Casshern (2004) User Reviews

Beautiful Imagery hiding an absolute mess...

[jscontoyannis · 5/10 · 17 March 2005]

What can I say about Casshern? The movie is essentially a beggar parading about in the clothing of an emperor. But beneath all of the CGI-enhanced effects and varied bits of an alternate world that Casshern creates, it fails to deliver any cohesive storyline (albeit a very thin one). The movie is completely disjointed, there is absolutely no character development, and the pacing is choppy and disconnected at best. The different camera techniques used here make the movie seem more like a music video than a 2-hour feature length film, and these techniques get old fast.

From what I can tell, our lead man Casshern was once Tetsuya, the son of a doctor involved in "neo-cell" research. However, he hates his father (we're not really sure why) and decides to fight in the remnants of a 50-year war with Europa, the loser of the battle against the Eastern Federation. His fathers research is not going so well, when suddenly something happens which spawns a mutant humanoid race from his experiments, so aptly dubbed "neo-sapiens". Some of these neo-sapiens escape (kidnapping Tetsuya's mother in the meantime) and go to the North, to a so-called sector 7, to set up their stronghold. Meanwhile, during the war, Tetsuya dies; his father is so overcome with grief that he brings his son back with neo-cell technology, thus re-making him as a superhuman. This leads Tetsuya on the path to becoming Casshern. Plot doesn't sound TOO bad, huh? Well, unfortunately, there's not much else by way of story line for the remainder of the film, aside from clichéd progressions which lead to the inevitable apocalyptic climaxes followed by the "why must humans destroy each other?" questions so often found in Anime (not surprisingly, this movie is based on an old Japanese Anime series of the same name). And considering the movie has a runtime of 2hrs 20min, the story is definitely spread far too thin.

The only things that keep me from giving this move the lowest rating are the sometimes breathtaking effects sequences, some of which are quite memorable. However, since this film is essentially spawned from an anime, even some of these sequences tend to meander towards the absurd and cartoonish. But I digress: there are some very interesting representations of future cities, weapons and assorted devices that keep the movie from being unwatchable.

I would suggest this movie to anyone who is either a fan of this anime series or enjoys some serious CGI-aided visual stimuli. If you like MTV, you might be a big fan of this short-attention span, audio-visual bombardment...there is certainly plenty of eye candy. But if you enjoy a riveting storyline, deep and thought provoking characters and themes, and, basically, anything else that turns a series of images (beautiful or not) into a cohesive movie, you probably will want to steer clear of this...it is basically an expensive fiasco, and not surprisingly I heard it was recently voted one of the worst movies of the year in Japan.

Beautifully convoluted fairytale

[spudmonkeysteve · 6/10 · 12 March 2006]

I have just finished watching Casshern and overall it was a visually stunning feast for the eyes with a beautifully woven fairytale at its heart. Unfortunately the fairytale was somewhat drowned under layer upon layer of heavy handed and mostly unnecessary exposition that ponders on for two long and mind-numbing hours, the result being that I am baffled by the entire experience. On the one hand I loved the movie; the style of the film was exceptional, every aspect of the world the director had created strained with the quality that is lacking in most western films. The cinematography was perfectly executed, the design work was breathtaking and the idea at the core of the narrative was ingenious. On the other hand these qualities cannot make up for the script, which is overly long and excruciatingly convoluted; taking an unnecessarily long and ponderous route to a conclusion that, in the hands of a better writer, could have been much more straightforward without necessarily losing any of the emotional complexity of the narrative or its characters. I would recommend seeing this movie if just to experience the spectacular visual feast that it is, but I can't help thinking that the story could have been treated so much better.

Beautiful movie, fantastic scenes, average fighting and massive death.

[thesociety · 7/10 · 8 December 2004]

This movie grabs you right from the beginning with its audio/visual bombardment that keeps your eyes and ears at maximum capacity. This doesn't last all the way through, there's interspersed moments of artistic pause. Those frozen moment scenes looked like a master's canvas come to motion, if not life. Don't blink.

The plot of the movie revolves around a battle of life and death, with the love story subplot on the main character. As many scripts set in Japan do, they revolve the drama around "honor" and whatever twisted concept the characters have of it. Often "honor" demands that everyone dies. A lot of people die, but the violence is pretty good, more conceptual than graphic, and it delivers its intended impact well. But it eventually gets over the top, and you start wondering if anyone is going to live.

There's more than a few plot-holes, and they are big enough to drive a Honda through. You get the idea they shot reels of film and thought about how to piece it together afterward. People do things for impossible reasons, and unlikely motivations (twisted sense of honor becomes a generic excuse). To their credit, with such a twisted plot piecing together scenes, they don't make the mistake of turning the plot on a dime anywhere, so you won't get lost. You know who the bad guys are (3 different groups!) and who the good guys are (the hero, his immediate family, and all innocents), and you know who it's going to come down to in the end.

To anyone who watches this with subtitles, blame the incoherent reasons behind character's actions on bad subtitle translations.... and it becomes a better than average movie, even good. Turn out the lights and crank the volume. Sci-Fi fans, this is a don't miss.

Beautiful

[mike paines · 31 August 2004]

If I hadn't already seen Zhang Yimou's Hero the previous week, I would have had to say that Casshern is one of the most beautiful-looking films I've seen in years (or ever). However, it'll have to suffice with second place. The CGI is highly stylised, with some green-screen shots looking purposefully false, but the real joy is in the production design - very evocative of Metropolis. Visual references are also made to the Nuremburg rallies of the 1930s, the Holocaust, Orwell's 1984 and those retro wind-up robots. A massive twenty-storey building is suspended in the air by hundreds of propellers like some overgrown zeppelin, and there's shots of a train so wide it requires five strips of rail side-by-side to accommodate it. The battle scenes are particularly awesome, and the combat scenes between Casshern and the Neo-Sapiens equally sharp.

However, the story primarily revolves around the drama of two families and there's very little affinity made with the main characters. Perhaps it was because the action scenes were so bombastic, but I found it very difficult to spur my interest in the character-driven moments, and this consequently made the two-and-a-half-hour running time feel a tad too long.

The final closing message, which runs contrary to the adrenalized mid-section of the film, is presented rather clumsily. But in true Japan-fashion, you can't help but be charmed by the sincerity of the whole thing.

Stylish, but makes very little sense!

[iamhoey · 6/10 · 27 December 2005]

**Contains mild spoilers**

I heard great things about Casshern... well I just heard it was great, so when I saw it on sale I thought "Why not? I'll give it a go!". This film has two main features: the first is that it is beautiful. The film has an amazing style and awesome effects, however, sometimes they do take away from the story, and are often completely out of place. The second feature of this film is that it make absolutely no sense. OK, this isn't completely true, but it might as well be. The film revolves around a scientist called Professor Azuma who is working on "Neo-cells" which appear to be super stem cells that can be used to grow new body parts and reanimate the dead. Azuma is recruited by the army who set up a lab and pay him to continue his research on these "neo-cells". Then one (very unlucky) day a big metal bolt of lightening crashes into his lab and makes all the body parts he has been working on turn into people. On the same day Azuma finds out his son has been killed while fighting in a war. To cut a long story short: the Frankenstein people (now called Neoroids (?!)) run away, taking Azuma's blind wife and happen upon a castle which also, luckily, happens to be a super robot factory. Also Azuma's son (Tetsuya) is plunged into the "neo-cell" pool and is reborn and gets some random cool armour. That is the part that makes sense, for the next 2 hours the film addresses (quite well, I think) the issues of war, ethical research, what a nation should be etc etc, which all seem fairly random during the film. I wouldn't hold your breath for everything to be explained. The end of the film makes very little sense, there appears to be A LOT of explosions and A LOT of people die, followed by a few laughable scenes with the "neoroids" and everything ends. I am a fan of Asian cinema, and I can see the virtues of this film, and I am sure that if you really sit down and think about this film it "may" make a little more sense, but not much. Watch this film ONLY if you are a fan of Asian cinema and like dementedly arty films.

War, what is it good for? Absolutely nothing. Just like this film.

[Focal_Logic · 3/10 · 21 March 2005]

I bought the CASSHERN DVD after reading the plot description and positive reviews on this site. I was sorely disappointed and angered by this film. This is a masterful mistake and a narrow minded attempt at bringing the anime and manga experience to film.

WARNING: THIS NEGATIVE REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS Firstly this film is directed by a person who makes music videos. Already there is a conflict from the beginning due to the inherent contradictions of both visual genres. My impression is that this is a surrealistic narrative. I understand that given such a structure there are bound to be elements of the story that will be lost or left up to the viewer to define and gain meaning from. But this film is incomplete in its execution. In the first thirty minutes it fails in establishing both setting and character development. The few scenes portraying the different conflicts are not enough for the audience to gain a moderate understanding of the story and appreciation for the individuals involved. Yet towards the final hour of the film the main characters begin to partake in long winded monologues of why war and hate are bad. The lack of story and character development in the beginning of the film leads to an oversimplified exposition on the central concepts at the end.

Then there are the standard action flick clichés. Moments after his awakening the villain decides to escape to the mountains and miraculously finds a castle with a seemingly inexhaustible army of robots. When Casshern and the villain first meet in battle the villain conveniently leaves Casshern bruised but alive. Each main member of the NeoSapiens is eventually killed with the main villain saved for the bitter end. Many sequences are telegraphed, every time the music builds up the viewer knows something "grand" is going to happen (i.e. a battle, a last minute comeback, or a moment of revelation).

All in all this film is meant to be a visual feast. But it fails in this aspect as well. Many of the scenes look as if they were given to a Japanese Chef for editing. There isn't enough time to soak in the details because of the incessant quick-cuts from one scene to the next. This hurts not only the action sequences but the emotional melodramatic scenes as well. The eye is not given enough time to relax and appreciate the costume design, the set design, and even the CGI sequences. There are only two instances when this type of quick- cutting makes cinematic sense: The initial battle between Casshern and the robot army and The montage of the robot army attacking the humans.

The incessant music does not help matters either. This is a clear indicator that the film cannot stand on dialogue and visuals alone. It needs to "pump up" the audience in order to keep them interested in what's happening on screen. Frankly, throughout the entire film I cared not for the fates of any of the characters. They were all one dimensional in my view again for the reasons I stated above.

In conclusion the film CASSHERN is an attempt at bringing to life the vision of anime and manga. And for me it remains merely an "attempt". As for teenage and younger audiences I think it has succeeded. But to more mature viewers of cinema CASSHERN suffers from over-saturation of popular culture and having a music video director at the helm is also a sure sign of that. Mind you director David Fincher who directed ALIEN 3 and FIGHT CLUB brought his music video eye to film and succeeded in creating visual works of art that had stellar narratives so I am not biased against music video directors. There are those that say that narrative isn't everything, that film is primarily a visual art form and I would agree. But let us be aware that if we let works become too abstract then we risk being saddled with meaningless art.

Disappointing

[Bungle-9 · 6/10 · 22 October 2005]

My goodness, I really don't know where to start with this film. It looked great in the trailers...

First off I understand what the filmmakers were trying to say - anti-war, anti-playing with genes, anti-lots of things, but unfortunately these intentions are marred by ponderous, drawn out and pretentious dialogue. Fair enough, a lot of Japanese movies (that I've seen) have a bit of this in it (along with those REALLY annoying unfinished sentences), but in this case it was so relentless that I almost cried from boredom.

From the marketing and the tag lines and the trailers I had expected a decent, fresh looking action flick but instead I got a somewhat political film that tried to make a point about human existence, and personally I don't believe that this is the right kind of movie to make this kind of statement. As I say, I get what they're trying to say, but I remain disappointed at the vehicle for it.

Other problems - things intercut and jump about so often that getting confused is far too easy. The music is also relentlessly playing ALL THE WAY through the film (save for a few pauses). Perhaps this might have been OK had it not been so repetitive in style. The film is also far too long. Considerable lack of character - all I remember after watching it are faces, no characters.

Good things - very new look for a start. The CG is used to great effect to construct the environment in this world although it can be a little overbearing at times. Regarding the action, when it gets going it really gets going (although this was far too infrequent for me). The point the movie is trying to make is also quite potent - it's probably better to watch it to get the point rather than me telling you, but it is quite an arduous task.

All in all - overlong, relentlessly pretentiously scripted, absent of character, gratingly scored yet with an interesting point to make and an original aesthetic to show off with all too sporadic action scenes which were, let's face it, what most of us came to the show to see after seeing trailers etc. I spent £7 on the DVD after waiting for ages for the price to come down, and personally I would like that £7 back.

6/10

The worst script (if it can be called a script) I've seen in my entire life!

[nighthiker · 1/10 · 19 May 2005]

I came here to look at the reviews before watching the movie, and was quite eager to see what it was that so many people seemed to be raving about while complaining that the movie had bad ratings.

I couldn't be more disappointed. Granted, the visuals are awesome. The acting is OK. But it would at least help if the movie had any kind of story into it, instead of a psychedelic mind trip from the film maker, with patches of film attached together without any concern for coherence...

This is NOT science fiction. It's only wildly nonsensical fantasy. If all you want is to see some colorful images and things flying around fast, then you might like this. If you don't mind characters appearing out of nothing without any reason or vanishing the same way, you might find it interesting. If you are used to "mexican soap operas" kind of dialogs with lots of apparently profound, but rather shallow philosophical outbursts, you may not need to force yourself to watch it all through out of some morbid curiosity. If you don't mind watching dozens of mere hints of a plot being aborted relentlessly in 140 minutes, you might not be disgusted at the end. But if you have any sort of working central nervous system, I recommend you stay away. I almost fried mine trying to find any sense into this movie.

Be warned.

NH

Powerful stuff

[matsutaro · 9/10 · 1 May 2004]

I saw "Casshern" yesterday at a packed theater and I was blown away. I went in looking for a black-and-white head-busting superhero flick, but I got a lot more than I bargained for.

First off, the photography is gorgeous--as director, cinematographer, and editor Kazuaki Kiriya makes excellent use of color and grain in his film. At times it's a fuzzy, glowing dream, while at others it's stark, black-and-white sandpaper on your brain. It's an ingenious device to change the mood of the film instantaneously.

There are hints of any number of films here--Metropolis, Frankenstein, Mononoke Hime, Terminator, Tetsuo--and yet the film definitely stands on its own. By no means a slavish adaption of the original animated series, it does contain a number of nods to elements of the original that fans will surely recognize (I leave it to other viewers to catch these for themselves). I was particularly impressed by the first appearance of Luna, who looks like she stepped out of a painting by Tatsunoko alumnus Yoshitaka Amano in that scene.

The action scenes are backed by a driving rock score which reminded me of "The Crow" for some reason. Hardcore action fans who are hoping for a "Matrix Reloaded" bumper-to-bumper slugfest will be sorely disappointed, though. The fight scenes actually run counter to the message of the film--that, as one character states, "War makes humans inhuman." There is a long tradition in Japanese fiction--and animation, in particular--of the hero becoming what he hates to triumph over his enemy. The perfect example of this is Devilman, who becomes a demon to do battle with other demons. There is also a saying in Japan, "kokoro wo oni ni suru" or "steel your heart with resolve," and "Casshern" proves that some decisions will indeed set us on the road to having the hardened heart of a demon. In the end, most conflicts can never be won--even if you win, you lose, as you have more than likely sown the seeds for the next conflict.

I have no idea how foreign audiences will take to the message in this film, but I could hear a number of people crying in the darkness around me, and the crowd was uncharacteristically silent as they left the theater. As a translator, I hope this gets the treatment it deserves when it gets subtitled--the dialog isn't particularly difficult for those with a moderate knowledge of Japanese, and there are vast stretches of film with no dialog at all, but there are also a number of nuances that might be lost. The omnipresent Chinese and Cyrillic characters of the Asian Federation create an oppressive mood that'll be difficult to convey--the nearest example I can think of is the subliminal messages in John Carpenter's "They Live." Some of the other devices used in the film, such as multiple voices repeating portentous words "You don't know what war's like," might also be difficult to convey with normal subtitling. Nevertheless, I hope to see this film made available to a larger audience soon.

A visual blast, but tedious as hell

[phovusle · 6/10 · 26 November 2013]

Lat ANYBODY watch ANY 5 minutes of the movie and they will say "holy sh**t that is amazing". And at least back in 2004 it was mind-blowing what Casshern delivers in visuals and style. The director was a fashion designer or something and by all means: that shows. Casshern is a beauty.

But a beauty that feels like 6 hours and has nothing interesting to say. At some point you just end up being exhausted and bored. And it really is a pity.

We need Dario Argento to make an European cut with 75 Minutes runtime and have a blast with the outcome.

nice visuals do not compensate for the shambolic storyline

[LunarPoise · 2/10 · 31 October 2006]

I am baffled by the plaudits this sprawling mess has received. This is a nice looking film that shamelessly and playfully draws on HG Wells, Mary Shelley, Da Vinci and a host of other high-brow sources. Absolutely nothing wrong with that; in fact, there is even a post-modern motif at work here - the cobbling together of so many sources to create something unique shadowing the main plot drive of this film. However, I use the word 'plot' loosely here. Kiriya throws this all together like so many patchwork music videos. Some music video directors can make feature films, but Kiriya just does not seem able to make the jump based on this outing. The plot holes are glaring, from the mechanical lightening bolt that acts as catalyst for the mutants' conception, to the discovery of a castle conveniently packed to the gills with armed robots. And the girlfriend's survival of an atomic blast at the end is a humdinger of the highest order. This is not an anti-narrative statement by Kiriya - it is complete ignorance of the basic rules of narrative. Such convenience and contrivance is a feature of one kind of contemporary J-Cinema, and people like Kiriya get away with it because there is no Hollywood-style rulebook based on three-act structure to be followed. This is a film that should stand on its own and not require reference to the original anime in order to figure out the story.

Incredibly, people are making claims for this piece of flimsy as a philosophical treatise. Noticeably, nobody seems quite able to articulate what that philosophy is. Mouthing a few glib lines about man's savage nature and the cruelty of combat does not an anti-war film make. The big reveal when it comes - from a character who has no right to hold the 'knowledge' he espouses - that the mutants are, gasp, human, too, is a bit bloody obvious. And it takes so loooooong to get there. Completely lacking in character development, credible storyline, or nuanced dialogue, Casshern is worth sticking on at a party for background visuals, but not much else. A real clunker.

Amazing work of art

[moechae · 10/10 · 11 September 2005]

"At last I understand. We hurt others by our very existence. That's just the way we live." I began watching Casshern with absolutely no idea of what to expect. Seeing a preview for it on the internet, I ordered the DVD and waited. Hearing extremely mixed reviews, I was tense. Did I spend my money stupidly? Would this movie just sit on a shelf collecting dust after I watched it? Then it came. I put it in, fiddled for about five minutes getting the subtitles to work in English (the entire DVD menu was written in Japanese), sat back, and was promptly blown away. Casshern was a visual feast for the starving moviegoer. After Star Wars, Matrix Trilogy, and other sci-fi movies that have butchered CGI special effects to the point where they should now be called "normal effects", Casshern utilized the technology brilliantly. Stylistic and visually stunning, the visuals could be compared to other recent Asian imported movies such as Hero or House of Flying Daggers. The comparison ends there, though.

Based off of a 1970's anime, Cashan The Robot Hunter, Casshern is set in a futuristic alternate universe, where after fifty years of stressing warfare, the country called Greater Eastern Federation triumphs over another country called Europa and has gained control of the Eurasian continent. It is a hollow victory, though, as the years of warfare have left the continent devastated with nuclear waste and new diseases have decimated the already exhausted population. Out of this rubble one man, a Dr. Azuma, has proposed a plan using "neo-cells" that are like stem cells on steroids, in order to regenerate humankind. Scoffed at by the government and scientists, Dr. Azuma is forced to receive his funding from a shady branch of the military. During his experiments, Dr. Azuma realizes that his "neo-cell" theory is absolute bull, but unwittingly stumbles upon a well of eternal youth/strength/reanimation. Thusly, he creates a race of mutant beings called Shinzo Ningen, that vow revenge upon the humans after the military slaughter all but four of the creatures.

Casshern was dumbly marketed and labeled as an action-adventure movie, when in fact, the movie has only three real action scenes in it. It instead focuses on the moral issues surrounding warfare. Whether it is ever right to utilize war and destruction, and it brings up many thought-provoking issues such as what is ethically and morally right? How far can one go for love? What does it mean to be part of humanity as a whole, to be alive? That was one of the reasons why Casshern received such low ratings, especially in America. After being raised on Hollywood cookie-cutter plots and car chase scenes, Casshern was an interesting break from the norm. It doesn't dumb down its plot or sugarcoat the issues it deals with, and even leaves many answers up to you to interpret. The movie rarely lets the viewer stop and take a breather, nor wastes time with superficial plot lines. Casshern wants to get its point across in the most dramatic and breath-taking way that is possible, and boy does it deliver.

This is Kazuaki Kiriya's directorial debut, and he certainly brings his unique style to the movie. Having previously been a music video director, you can see the influences of it in sharply contrasting scenes and surrealistic narrative. Casshern understands what it means to be a movie, mainly, a visual art form. That is what it is, a visually stunning piece of art with an intriguing plot line.

A visual masterpiece?

[dave032787 · 6/10 · 21 December 2005]

Casshern sacrifices narrative continuity in favour of aesthetic grandeur. Kazuaki Kiriya made his feature debut with Casshern and had previously devoted his time to music videos, the influence was overbearing. Soundtrack motifs played in crescendo to action sequences throughout the film, intense colour and CGI made the film visually intense but shot to shot and scene to scene continuity suffered. I found it difficult to follow the story often lost in a mess of fragmented shots and incoherent animations. The plot itself was no linear transgression of events, the film resolves instead on a message rather than a resolution. Kiriya places emphasis upon metaphor rather than storytelling which is unusual. Hollywood fans like myself will probably find the film too messy to deal with, Casshern leaves many loose ends which some may find intriguing. Casshern does offer stunning visuals with big budget action sequences and fresh looking CGI. For die hard 'Art film' fans, the film was so enigmatic and metaphorical, fans of narrative cinema like myself may fall asleep!

Really, really bad

[scott_white_fan_club · 1/10 · 2 April 2006]

This is possibly one of the worst films ever made; it drags on far past the level of endurance and the story reeks of s***. Watching it feels like watching the second two matrix films, while being anally-rendered. By a big lad named Kenneth. The "philosophy" is flawed and the fighting could have been taken from the cut-scene to a video game. A crap video game. The only good thing about the entire film is that it was my mates copy, and not my own. I thank God every day that I didn't buy this rubbish excuse for a film. I think of it as a blessing. And for his part, it only cost him £7. My advice to anyone who is interested in seeing this film, go outside and play with the buses instead. Overall, it will be a far more rewarding experience than this live-action anime balls.

My eyes are bleeding

[Cavalierfliks · 21 February 2005]

Having received my copy of Casshern from CD-wow today,my thoughts were to hang on till the weekend to view this movie!But for some reason,my thoughts were telling me to watch it NOW,Tonight never mind the weekend and my god how right was i to trust them.I cant think of any film in my 20yrs+ of movie watching that has left me stunned and speechless!This is cinematic genius,and master-craft in narrative,visuals,soundtrack&meaning.From the CGI shots a plenty to the rounding up of the meaning using simple camera visuals,i simply cant recommend this film enough,my only gripe is that I know need to see this baby on the biggest screen possible.To all you film fans out there don't sell yourself short,leave everything behind and lose yourself in this film.This is for all you who believe,trust me!!!!

Mediocre premise, great CGI scenic visuals, drawn out plot

[ma_ge · 6/10 · 22 January 2005]

The good: Very beautiful scenes.

The bad: The movie was about 40 minutes too long, with repetitive flashbacks, scenes unnecessarily drawn out even after the dialogue and action has ended, a meandering plot (with plenty of plot holes), characters that act inconsistently or unbelievably, a forgettable soundtrack, and one -awesome- action scene/battle roughly around the 15% mark that makes you think the rest of the movie will feature scenes just as great, but it's just one long anti-climax after that point.

It also asks many naive questions about war/mankind/humanity to make a pretense at being remotely philosophical. It doesn't discuss what possible answers there could be to those questions, but it takes a mediocre movie and supposedly makes it 'deep.' Strangely enough, it seems that it's this very aspect of the movie that resonated with females (alongside the great visuals), who uniformly gave this movie high ratings.

This movie is barely a 6, for me.

This was one of the most painful movies I've ever watched

[Zokas · 1/10 · 21 February 2008]

First off, I've never seen the anime series nor do I think I should have to to understand this movie. However, maybe I need to in order to actually understand a few things, which is ridiculous. The only explanation we get for the creation of the neo-sapians is a massive solid lightning bolt embedded in the lab and some emotionally swelling music. The scene where the neo-sapians rise up from the pool is cool to an extent, and that extent is where everyone is wondering, "Where the hell did these guys come from?" And the idea that the random assortment of limbs and appendages just swimming about in the pool would somehow join together (and join together to form ordinary-looking people, what's more), is just absurd. To create a science-fiction film, you have to actually create some science behind it, otherwise it just doesn't work. Imagine if in 'Jurassic Park', they'd gone to the island with dinosaurs roaming about, with the simple explanation that their creation was, "simply a miracle" and the explanation was left at that. Or a lightning bolt hit the island, solidified and dinosaurs suddenly came out of the lakes and plains? Lame. And this pool that holds the extra limbs also seems to bring people back from the dead? Apart from that, there are some very emotionally contrived moments, like Midori crying over one of the mutants as though it were her son, screaming, "Don't die!" And the emotionally-charged music never seems to stop, to let the audience relax for a moment. One piece of music that lasted around seven minutes was just a 20 second loop of the same music and became nearly unbearable. Various pieces of classical music appear very out of place in conversations when nothing that is being said relates to the music. The director must have thought the more emotional music, the more emotional the film will be. I think the film's dialogue scenes would have been much more effective without melodramatic music. I winced whenever a new cheesy rock song played in the background of a fight scene – it felt like someone had compiled some anime fight scenes, picked a random Disturbed track and stuck it on Youtube.

Another thing – robot army-making facility in the middle of nowhere? How did they even get to the middle of nowhere? Now, I know bad guys are supposed to be bad in some way, but I guess there's nothing better than to go all out and have the antagonist's main goal as, "to eliminate mankind". If you want a bad guy, just make him a stereotypical megalomaniac. Oh, and then to make him a bit more complex, have his character completely flip over by the end of the film by having him say stuff like, "I see it now!" Most of the characters have unclear motives let alone reasons behind these motives. Luna just seems to be there just to have a love interest and to provide someone who cries a lot and not much else. The mutant with the drooling, moaning and eyes popping out of its head was the most annoying character in history and I couldn't wait for him to get the chop. When Luna actually goes to help him, I completely lost interest in her – why does she do it? There is nothing redeeming about him. The only character I found mildly interesting was Professor Azuma because it was his project that started the whole thing.

The plot becomes way too bogged down in its philosophical themes and ideals, especially towards the end. I know many sci-fi's show philosophical themes, like Blade Runner for example, but what marks Blade Runner's brilliance is its subtlety in which it treats its themes. You can still watch Blade Runner and think you're only watching a sci-fi/noir. Casshern tells us over and over again what the themes are by plainly telling us, "We hurt others by our very existence.", "hate is bad", etc. Blade Runner shows us themes, Casshern tells us. These monologues are not what I go to the movies to see, particularly when that movie is a highly-stylised sci-fi/action film.

Truth be told, I may have watched Casshern with another movie in mind. The action elements might be on the sidelines with ideals about war, forgiveness and truth taking the helm, but that does not excuse beating us over the head with its themes, poor characters and some terrible dialogue. Of course, that may be just the translation, but why do two fight scenes begin with trashy rock music and the words, "Who are you?"

Stunning Graphics and Visual Concepts, Confused and Too Long Screenplay

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 8 September 2006]

In the future, in a polluted post-apocalyptic society called Eurasia after a war against Europe, the planet is devastated by the effect of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The geneticist Dr. Azuma (Akira Terao) develops a technique called "neo-cell", capable of regenerating the body of human beings, sponsored by an evil corporation. His son Tetsuya Azuma (Yusuke Iseya) dies in the war, but after an accident in the laboratory of Dr. Azuma, Tetsuya revives as the powerful warrior Casshern, while a new breed of mutants called "neo-humans" is generated in the plant. The neo-humans decide to annihilate the humans and raise a new world.

The first point to call the attention in "Casshern" is the stunning graphics and the visual concepts of this post-apocalyptic society and the battle scenes, which are simply amazing. The screenplay has an excellent beginning, but in a certain point it becomes confused and difficult to be understood. The running time is also too long, and I confess that I was a little tired in the end of the movie. Maybe those viewers that are familiarized with the character and the story are able to understand this movie in details, but I have the intention to watch it again in a near future to have a better understanding of the plot. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Casshern – Reencarnado do Inferno" ("Casshern – Reincarnated From Hell")

Only for genre fans

[oneloveall · 4/10 · 12 October 2007]

Live action incarnation of an old anime film walks the fine line between an inspired, effects-laden action film with philosophical overtones and an underfunded, immature Japanese movie that cannot blend it's cgi as well as it would like. Sadly Casshern falls too heavily into that latter category, making a silly plot even more absurd by focusing too heavily on visual elements that feel cut and pasted. This movie is clearly a larger production then your typical eastern science fiction B-movie though, so fans of these kinds of style will most likely be pleased as punch to partake; everyone else needs to exercise caution.

A great film

[Splattii · 9/10 · 4 January 2005]

After reading the comments on IMDb I was second guessing getting the DVD. It was getting average scores, and many complained about the lack of action. I actually went into this film expecting some nice effects and that's about it...

Luckily I was wrong. The story was actually pretty entertaining. There were a couple of minor points I would have liked more information on, but living in North America I'm used to brainless plots because of Hollywood. In the end I thought the story was more than acceptable, and shouldn't cause anyone to pass by this film. It was the best attempt (at least it my eyes) thus far in creating an Anime movie with real actors.

I've been an avid fan of Asian cinema for a little over eight years now. I've seen a lot of good films, and a lot of bad ones. This is one of the good ones, and I hope people take time to view this film.

It's really a shame that crap like Azumi can score a 7.5 or higher on here, and something as beautiful and jaw dropping as this gets a lower score.

Gorgeous visuals, adult violence, kiddie-cartoon story

[sumire · 6/10 · 19 May 2004]

The Good:

The set decoration. Ooooh yeah. I've seen plenty of manga with this Nazi/Shanghai-deco look, but few live-action movies that have realized it so well. Some nice details, like the cellphone ringing with the sound of an old-fashioned bakelite telephone and the creepy plane with the head of the Supreme Commander.

Use of grainy, tinted, and high-contrast film effects in "ordinary" scenes both sets the mood and helps to disguise cheap computer animation in SFX scenes.

Cool, video-gamey rock music during some of the action sequences.

Hey, now there's something different--a scene where the (helpless) heroine runs, towing the (even more helpless) hero behind her by the hand. She's in heels, no less.

Yes, I'm a sap, but I got misty at the end.

Damned fine-looking casting all around.

The Bad:

Hello, plausibility? Granted, I may have missed a few explanations due to the language barrier (my Japanese is weak when it comes to technical and military talk), and I learned to accept some it as artistic license, but still, I advise you to try not to think about the movie too much while you're watching it.

Despite some surprisingly effective usage (see "The Good"), the CG isn't _always_ believable. The brief cuts to 2-D animation in the marching-robots scene really didn't do anything for me.

The first big fight scene (Casshern vs. Sagurey) was shot and edited in such a way as to be almost incomprehensible. (Other fight scenes were better, though--I particularly liked the Casshern vs. Barashin duel.)

Other Notes:

Lots of violence--was the director making a special effort to distance it from the old kiddie-cartoon version? Includes one very bloody assassination, three impalements, and many, many shootings of innocent civilians.

The village doctor's dog was a nod to the old cartoon series, IIRC.

Its a joke

[Crispin-Bates · 1/10 · 18 June 2005]

This is one for sci-fi lovers of strictly limited intelligence and for serious film fans to miss. You have been warned! Kazuaki Kiriya certainly has good ideas for graphic design and unusual photographic techniques, but this film is hugely over-long, repetitious and massively self-indulgent - which is what happens I guess when the director is also the camera man and script writer. He should have stuck to making 3 minute advertisements, since this is what the 'film' looks like: lots of striking 3-minute sequences strung together with very little attempt at continuity or story-telling. It is like the worst bits of 'Dune' x 100. The script is appalling - when the first reviewer says the film asks 'deep questions' like 'why do we make war', that is indeed exactly what happens! Someone strikes a pose in front of the camera and shouts 'why do we make war, are we not all HUMAN BEINGS?' (a concept that is invoked quite often), there is no answer of course (it is a rhetorical question) then we go back to blurry and never-ending fight sequences. This film is ALL RHETORIC and no depth. Some characters says nothing at all, others spend most of their time shrieking or sobbing, before and after getting shot or cut to pieces (the fate of most of them). Oh, and a lot of women are carried about. Almost every scene begins with someone walking into shot carrying a woman. Have they not got legs for goodness sake? The purpose of course is to heighten the tragic demeanour of the central characters (all men) and to save the trouble of writing any meaningful lines for the women. When I say it is repetitive, I should mention that this extends to a number of sequences in the film actually being repeated, several times, just in case you did not get the heavy, tragic symbolism the first time round. This film also has some of the longest death sequences I have seen for a long time. Although containing elements of originality many filmic ideas are simply ripped off other movies. It is difficult to express what this film is about since the director does not have a clear idea himself. It is a tragedy for the Japanese film industry that movies like this are allowed to be released without someone stepping in and at least demanding severe cuts. I am quite certain the director would never have been given funding for this if he was not married to Japan's most successful and genuinely talented pop singer, Utada Hikaru - although her talent has diminished severely of late since she married this guy and started singing in English. Utada has the great merit of doing all her own song-writing and she sings the closing song of the movie. Next time (if there is one) Kazuaki Kiriya should swallow his pride and get someone else to do the editing and the screenplay.

Fantastic, thoughtful, beautiful film

[LuxVesperis · 10/10 · 7 January 2005]

Easily one of the best movies I have ever seen.

I am disappointed and yet not surprised at the low score given to this movie. It's not a typical action flick, as the trailer may lead many to believe. It is about so many things and the weak point is that it takes up so much, it is slightly difficult to follow.

I can't even express all the themes and things that flow through this movie. It takes up questions such as: Why do we fight wars? What is ethical? What would you do for love? What does it mean to be a father, a son, lovers, a citizen of a nation, a national leader, human, alive? Visually the movie is just breathtaking. It's gorgeous. Kiriya is not afraid to do what he feels does justice to the scene. He was the one behind the camera, not a common place for the director, to get the shot exactly the way he wanted it. Quite scenes are thoughtful and even the fight scenes are purely intense. Fantastic.

The movie is based on a 70s anime which is quite different. But it is interesting to note the places where the movie pays homage to the original anime.

The English subtitles are quite good and quite accurate. There are a few parts that I would have translated it differently, but over all, the integrity of the film is totally intact.

I highly recommend this film for true lovers of sci-fi who are looking something that is more than mindless battle scenes.

Visually stunning, but tries too hard...

[drydahl · 6/10 · 2 May 2005]

...to do it all. There were points to this film that I really enjoyed, but overall, the story just dragged on, and on, and on, and on, and on...you get the picture. As one of my friends that viewed it with me put it, "this film needed a more brutal editor".

It was about 45 minutes longer than it needed to be. Just my opinion.

Apparently now I have to try to meet the "10 line" quota for this thing to publish my comments. Ugh!

Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah,

Have I hit 10 lines yet?

Evidentally not.

Writing more filler.

This should do it...

Absolutely ridiculous, no sense of time!

[isthenewblack · 3/10 · 6 November 2007]

I actually just signed up on this website to warn those of you who are about to see this movie...to never see this movie. I rented it because it was said to be better than the Matrix movies, which isn't saying a lot but the last time I heard that quote, it was for Equilibrium.

And you ask me why I didn't like it so much? Well first off, the entire plot is skewed to the point where they just make things up as the movie goes along. The basis is on a man dying in a 50 year long war between terrorists and his nation(then finds his side are terrorists), then wondering around the people he loves as a ghost. His father is trying a new "neo-cell" treatment which provides limbs and organs for sickly humans(think stem cell). All these organs are in a massive pit of goo, when suddenly out of absolutely nowhere a mechanical lightning bolt strikes the pit of organs and limbs causing them to fuse together and make "neo-sapiens" aka zombies. This lightning bolt is cleverly called "the lightning" and has no explanation. The main character's father dips his body into the goo with the lightning bolt, bringing him back to life and long story short...he's super human or "neo-sapien". blah blah blah. I'm not going to give away the entire story but thats how it starts.

Anyway...an even longer story(the movie) short is the sfx are poorly done and not believable even for the primal state of 2004 sfx. When a character is finished with a task, he all of a sudden appears in a new area out of nowhere, there is no evidence of a journey, they just show up. When the neo sapiens are attacked, they escape from the city without much video documentation and then appear in some snowy mountains. A completely new and never before mentioned character comes into play without explanation other than he's the chairman's son and then takes over a hugely unexplained government. Suddenly there's a super weapon used by the neo sapiens that has not been discussed at all nor explained on how it was made using no scientists. The robot looks ridiculous upon that. The main character as Casshern(a completely unexplained story of mythology) looks generic and is no where near as "kick ass" as he should be. In fact, the scientist who made the main character's suit says he would destroy himself from too much strength without the suit, but the other neo sapiens can live without that suit. Unexplained. There is talk of a "so simple" after life a few times as well which just shows a woman next to a tree, no explanation. When the super bomb weapon goes off, Casshern lives even though he attached himself to it and then suddenly shows up in the neo sapien castle from what seems to be miles away. The dad miraculously shows up in the same castle, and shoots Casshern's girlfriend to prove a point. Casshern's girlfriend who miraculously survived an overly exploded hand grenade that destroyed most of the castle in which she was inside of, she came out unscathed even though every other character other than the father was dead.

If you haven't noticed by my ranting and short points mentioned, there are many continuity errors and inaccuracies. Its hard to follow due to so many plots and motives coming from nowhere. Nothing is explained, nothing is worth explaining, the movie is a waste of money...unless all you're looking for is another crappy Michael Bay sfx movie without the sfx.