 13th WARRIOR, BRAVEHEART, or SOLDIER only nastier and meaner. One would have expected villains unrivaled in their cruelty and violence, villains so vile that your blood pressure would have risen whenever they were on screen. To balance this one would expect lots of humor to flavor the story. The best movies are filled with humor even if the movie is fairly serious like AMERICAN BEAUTY or SAVING PRIVATE RYAN. One would have expected lots of black humor, wise cracks and humorous situations. After all, they had 20 years to come up with a great story and a library of over 100 issues of HM that they had the legal right to use. One would have expected hot, sexy, little honeys that would have made you wish you were a cartoon, Julie Strain had done raunchy adult layouts for Earl Miller that were published in PENTHOUSE wearing the FAKK2 outfit. You would have expected this to have been one bloody, raunchy, sexy movie with a HEAVY METAL soundtrack. Would you go to a movie entitled HEAVY METAL to hear Rap or New Age or Grindcore or any other kind of music. I thought not. It does not suck because it is a bad movie, it is a relatively o.k. movie. It sucks because of what it could have been. Lastly, the decision to go cable t.v. first and then straight to video was noble, because they realized the fans would be disappointed, but stupid. We wanted to see it on the big screen. It would have earned 100 million easy. I know you don't believe me but there are LOTS of Heavy Metal fans out here and it would have. You literally threw MILLIONS of dollars away and the fans would have liked the opportunity to have seen it on the big screen even if it sucked. I know I would have and I would have been first in line for the first screening and paid my 6 bucks and all of that. My suggestion is to redeem yourselves by making a BADASS Heavy Metal 3 and go all digital, it's easier and it looks better.
Left me cold
Nordicnorn2 November 2007
Another review here mentioned the likelihood that this was a Julie Strain Ego stroke. I kind of have to agree. I find her a terrible,not-worth-the celluloid actress, although as a cartoon she is better than in real life. The storyline was really weak. So weak in fact one has to wonder if they wrote the entire script on a paper cocktail napkin while out drinking one night. True, the first Heavy Metal's storyline was a little disjointed, but it had multiple contributors and was the first of it's kind. And as the first it was good... and FUN. This one was not fun. There was no ironic/dark comedy moments. You knew where the story was going from moment one. Total formula I could not get involved with these characters either. The writing just never made me care. Lastly there was no sense of adventure. It was just very, repeat VERY, mediocre. Leave it on the shelf at the video store.
Rock you like a Hurricane
pumaye17 June 2002
It's better than I thought of this animation movie following the cult hit of the same name of 1981. Julie Strain is the muse that has inspired the animators for creating the heroine of this movie (and any film with Julie in it, even as a cartoon clone, is worth all of your time, trust me). The story is nothing particular, but it's fun to watch. There is also a very good heavy metal score that pervades the movie. Beware: it's bloody, politically uncorrect and with a few nude scenes. Another reason to watch it and enjoy.
Not as good as the original, but worth a see.
ridley_645 April 2002
I found this film on Sale at a music store. Months earlier I had bought the original from another music store and I found it to be pretty good! This new version I will say right off the bat, is not as good as the original. However this film has some awesome effects, great characters, and a not too bad story. This movie follows on one large story unlike the original which was a bunch of short ones put together. What I like about this was the whole atmosphere and feeling of an old, early 80's sci-fi film and I like that. Of course the music is no where NEAR as good as the original! But it wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. This film had less nudity but it still contained a nice bit of it. And it is quite obvious the part where she is swimming and than dresses up was taken right from the old film which was pretty cool. I suggest you be a little open minded and go take a look at this movie. I am telling you right away it is not as good as the classic original, but is worth a see and is no where near as bad as I've heard. All in all 7.5/10.
What the hell is this?
lone_wolf_fenrir6 December 2013
Alright...i was expecting something great, heavy metal, bad-ass action with crazy gorgeous women fighting big bad dudes in a sci-fi setting. Forget about the bad-ass action and welcome to crappy animation ! This sounds and looks like a bad GI Joe TV episode. I'm not sure what the hell they were thinking but i've rarely seen animation so poorly done, the movements are ridiculous and the 2D drawing part is badly integrated with the 3D scenery. It's even bad to the point that when you get a scene with only 3D stuff, it actually looks much better...and right away i thought the 3D was pretty bad. I don't even want to talk about the dubbing..."big names" don't necessarily mean they can actually dub and this movie proves it.
Well that pretty much sums it up, it's animated like it came out of a kindergarten and the story isn't much better. The audio track is also lacking, which is sad for a "heavy metal" movie, it never feels like it's adequate to the "action" on the screen and overall also feels cheap.
Don't watch it, you'll just waste your time.
Well that pretty much sums it up, it's animated like it came out of a kindergarten and the story isn't much better. The audio track is also lacking, which is sad for a "heavy metal" movie, it never feels like it's adequate to the "action" on the screen and overall also feels cheap.
Don't watch it, you'll just waste your time.
HM2K OK!
kaijuboy23 December 2000
When watching HEAVY METAL 2000, you have to forget the first film. The original HEAVY METAL was ground-breaking in its day. After all, very few animators ever tried directing animation towards adults (only Ralph Bakshi comes to mind)in the U.S.. Add to this the fact that the original HEAVY METAL was unavailable for nearly 20 years and you have a true cult classic. It is unfair to compare them.
On its own, HEAVY METAL 2000 is ok, neither good or bad. The animation is average and the story has very little in the way of originality. The voice acting is good, but at times over-the-top. Julie Strain, however, does a very good job voice acting. The film is very predictable and none of the characters are interesting. The background art is excellent.
The music is provided by various heavy metal bands, but little of it fits in the film. The score to the film, however, is better than you would expect.
This film has very little nudity and essentially no sex. What nudity it has is pretty bland. Admit it, you picked up this film looking for illustrated nudity. Well, you won't find much.
Since the original film, anime has made its presence known in the U.S.. Frankly, GHOST IN THE SHELL has more in common with HEAVY METAL (the magazine) than HEAVY METAL 2000 does.
The most serious problems with HEAVY METAL 2000 happened before the film was started. While I credit Kevin Eastman with getting this project going, I believe he lacked the experience to make a movie. If the film had the backing of an experienced producer, the film may have benefited. If Eastman ever considers another HEAVY METAL film, perhaps he should look to Japan for animators.
I've watched this film many times. Why?! Well for one thing, we just don't have very many animated films made in America that are directed to adults. There's a whole group of animation fans that are waiting for a HEAVY METAL film that rocks. Hopefully our wishes will be fulfilled.
On its own, HEAVY METAL 2000 is ok, neither good or bad. The animation is average and the story has very little in the way of originality. The voice acting is good, but at times over-the-top. Julie Strain, however, does a very good job voice acting. The film is very predictable and none of the characters are interesting. The background art is excellent.
The music is provided by various heavy metal bands, but little of it fits in the film. The score to the film, however, is better than you would expect.
This film has very little nudity and essentially no sex. What nudity it has is pretty bland. Admit it, you picked up this film looking for illustrated nudity. Well, you won't find much.
Since the original film, anime has made its presence known in the U.S.. Frankly, GHOST IN THE SHELL has more in common with HEAVY METAL (the magazine) than HEAVY METAL 2000 does.
The most serious problems with HEAVY METAL 2000 happened before the film was started. While I credit Kevin Eastman with getting this project going, I believe he lacked the experience to make a movie. If the film had the backing of an experienced producer, the film may have benefited. If Eastman ever considers another HEAVY METAL film, perhaps he should look to Japan for animators.
I've watched this film many times. Why?! Well for one thing, we just don't have very many animated films made in America that are directed to adults. There's a whole group of animation fans that are waiting for a HEAVY METAL film that rocks. Hopefully our wishes will be fulfilled.
A Complete Letdown
caioneach-113 February 2009
Quite honestly, they should have just kept the budget for the magazine and stayed out of the movie business.
In short, you only get one story with this one. The story line is badly developed and loaded with animation that would make Hanna Barbera beam with a new found sense of superiority.
But, it has boobs, which is usually enough to draw the attention of any basement dwelling nerd type away from his D&D campaign.
I will admit to getting some of my prepubescent kicks with this magazine, but when that novelty worn down I discovered that there was indeed a large cache of very well down comic artists. Some very unique material indeed. And sadly, with the first Heavy Metal movie, while they presented various stories and artists, it was apparent they were still under budget constraints.
But I do contend that this recent movie was pretty much an insult to the Heavy Metal magazine name and the people whom have enjoyed it over the years.
In short, you only get one story with this one. The story line is badly developed and loaded with animation that would make Hanna Barbera beam with a new found sense of superiority.
But, it has boobs, which is usually enough to draw the attention of any basement dwelling nerd type away from his D&D campaign.
I will admit to getting some of my prepubescent kicks with this magazine, but when that novelty worn down I discovered that there was indeed a large cache of very well down comic artists. Some very unique material indeed. And sadly, with the first Heavy Metal movie, while they presented various stories and artists, it was apparent they were still under budget constraints.
But I do contend that this recent movie was pretty much an insult to the Heavy Metal magazine name and the people whom have enjoyed it over the years.
Excellent blend of fantasy, sex, and action
ajcfarm30 April 2000
First off; this movie is not as good as the first one, but it is still really excellent. The movie has a great story, and great music. I just bought the sound track for the movie and it is awesome. Do not mistake this movie as a Disney type for the whole family; it is full of sex, violence, gore, and many dirty words. This movie is definitely worth watching.
Decent film, but nowhere near as good as the amazing 1981 original!
gangstahippie17 March 2009
Heavy Metal 2000 is the sequel to the 1981 animated-anthology film "Heavy Metal".The original Heavy Metal was a great film.It combined humor, graphic violence, sex and interesting sci-fi storyline.It was an excellent animated film and it never gets old.Being a fan of the old one, I watched the sequel as well.The sequel is fairly different from the original.While the original was told in anthology form, this one is not.I have not seen this movie in a while so I do not remember the plot that much.It is actually a bit like the final story of the original "Heavy Metal".The animation is good, the same kind as featured in the film "Titan A.E", there are a few good songs, but the soundtrack is nowhere near as good as the original film, the violence and sex are still there.Overall, it's a decent film but nowhere near as good as the first film.
Doesn't even qualify as an imitation...
bheadher20 September 2021
Warning: Spoilers
I wrote a glowing review for the original, but I have to say this cannot ever compare...for one thing the animation is of poorer quality than the original, and often it is done much darker with drab muted colors...I suppose that was done to cover up how bad the animation actually is...they were obviously afraid some naked women might offend some, instead they offended all of us by creating the worst ever animated movie...
A disappointing mess
TedEBear24 April 2002
After all the surrounding hype that built this one up, I was really, really let down. While the original was uneven in parts due to its anthology nature, it at least had great animation and an excellent soundtrack to hold it up. "Heavy Metal 2000" had a predictable, weak, suspense-free story, and the combo animation didn't mesh together very well. Heck, the traditional cel animation wasn't done very well, either; the shadowing was off and proportions weren't properly held when a character was turning. The colors were as dull and flat as the personalities of the characters.
And why is it the female non-humanoid aliens look like somebody just drew an alien head on a humanoid female body?
And why is it the female non-humanoid aliens look like somebody just drew an alien head on a humanoid female body?
Enjoyable!
ATA23825 September 2000
HM 2000 is a fun, action-loaded adult-animated movie that makes no apologies for being what it is: a guilty pleasure. I loved the mixture of 2-D and 3-D animation, and the voice performances by Julie, Mike and Billy are wickedly impressive. Plus, the mad-thumping soundtrack by bands like Days of the New, MDFMK, System of a Down is a sweet icing on the cake.
Based on "The Melting Pot", a comic book by Simon Bisley, Eric Talbot and Kevin Eastman (Julie's husband and head of the adult illustrated magazine "Heavy Metal"), HM 2000 is wickedly twisted, telling the tale of a power-mad space pirate who wants to live forever and the female warrior who wishes to stop him since she murdered her people and destroyed her homeworld.
I wished this movie came out in US theaters, but movie-house owners are too chicken, fearing parents and politicos. What the heck is "The Simpsons" and "South Park"? Instead of a honest adult-animated film, there's a con job named "Titan A.E" which bombed at the box office. This sequel's more respectful of the 1981 classic, and I hope there's plans for a third "Heavy Metal" film.
Keep the metal heavy!
Based on "The Melting Pot", a comic book by Simon Bisley, Eric Talbot and Kevin Eastman (Julie's husband and head of the adult illustrated magazine "Heavy Metal"), HM 2000 is wickedly twisted, telling the tale of a power-mad space pirate who wants to live forever and the female warrior who wishes to stop him since she murdered her people and destroyed her homeworld.
I wished this movie came out in US theaters, but movie-house owners are too chicken, fearing parents and politicos. What the heck is "The Simpsons" and "South Park"? Instead of a honest adult-animated film, there's a con job named "Titan A.E" which bombed at the box office. This sequel's more respectful of the 1981 classic, and I hope there's plans for a third "Heavy Metal" film.
Keep the metal heavy!
A mediocre movie, you'll watch several times on cable.
lvtbdctr2 May 2000
It's nice to have an animated movie for adults...well anything without the usual trappings of an American animated movie (you know singing toasters and the like). Hey, I'm all for scif-fi...but this movie could have used a little more work. The music (with the exception of the bar-scene), didn't fit in well with the action...kind of seemed a little forced.
Julie strain is a pretty lady, perfect as the physical inspiration of the lead character, but when you're doing voice-over work you need to a distinctive voice and I don't feel that she does. Billy idol was a good choice in this respect.
The animation wasn't bad. It is, however, tough to combine cg and traditional animation without the latter appearing flat. The designs seemed to stray a little bit from the Simon Bisley artwork of the series. I would be interested in picking up the magazine to see how the comic and movie differed.
Although I gave the movie a 6, I do hope hope that this not the last effort from Eastman and the bunch from Heavy Metal Mag., they showed a lot of potential. Hopefully the economics are there to give rise to another movie.
Julie strain is a pretty lady, perfect as the physical inspiration of the lead character, but when you're doing voice-over work you need to a distinctive voice and I don't feel that she does. Billy idol was a good choice in this respect.
The animation wasn't bad. It is, however, tough to combine cg and traditional animation without the latter appearing flat. The designs seemed to stray a little bit from the Simon Bisley artwork of the series. I would be interested in picking up the magazine to see how the comic and movie differed.
Although I gave the movie a 6, I do hope hope that this not the last effort from Eastman and the bunch from Heavy Metal Mag., they showed a lot of potential. Hopefully the economics are there to give rise to another movie.
an insult to the Heavy Metal Classic!
mynystry19 May 2006
This movie has left me so disappointed that i must write this review... it is so sad when they take a name of a classic movie, and just destroy everything what it means...
this movie has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the first heavy metal movie, which i really like because it has something called "spirit" damn right! that movie is based in the crazy stories and the mood from the immortal heavy metal fantasy magazine! but this guys that made the "heavy metal 2000" film only stole the name, and they think that by putting some naked chicks and nu-metal music can reach again the ecstassy of the first movie... damn wrong!! what the did is a complete piece of garbage, it is boring and stupid. they made a horrible mixture of a pseudo star-wars and a pseudo lord of the rings... it stinks!! if you have seen the first heavy metal movie, better save yourself from getting angry and don't even bother to watch this piece of crap. If you haven't seen the first heavy metal movie, so better watch it, and please understand that it is about the magazine!! and pls don't compare this two films that the only common thing between them is the name! those guys that made this animation make me sick! they must be really idiots to compare Taarna with Julie!!
this movie has nothing, absolutely nothing to do with the first heavy metal movie, which i really like because it has something called "spirit" damn right! that movie is based in the crazy stories and the mood from the immortal heavy metal fantasy magazine! but this guys that made the "heavy metal 2000" film only stole the name, and they think that by putting some naked chicks and nu-metal music can reach again the ecstassy of the first movie... damn wrong!! what the did is a complete piece of garbage, it is boring and stupid. they made a horrible mixture of a pseudo star-wars and a pseudo lord of the rings... it stinks!! if you have seen the first heavy metal movie, better save yourself from getting angry and don't even bother to watch this piece of crap. If you haven't seen the first heavy metal movie, so better watch it, and please understand that it is about the magazine!! and pls don't compare this two films that the only common thing between them is the name! those guys that made this animation make me sick! they must be really idiots to compare Taarna with Julie!!
rocking the animation world
xamtaro5 August 2009
After the disappointing let down that was the original Heavy Metal film, i stumbled upon this sequel. Hell of a lot better than the first Heavy Metal movie, which was an inconsistent mess of a show. However, its awesome animation was thrown together with a less than intriguing storyline, making the overall product a huge waste.
First of all, the title did not make any sense. Why call it "Heavy Metal"??? The only thing "Heavy Metal" about it was the few metal rock songs that played at certain parts of the movie. Whats more, the heavy metal songs never fit in with the scenes that they accompanied; coming across like they were thrown into those scenes as an afterthought.
Moving swiftly along to the story......Never in my life have i seen a Story so simple, bland and full of clichés, that tries to pass itself off as complex and compelling. Standard good vs Evil story coupled with a outer space chase/revenge story. A miner named Tyler gets "possessed" by some ancient shard of evil and goes on a quest for immortality after hijacking a ship. On his way to a planet which has a legendary fountain of immortality, stops by a planet who's inhabitants carry some immortality "essence" in their bodies. Tyler and gang massacres the whole colony and takes prisoners, leaving the main character, Julie, behind. Julie vows to avenge her family and kill Tyler before he reaches the fountain of immortality
Straight forward and with little twists. Even a 10 year old can understand it. Which brings me to my next point, in that a 10 year old should not be allowed to watch it. It is definitely a film for adults with its numerous cursing, bloody violence and nudity. Thats something i've rarely seen in animation; and its taken to new heights in Heavy Metal 2000 without feeling excessive.
All the characters are written with little depth or dimension. The stellar acting, however, redeems the otherwise uninteresting characters. Tyler(expertly played by Hollywood actor Michael Ironside)is among my favorite animated villains of all time. His voice is spot on and Ironside delivers his every line with such menacing enthusiasm that he actually sounds like he enjoyed his role a lot.
If one can just ignore the less than interesting storyline and one dimensional characters, this movie as some of the most breathtaking animation ever seen in a long while. It is on par with big budget productions like Titan A.E and Steamboy. THe frame rate is exceedingly high leading to exceptionally smooth, lifelike movements. The CGI blends well with the 2D animation for the most part. What really blew me away was the level of detail in both the CGI and the 2D art. THe 2D art actually had blended shadows! A huge rarity in animation. Basically, for most animation, shadows are just a flat darker shade. In this case, shadows increase in darkness intensity as it goes further from the light source, just like in live action.
I give 10/10 for animation but 4/10 for story. Round it up to a even 7/10 in total.
Honestly, such revolutionary animation, an entertaining script, flawless acting, and intense bloody action was utterly wasted on the watered down excuse of a story.
First of all, the title did not make any sense. Why call it "Heavy Metal"??? The only thing "Heavy Metal" about it was the few metal rock songs that played at certain parts of the movie. Whats more, the heavy metal songs never fit in with the scenes that they accompanied; coming across like they were thrown into those scenes as an afterthought.
Moving swiftly along to the story......Never in my life have i seen a Story so simple, bland and full of clichés, that tries to pass itself off as complex and compelling. Standard good vs Evil story coupled with a outer space chase/revenge story. A miner named Tyler gets "possessed" by some ancient shard of evil and goes on a quest for immortality after hijacking a ship. On his way to a planet which has a legendary fountain of immortality, stops by a planet who's inhabitants carry some immortality "essence" in their bodies. Tyler and gang massacres the whole colony and takes prisoners, leaving the main character, Julie, behind. Julie vows to avenge her family and kill Tyler before he reaches the fountain of immortality
Straight forward and with little twists. Even a 10 year old can understand it. Which brings me to my next point, in that a 10 year old should not be allowed to watch it. It is definitely a film for adults with its numerous cursing, bloody violence and nudity. Thats something i've rarely seen in animation; and its taken to new heights in Heavy Metal 2000 without feeling excessive.
All the characters are written with little depth or dimension. The stellar acting, however, redeems the otherwise uninteresting characters. Tyler(expertly played by Hollywood actor Michael Ironside)is among my favorite animated villains of all time. His voice is spot on and Ironside delivers his every line with such menacing enthusiasm that he actually sounds like he enjoyed his role a lot.
If one can just ignore the less than interesting storyline and one dimensional characters, this movie as some of the most breathtaking animation ever seen in a long while. It is on par with big budget productions like Titan A.E and Steamboy. THe frame rate is exceedingly high leading to exceptionally smooth, lifelike movements. The CGI blends well with the 2D animation for the most part. What really blew me away was the level of detail in both the CGI and the 2D art. THe 2D art actually had blended shadows! A huge rarity in animation. Basically, for most animation, shadows are just a flat darker shade. In this case, shadows increase in darkness intensity as it goes further from the light source, just like in live action.
I give 10/10 for animation but 4/10 for story. Round it up to a even 7/10 in total.
Honestly, such revolutionary animation, an entertaining script, flawless acting, and intense bloody action was utterly wasted on the watered down excuse of a story.
Very juvenile!
Maciste_Brother4 February 2003
I like the HEAVY METAL fusion of animation, sex, violence and rock music. The first movie had its memorable moments even though it was very uneven. But HEAVY METAL 2000 is simply too juvenile for my taste. The film really feels like it was made by 12 year olds. In fact, had the film been produced by actual 12 year old boys, I'm sure it would have been just as juvenile but more honest in its approach. As is now, the film feels too restrained. It's as if the producers were willing to go all the way but had to make a couple of changes here and there before the film was going to be release. The end product is watchable (barely) but the grasp of every movie making technique is stunningly retarded. The voices are terrible. The female heroine is really stiff and she looks like a 40 year old mom. The sexuality is truly infantile. I'm sure if HV 2000 had been made by 12 year olds, we would have seen more lesbo action. The music was angry and hard and yet anonymous sounding. And some scenes looked really bad, like when they go through the "warp" hole and when the female parks her ship on the other bigger ship. Some scenes during this moment were mystifyingly bad. It looked like the movie just stopped and they started to show someone playing an arcade game.
As bad as HEAVY METAL 2000 is, it's not bad enough to have killed the HEAVY METAL series, imo. I still think that if they got a great team behind a third movie, the whole idea would still rock.
As bad as HEAVY METAL 2000 is, it's not bad enough to have killed the HEAVY METAL series, imo. I still think that if they got a great team behind a third movie, the whole idea would still rock.
Far and Away superior to the original.
bmk200116 July 2000
I hated the original Heavy Metal, with it's cheap animation and bad script. Even the best stories, the two at the beginning and the one at the end, were poor. I watched HM:2000 and while it is not one of my favorites, I say it is better. Better animation, better characters, and a nice plot. I wish the final battle was better though. It was more violent than Braveheart's battle scenes, but it didn't have the same pizzaz. I liked Julie, but she is no Iria. (check out Iria:Zeiram the Animation on this same website). She's a strong character, but she was also a tad mean spirited. Michael Ironside probably had a lot of fun playing Tyler.
Mostly stupid
ericstevenson15 May 2018
It took 19 years for this sequel to be made and it certainly wasn't worth it. This was among the worst animated movies I've ever seen. This really has nothing to do with the original, other than the fact that the plot vaguely resembles the longest segment from the original film. That movie had variety as it was an anthology film that featured several different animation styles. This just has the same direct to video quality artwork throughout the whole film. I guess we can't just blame Disney for doing this.
The plot is quite weak and very clichéd. A woman whose civilization was destroyed by an evil star lord has to stop him from becoming immortal. The film is even too short, with little character development. It's mostly an excuse to show uncalled for violence and nudity. I guess the voice acting isn't that bad. For me, it just has no reason to exist at all. *1/2
The plot is quite weak and very clichéd. A woman whose civilization was destroyed by an evil star lord has to stop him from becoming immortal. The film is even too short, with little character development. It's mostly an excuse to show uncalled for violence and nudity. I guess the voice acting isn't that bad. For me, it just has no reason to exist at all. *1/2
Not PC, guns blazing, swords slashing, revenge, spaceships, ample bosoms, aliens, and metal sound track.
suite9231 January 2014
Warning: Spoilers
An ordinary space miner named Tyler touches a shard of a glowing rock that gives him a hunger for power and a thirst for immortality. He attacks a space colony, Eden, to kill people and collect survivors who have a precious substance in their blood. Unfortunately for Tyler, he kidnapped Kerrie, but left alive her sister Julie. Germain was in his crew, but when Germain tries to protect Kerrie, Tyler leaves Germain behind.
Julie dragoons Germain, and they follow Tyler on his journey to a jump point. They hitch a ride just before Tyler's ship enters the wormhole (the 'jump point'). Tyler tries to kill them. The results are really bad for both ships. They crash on a nearby planet where Julie meets Odin and his rock-like assistant. Odin is in search of the 'Key' (the glowing rock) which Julie is oblivious to.
Tyler becomes leader of a local race of lizard people. He searches for the pool of the pure substance that will give him immortality. Odin leads Julie to Tyler's ship, where she rescues Kerrie. They go back to the city that protects the pool and the chamber of immortality.
Will Julie and her new friends be able to protect the city from the lizard horde? Will they keep Tyler from his goal?
-----Scores------
Art/Animation: 6/10 Varies from barely competent to good. It seems a bit weak for a film made around 2000. Also, the use of mixed productions modes (some flat, some hand drawn, some done by export of 3d modeling) is rather distracting.
Sound: 8/10 The sound levels might have been a bit better balanced. The metal background music seemed to be kept too low compared to the sound levels for gunfire, explosions and voices.
Voice: 10/10 Michael Ironside, Julie Strain, Billy Idol, and Pier Paquette were all fine.
Screenplay: 7/10 The twin quests for revenge and for immortality move the story right along. However, the story lacks the powerful heart and heroism of the first film.
Julie dragoons Germain, and they follow Tyler on his journey to a jump point. They hitch a ride just before Tyler's ship enters the wormhole (the 'jump point'). Tyler tries to kill them. The results are really bad for both ships. They crash on a nearby planet where Julie meets Odin and his rock-like assistant. Odin is in search of the 'Key' (the glowing rock) which Julie is oblivious to.
Tyler becomes leader of a local race of lizard people. He searches for the pool of the pure substance that will give him immortality. Odin leads Julie to Tyler's ship, where she rescues Kerrie. They go back to the city that protects the pool and the chamber of immortality.
Will Julie and her new friends be able to protect the city from the lizard horde? Will they keep Tyler from his goal?
-----Scores------
Art/Animation: 6/10 Varies from barely competent to good. It seems a bit weak for a film made around 2000. Also, the use of mixed productions modes (some flat, some hand drawn, some done by export of 3d modeling) is rather distracting.
Sound: 8/10 The sound levels might have been a bit better balanced. The metal background music seemed to be kept too low compared to the sound levels for gunfire, explosions and voices.
Voice: 10/10 Michael Ironside, Julie Strain, Billy Idol, and Pier Paquette were all fine.
Screenplay: 7/10 The twin quests for revenge and for immortality move the story right along. However, the story lacks the powerful heart and heroism of the first film.
A worthy successor
Bored_Dragon8 August 2018
"Heavy Metal 2000" is a worthy successor to 1981's "Heavy Metal". Made in the style of the original, it has a strong reminiscent of the eighties. Unlike the first one that is an omnibus, this one has only one story, but the story and characters at the level of the first movie. There is a bit less nudity and violence, and the soundtrack, although weaker than the one from the '80s, has several really good tracks, performed by the great names of its time. Those who loved the first should likewise love this one.
7/10
7/10
Expected More from this Title
djrichert20 April 2022
Somebody figured they would cash in on the popularity of the Original and threw together this garbage. It could have been great if they would have put some work into the animation and the writing and the casting. Too bad.
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