Gantz (2010) User Reviews

Gantz the live action movie

[helmutty · 7/10 · 17 May 2011]

I am not a fan of the Gantz manga and I have not even read it. I don't really read manga and comics. So when it comes to a live-action adaptation, I am clueless about the characters but I can make out with the adaptation's explanation or the adaptation may even prompt me to pick up the manga. Gantz as far as I know is famous for its over-the-top violence and nudity. I saw many criticisms on the adaptation saying that it lacks of blood and nudity. For a general movie-goer who does not know what to expect in the adaptation will find this a little bloody and will wish for some more nudity.

The story: There is a sick game which revives dead people and commands them to play along. Their tasks are to kill aliens. Aliens!!! Once an alien dies, the players are given points according to their contribution to the death of the alien. A number of points will reward that person. Gantz is touted as a big-budget action sci-fi movie. And yes, it is. The big action scenes especially the final one show that much money is spent. The aliens look okay but are unique in some ways. Characters wise is okay, some are a bit interesting but some are just there for sake of being there. The pace is decent for a Japanese movie, not to say that all Japanese movies are slow-paced. Watching this feels like watching the Japanese doing a Hollywood movie which is decently paced and features big action scenes. With the final movie completing this series, it will be expected to end with a cliffhanger.

Overall: It is good for a Japanese action movie, it could be one of the best I have seen. But for a character movie, it could have done better. It is worth a watch whether you are a Gantz fan or not. Since fans are saying that the manga has more violence and nudity, I am compelled to pick up the manga and to see if it is true. For a non-Gantz fan, I can't wait for part 2 which will conclude the movie series. Sadly, Singaporeans will have to wait.

Sato Shinsuke's entertaining sci-fi film "Gantz" is one big tease...

[jmaruyama · 7/10 · 13 February 2011]

Sato Shinsuke's highly anticipated big-budget, live-action adaptation of Oku Hiroya's hugely popular Japanese comic/manga series "Gantz" is an engaging, glossy and outstanding high-octane, popcorn action movie with imaginative and stellar visual effects. While fanboys will appreciate Sato's faithful interpretation of the manga, Toho does a great disservice by only releasing a disappointingly dubbed version outside of Japan. The dry, disengaging and monotone voice acting dampens an otherwise terrific movie experience.

As mentioned "Gantz" is a currently on-going comic series in the weekly publication "Young Jump" by talented artist/writer Oku Hiroya. Oku's story takes elements from a variety of sources including the seminal Japanese "jidaigeki" drama "Hissatsu Shigotonin" (AKA Sure Death), movies such as "Men In Black" and "Alien" and Takami Koshun's landmark novel "Battle Royale" among others to give us perhaps one of the most interesting sci-fi stories to come out in a while.

"Gantz" begins with the tragic deaths of childhood friends Kurono Kei (played by JPop boyband "Arashi" member Ninomiya Kazunari)and Kato Masaru (played by "Death Notes" star Matsuyama Kenichi) who die trying to save a passenger who had fallen onto some subway rail tracks.

Although they get hit by an express subway train, they find themselves miraculously alive in a mysterious Tokyo apartment room amidst other strangers who had befallen similar tragic and accidental deaths. In the center of the room is a gigantic metallic sphere with a digital screen display and various compartments which house an assortment of advanced and hi-tech weaponry.

Among the other "contestants" in the room include the mysterious and sadistic High School senior Nishi Joichiro (played by Prince of Tennis/Nana 2's Hongo Kanata), the buxom and pixie-haired Kishimoto Kei (portrayed by the gorgeous Natsuna) who had committed suicide after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, and recently laid-off "salary man/office worker" Suzuki Yoshikazu (portrayed by Tetsuro and Kamen Rider The Next star Taguchi 'Tomorrow').

The metallic sphere (who calls itself Gantz) informs the assembled contestants that they need to hunt down various alien invaders (disguised either as humans or other objects) in order to earn points. Once 100 points are accumulated and won by any individual contestant, they may choose to either (1) erase their memory and return to normal life or (2) resurrect any of the other contestants who had previously died in a "mission".

Thus begins the epic adventure of these individuals as they play the game to win their freedom and to resurrect their fallen comrades in arms.

Oku's fascinating world of Gantz is recreated in loving detail by Sato's amazing direction and vision. It helps that Screenwriter Watanabe Yûsuke does an admirable job of condensing and streamlining Oku's original multi-volume story to give us a good introduction and look at the primary characters that are involved. While there are some sub-plots that don't quite work, for instance the budding relationship between Kurono and his college classmate, manga Otaku Kojima Tae (played by cute Yoshitaka Yuriko) I thought it was a bit much and didn't really add to the character development (although in the manga it is better done). "Gantz's" strength however is definitely in the superb visual effects which are eye-catching and nicely done. In particular, the various weapons used by the contestants (the Gantz powersuits, X-Guns etc.) look amazing and the alien effects are spectacular.

It's hard to really critique the original character acting as the English dubbing actors really sour the performances. I'm not sure if there was a general disinterest in the material or perhaps not a clear understanding of the story but one can tell just from the monotone and often lethargic voice-overs that the actors were probably just reading lines.

As good as "Gantz" was, ultimately it was merely a big tease for the sequel which is scheduled for later in the year. As with the recent trilogy "21st Century Boys" or even the final chapter of "Harry Potter", "Gantz" felt like an elaborate setup for the next film which promises to be even better than this film.

I wish some of the other elements of the manga could be brought into the movie as in the manga we get quite a spectrum of interesting alien "hordes" that get hunted (some of the aliens disguise themselves as various mythological entities and deities). It does get touched upon somewhat in this film (particularly at the end).

While wishful thinking, I hope that Hollywood does not remake this film as Sato has delivered a perfectly good movie that could probably do well abroad in a subtitled version. Yet, knowing the arrogance of Hollywood producers it's probably only a matter of time before an eventual "American" version comes out. Let's just hope they at least they give due credit to Oku for delivering one of the most exciting sci-fi comics in a long while and to Sato for capturing that excitement in this film. Let's also hope that Toho does not dub the 2nd film as I believe "Gantz" and the performances of its principal cast (Ninomiya, Matsuyama, Natsuna, Hongo) deserve better treatment.

Good manga makes for a very good movie.

[jackmeat · 7/10 · 22 August 2013]

I only know the summary part of the manga, so I will stick to the movie itself. The movie starts with two old friends( ? ) that coincidentally meet on a train platform. In this brief moment, they attempt to rescue a man off of the train tracks and in trying this, they are killed by the oncoming train. Or were they? The two awaken in a room with a few other strangers, all of which claim to have been killed. Accompanying them is a mysterious black orb which gives some very vague instructions on what the "group" needs to do. Basically the task is to kill aliens that are on the earth hiding out. Sounds corny, but it is far from that. The movie is so well filmed including cinematography, editing, locale that pretty much whatever the group was sent to do was going to be a treat. Lucky for us viewers, it was an exciting mission at that. As the movie progresses, we learn that each person is awarded "points" for surviving (since if not, well, they are dead) and what can be done with those points is part of the mystery. The effects are very good, and basic, not overdone at all. This makes it much easier to get into the film and the characters in it. The acting was very good, even if I personally had to be distracted from their performances by reading the subtitles. Either way, I could tell by visual features and expressions that it was well done. Each encounter gets more and more difficult, as one would assume, and leads to a very open ended climax that makes you want to see more. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie from start to finish and recommend it to anyone that likes sci-fi and originality. Please Hollywood, can you keep your hands off and not remake this, let the Japanese do their thing, they have brought us a gem in this as it is. Enjoy. 6.9/10

I shouted "shoot" 'till I got hoarse....

[goranbr · 25 March 2012]

This movie started out so good, it was almost criminal it turned out to be such completely unbelievable crap in the end.

The basic premise was good, for this kind of movie that is:

1. A bunch of guys die for several reasons.

2. The end up in a room with a mysterious black globe.

3. The globe gives them missions to kill UFOs residing in Japan. Hinting that they may redeem their lives this way.

4. They are given suitcases with black suits and cool sci-fi guns.

5. They are attacked by vicious UFOs.

So any person equipped with more than two brain cells would have:

1. Donned the suit.

2. Quickly checked out the weapon and got ready for the mission.

3. You wanna get your life back, right?

This far into the movie, I expected they would, I was eager for what was to come. This could be great!

Then they are magically "lasered" away to someplace in Tokyo and the UFO guy is not late to show up. Well not to spoil what happens too much, they are completely unprepared for the mission. And why?

1. They have completely failed to put on their cool black suits. OK, they girl has put it on. And looks good in it!

2. They have completely failed to check out their cool weapons.

Not to to spoil the movie, if there is anything to spoil, let me say this as a reality check:

1. If I knew I had died and had a chance to redeem my life by carrying out a mission, I would be sure to use any equipment given me.

2. If a monster was attacking me or my fellow undead, I would be sure to shoot first and ask questions later. Out of pure survival instinct.

3. If a monster was beating the crap out of one of my friends, then, even if I had no gun, I would do something to help out, lest I live in shame for the rest of my life.

4. If I was a hopeless nerd like most of the guys in the movie, and a cool beautiful girl showed interest in me, I would at least talk to her.

The guys in this movie, though, fail on all these basic point of normal behaviour. They are all prize-winning village idiots, almost autistic in their passiveness, hopelessly asocial towards the beautiful girls that seem to like these idiots, egoistic, craven individuals who can't use a weapon or even throw a stick at a monster in order to save their own or other people's lives. They lack the most basic survival instincts or humanity.

As a result, I spent most of the movie shouting "FOR THE LOVE GOD MAN, SHOOT, SHOOT, SHOOT!!"

I'm not a trigger-happy man in normal situations... But with vicious UFOs attacking me, come and get some! :-)

wonderful works of urban legends

[FounHUGO · 7/10 · 10 March 2019]

The unusually bad character set is the cancer of this series, including TV anime and comics. In this film, the acting of a tall actor is as bad as the character setting. Even so (the unbearable), this film, as well as its sequel and "O", still has a lot of highlights. It can even be said that they are rare masterpieces in urban legendary movies.

Watchable, but you need to be used to this type of japanese movies and the acting

[gustavo_palos · 6/10 · 25 March 2020]

I haven't watched the Anime nor read Manga, but came across this movie checking for some live actions from Anime. The idea behind it's interesting and always enjoyable that not everything will be explained leaving the audience to make their own assumptions. One great director once said, he makes 50% of the movie and the audience does the other 50%. The way you understand the movie doesn't have to be the way the director had in his mind.

Sorry, coming back to the movie, it reminds me of 'The cube' in terms of the characters, how they ended up there and what's the goal. Worth giving it a try, but as i say in the subject of this comment, you need to be familiar of japanese acting. If you come from Hollywood movies to this type for the first time, it may be hard to fully enjoy.

What if you were in a 3D shooter you can't get out of?

[siderite · 7/10 · 17 November 2019]

Gantz is a black ball that recruits people that have already died in order to kill random aliens that are hidden on Earth. It does it completely randomly and to make it fun it presents it as a game: make 100 points and you can be out. The catch is that the threats are usually so bad that you can't reach 100 or if you do, you also get the option to revive a dead mate. The manga is full of crybabies that never find the time to deal with their emotions before they get killed and the film is not very different either. As others have said, if the ball tells you to kill something and it gives you a gun, use it, then consider your damn feelings and moral judgement.

All in all a good live adaptation of the beginning of the Gantz manga. There are at least two other movies in the series and they will probably continue where this left off without any closure whatsoever.

What a great surprise!!!

[eduardo-peixoto · 8/10 · 16 February 2011]

I did not read the manga, but I did watch the entire anime a few years back. The anime had 2 full seasons to tell the story, the movie had just two hours. So clearly while it is not as rich as the anime, the movie does a very good job given the time restriction.

I had no expectations when I started to watch it, however after 15 minutes I was a believer, and even if I didn't know the story, still a pretty decent movie. Very nice FX and a high quality production to it.

As fiction flicks goes, it is not for everybody, but If you like the theme and/or anime/manga culture, go for it for sure. And the sequel is already in the works, so we will get our Gantz fix soon enough.

some things work and some don't

[fenniferdead · 4/10 · 8 May 2011]

I really wanted to like this film. There were great effects in it. The story seems to follow the anime series well. Its got cute Asian boys in leather in it and the acting is somewhat decent. So what is my main hangup with this film? I completely lose interest when I watch the characters stand there when looking stupid when they could have fired off multiple rounds from weapons or could have easily defeated some enemy quickly. But what do they all do? They all stand around with gawking faces while watching the aliens pretty much destroy them. The most insulting part is when they are inside the museum and the shiva type statue decides to wait around while the injured characters have their big dramatic moments and then decide to fight. The amount of times both the good guys and bad guys could have easily finished each other off are ridiculous. This to me is just bad directing/timing and something I cannot seem to forgive.

Better than expected, I still liked the anime better

[book-nc · 8/10 · 16 February 2011]

I'm a fan of the original anime, though I never got around to actually reading the manga. I loved the brutality and tragedy of the original anime, so this movie had quite a different feel to it overall.

I liked the changes they made to adapt the story to a movie. There was a lot of back story with the characters that had to be ignored or compressed, but when you're focusing on 2-3 characters in 2 hours, that is to be expected.

Overall I liked the special effects, the casting was pretty good, and although I'm not sure about the changes in the ending they made, i'm OK with what they've done to make this into an interesting sci-fi movie that is worth watching.

If you read the manga, don't watch this.

[danielphilipastor · 4/10 · 16 May 2022]

First, let me start by saying that the main characters here were the popular actors in our generation. Japan's entertainment industry would always hire their most popular celebrities for the lead role even though their acting is not up to standards.

There are many amazing actors in Japan but they're usually the veterans or the ones doing indie movies. Kazunari and Kenichi's acting skills on this movie are very disappointing. The way the writers changed the plot and write the scenes didn't help at al.

Yuriko playing Tae proved that Japanese show business is all about looks. Yuriko is a very pretty actress. Her character, Tae, is supposed to be a very normal looking girl - not pretty, not ugly, and the type that society doesn't pay attention to.

It's already 2022 so I really hope Japanese entertainment industry has changed.

An excellent Sci-fi romp.

[thekarmicnomad · 8/10 · 14 February 2013]

When I got this I was hoping for a Sci-fi movie with some shooting, a bit of a story and some interesting characters. This is exactly what I got.

The pace of the movie is typically Eastern, the action scenes are fast and packed, the rest is slow and considered.

A large portion of the film is dedicated to the characters trying to find out who they are; as well as trying to understand each other.

Don't expect too much exposition. Why does all this strange stuff happen? Because it's a Sci-fi movie; roll with it.

The affects are good, the bad guys are interesting and (compared to Western villains) refreshing and quirky.

ACting is good, camera work solid, production lavish.

For heaven's sake, shoot already!

[Someguysomwhere · 20 July 2011]

Thru their deaths by misfortune, various people are periodically recruited by a machine in the form of a dark sphere called "Gantz"(I'm guessing it's completely random since an old lady and a kid were also conscripted). At the center of all this are 3 young people: 2 guys and a girl. The 2 guys, Kel and Kato, have a history but hadn't seen each other in a while. Kel is at first timid, and even cowardly but later sees himself as heroic. Kato is intense and shudders and grimaces a lot (killed his father and went to juvie). The girl is a real cute "girly girl" who panics and runs away a lot. She's got the hots for Kato who doesn't notice or care cause he's too busy grimacing and thinking about other people.

A very decent movie with a nice concept but marred mainly by one annoying fact: Time and time again one of these people had an opportunity to shoot the threat and did not do it. Or did (eventually), but then instead of firing again, and again ----and again, if necessary, until said threat was demolished they just stood around with their mouth open wasting time until the threat recovered to attack again (Man, was that annoying!!!). If that won't get under your skin too much and you like sci-fi, I recommend this. Love, Boloxxxi.

Complete lack of logic, completely ridiculous movie.

[rorrr · 2/10 · 13 March 2011]

Clearly this is not a low budget movie, the special effects are pretty good. The premise is good too. However the movie fails at everything else, and the main thing that bring is down is the complete lack of logic. Most of the movie goes like this:

1) Monster is moving slowly or not moving at all 2) People are just staring at it or running away, even those who know that the guns work really well against monsters. Nobody is trying to shoot it. 3) Monster hurts one of the main characters 4) There's a long an boring cut scene with the cheesiest dialogue you can imagine. Meanwhile the monster is taking a break, not doing anything 5) One of the main character shoots the monster, having no problems 6) Repeat

There are a few characters (guy in glasses) that do absolutely nothing the whole movie. Seriously, nothing, zero. They just hang out, don't participate in fights, don't help anybody, don't say anything interesting.

So other than the main idea, the script is absolutely rubbish. It's like it was written by a ten year old who saw the original manga series.

With just a bit of effort this movie could've been one of the coolest sci-fi movies in a long time, but it was completely ruined by bad script, horrible dialogue, mediocre acting.

This is too bad, good sci-fi movies are pretty rare.

A Nutshell Review: Gantz

[DICK STEEL · 9/10 · 14 May 2011]

If you think that only Hollywood is tapping deep into comic book source material for its films, well they're not alone, with the Japanese also digging deep into its rich manga culture for adaptations to bring to the silver screen. It's taken Gantz quite some time to reach our shores given that the concluding sequel had already been aired weeks ago and we're only getting the first installment, but as I say it's always better late than never. Based upon the original works by Hiroya Oku, Gantz is a science fiction fantasy film that posed a lot more questions than it answered, and really asks that you put aside nagging thoughts and accept things for what they are at face value until the second film rolls along.

We're introduced to the teenagers Masaru Kato (the popular Kenichi Matsuyama) and Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) who meet by chance at a subway station, once best friends with the latter always standing up for the former. They get involved in rescuing a man who had fallen onto the train tracks, but in the process get themselves killed, yet transported into some sparse apartment room together with strangers, all of whom had their life expired, and a huge black orb to whom they owe their temporal lives to. Here's where a lot of questions get tossed up as to the origins of the orb, and some thick existential queries - are they really dead, or operating on a separate limbo plane, or are really just dreaming - but put all of these aside to just soak up the ground rules that the characters have to engage in, and the set action sequences that come with the territory.

To help make the narrative a little bit more palatable, treat it as an extreme version of Men in Black, where a randomly selected group of apparently dead folks get topped up into an existing team, all of whom are given exo-skeleton suits to power up and weapons fit to kill aliens who walk this earth. Gantz, the orb within which houses a comatosed bald man communicating via a console on the orb, summons the players, sets the mission objectives, and teleports them into the thick of the action. Survive, and you get to live another day. Die, and you'll stay dead permanently. With a catch of course, where a Gantz summoned player earn meagre points in a mission (in addition to getting insulted), and a 100 points allows one to either wipe one's memory and go back to the "real world" not remembering a single thing when serving Gantz, or opting to resurrect a fallen comrade.

The first hour or so is spent learning the ground rules, and what better way than to be thrown into the deep end of the pool in an effort to immerse both the characters and audience in double quick time. Our main protagonists with their different perspectives and values often come up clashing against once another in their ideals, but when push comes to shove it's a life and death issue should they choose not to cooperate with each other, and with others in the same boat, unless of course one decides to use the clueless newbies as fodder.

The story's made more interesting with this particular contrast between the two leads, one being very reluctant to shed more blood and taking it upon himself to ensure that the newbies are properly briefed and told of the risks involved, often being ridiculed, while the other sees his new life under Gantz as an opportunity to rise up and be the hero he's meant to be, since in real life he's a zero this presents him a chance to answer what would be his calling in life, bordering on arrogance and partaking in riskier maneuvers. But alas given the need to cram everything into a slightly more than two hour film, you can bet that plenty of characterization and development got thrown out of the window, and subplot casualties include the romances between Kato and buxomy Kei Kishimoto (Natsuna Watanabe), and that of Kurono and fellow student and manga enthusiast Tae Kojima (Yuriko Yoshitaka), whom I suspect will have a much larger role in the concluding film.

Surprisingly there is plenty of bloody violence and gore peppered throughout the film, sticking close to the treatment as in the manga and anime, with only the gratuitous nudity in the source materials being toned down by quite a bit in the live action movie. Computer generated graphics are the order of the day, as plenty of futuristic weapons got produced, in addition to the skin tight exo-skeleton suit. Villainous aliens take on different looks, from robots with awkward mobility, to inhabiting statues of Buddhas that give rise to one of the largest action sequences in the film that came complete with high casualty and property damage.

Undoubtedly a special effects extravaganza, Gantz is ultimately half a film, and I am looking forward to the concluding episode to wrap up the open questions posed here. After all, the sequel's subtitle is Perfect Answer, so I'm really hoping for that to happen. Stay tuned during and after the closing credits for that trailer to the sequel, and tell me if that doesn't pique your interest even more, so much so that like me I'm putting that anime DVD collection on my wish list. Recommended!

How NOT to make a Gantz Live-Action Movie

[Alvinocool · 4/10 · 15 February 2011]

Characters: Step 1:Get the main characters from the Anime/Cartoon or Manga/Comic depending on which of the two stories you like best (since they both have different story lines). Step 2: Change their background, personality or just anything about them around a bit to suit your personal preferences: Say the main characters are around 15 years old but that doesn't suit you, just make them 19 Y.O.; if that affects the main story, just change/omit bits of the story (since this is an action movie, and you are just doing a portion of the Anime/Manga, the consequences of changing some of the story basics won't be shown or noticed). Step 3: If you see characters from the Anime/Manga you like but aren't meant to appear in the portion of the original story you have selected for the movie, change the story around so you can incorporate them. Again, feel free to carry out Step 2 with them. Step 4: Change how they affect the main story. You can substitute what happens to one character by something similar to what happens to one of the other characters. Example: Kishimoto puts on the black suit first, then is the first (with the suit) to attack the alien; which is what Kurono was meant to do. Step 5: With the Aliens: Select the ones you like and which go with your selected story, copy their best image and main skill and just alter the rest (size, other skills, number, personality, etc.). Repeat Step 4 with the Aliens.

Location: Try to select locations similar to those from the original source, and change locations where the story was changed. If you can't find one of the bigger locations, find a group of small ones that contain the same elements as the big one; of course, you don't need to use them the same way they're used in the original source, just make sure to show them sometime so fans of the original source can say "Hey, that's where that thing happens/ed/is supposed to happen!". Also remember we edited the story previously and have a max. movie length and budget. So, for example, we won't be needing a wooden house which comes crashing down, since we removed that scene along with all new characters it involved and made the movie 20 mins. shorter that way, even if that eliminates half of what happens in the scene from the original source.

Objects and the like: Select the iconic objects from your original source. Since the rest of the movie isn't looking too good, spend a lot to make them look as cool as possible. That way even if viewers don't like the rest of the movie, they will still remember it for the cool objects it had.

So to summarize what i thought of the Gantz Live-Action Movie: This is not a Gantz Live-Action Movie, this is a Gantz loosely-parallel-universe Live-Action Movie. They took the original names and general looks of the characters from the Anime/Manga, shortening the number of characters by at least 75%. They took the cool Sci-Fi stuff like the suits and weapons. A few of the locations from the original story. A few of the key moments from the story, rearranging them in the order they wanted. Then they just filled in the gaps; sometimes with other stuff from the original but not connected to that event/character/etc., others just inventing it themselves even if they are complete opposites from what appears in the original. Worst thing is they could have made MOST of it the same if they had decided to concentrate on a smaller portion of the original story. Instead they chose almost a third of the story from this 11 year old Manga for the first movie, and i'm guessing another third for the second. I must say i am a great fan of Gantz and Japanese stuff in general, and the longer i watched the harder it was to not close my eyes and block my hearing with my hands.

Now, for those who don't really care about the "Gantz" bit, the movie itself isn't good either. Acting in most cases seems fake or exaggerated (a feeling i'm sure was accentuated by the English voices). The pacing of the movie could have been greatly improved. The personality of some of the characters seems to change to the opposite quite easily. Some of the action scenes seem surprisingly dull. Etc.

Unless you happen to be a Gantz fan, a special-effects and/or cool-stuff-in-general fan, or are just very bored this movie is not worth watching. I would have given it a 2 or a 3, but i'm guessing the original Japanese voices would be much better than the English dubbing i HAD to hear, and be worth an increase to a 4.

Great Adaptation of the Anime

[eplanti · 9/10 · 18 February 2011]

I actually don't like film adaptations of anime, there's something crazy about trying to follow a series that's roughly 12 hours in length down to a suitable movie format of 1.5 to 3 hrs. What surprised me about the film adaptation of Gantz, is how well they adapted the idea of getting transported to a room relentlessly by a alien sphere to fight aliens shortly after your own death, instead of simply trying trying to mash the plot into a shorter format. They kept most of the aliens, but changed a lot to the series which is pretty refreshing after it had been out for five years. Also, the film is just as brutal and violent as it is in the anime, maybe even more so with the film's added realism.

Great moments but generally not great

[bougheyrm · 5/10 · 17 May 2012]

I've never read manga series or watched the TV show but after seeing this title knocking around for a while I decided to rent it and give it a go.

I enjoyed it and thought that there were some great moments in it. I love the teleport effect of slicing the person (although I notice that there is the usual Star Trek transporter quirk that sometimes people arrive as they were sent but at other times they don't). I also like the basic concept of a hidden war (and that it's not too certain who are the good guys.

Yuriko Yoshitaka is stunning to look at but has nothing to do (Ken'ichi Matsuyama as Kato is the same to be honest). The down side is that there are occasions when terrible decisions are taken simply because no one could (presumably) think of a better way to write the scene. for example when Kato is killed it takes forever to die during which time Kurono could have been trying to kill the alien and so save him.

Overall a good and some pleasing design

Gantz Movie Versus Manga

[Cyde_Sanitas · 8/10 · 19 February 2011]

To start with, I enjoyed the Gantz movie.

When it comes to movies versus "books" it's a hard choice to make, when deciding which is better.

The Manga is definitely the best.

But here's what I've concluded with comparing books and movies...

Movies are made not to necessarily follow the book word for word. Gantz really did a decent job with following both the Manga and the Anime. Yes, stuff was changed around. Most movies do such a thing.

I am upset that the driving basis for the character Kurono is gone... (He was very sexually frustrated and found out how to play the game better due to this fact...) And the violence was toned down tremendously.. But overall, I found the movie to be enjoyable.

The thing about watching a movie based on a book (Or an addition to an anime series) is that they want to change things. What fun is it to read a book and see the exact same thing happen on screen? It's kind of interesting to find something different happen in the story compared to what you had read.

I am very familiar with the series, I'm on my third time through the Manga as we speak. The Character designs are great and the development is wonderful. Though, I can disagree on Kurono's character in the movie... They popularized it.

Going from a perverted teenager who just wants to get laid to a "I want to be successful" character is quite a jump, but them doing Kato... Hit the nail on the head... I can't make a full on review at the moment until I see part two and how much they encompass with it. Considering the Manga is still ongoing and the movie claims that it's going to be an end makes me think that Phase 3 will not be part of this set and it will be like watching the Anime all over again...

Final Thought: The movie did the manga justice for what I had seen of it. Minus the sexual tension, immense violence and extensive swearing (Which are all major portions of Gantz, but could be toned down to be more friendly... Especially for a two hour movie) They hit the story and overall aspects of the series on the head. No, it's no word for word by the Manga, but who cares? Instead of seeing the same thing repeated, why not enjoy a new twist on the story that still follows the major guidelines?

Ultra skinny version of the anime/manga.

[frankblack-79961 · 4/10 · 29 March 2022]

I get that it's a movie with a time constraint, but cmon. Why even waste the time to make a film that can barely scratch the surface of the story. Stick to the anime and the animated film Gantz 0 if you want to watch anything Gantz.

Gantz : Great Movie

[denizuzun58 · 8/10 · 13 February 2013]

I first watch the movie then te manga collection and believe me, I enjoyed the movie... I must say the manga was great but the movie was very good.

First of all, most people are talking about the anime/manga and that the movie ain't the same. You cant make the same effect because if you draw you use a pencil ( use your imagination and you will put it on the paper) if you make a movie you cant use every thing you like because some time its not possible to put it in the big screen + then it would be exactly the same as the manga and people will say they just copied the script from the manga/anime !!!

Some people say please shoot shoot shoot than it would be like statship troopers it would sucked. You should put you're self in there shoes, the first time you see an alien you don't believe what you see you freez e and all that mambo jambo ........... i think you understand

i love people who critisies dit you ever made a movie no shut up then

PRAY EVERYONE DIES

[MadamWarden · 3/10 · 21 February 2022]

What a silly movie about absolutely awful people. Some ok CGI effects and concepts but other than that, I have never hoped that the protaginists die horrible deaths so much in a movie before.

Really not much to recommend here.

Only for lovers of the Manga or Anime

[pontram · 1 November 2011]

Japanese movies were often innovative, groundbreaking, trend-setting, also for the western movie industry. This declined during the last 10 - 15 years, that may (towards I tend to believe) or may not caused by the growing occurrence of Anime movies, often Manga-based. Therefore, Asian quality movies are now coming more from other countries.

'Gantz' has its origins in a popular 'Seinen' Manga (for adults), which were in Japan also successful as Anime series. It starts up with a mystery. A few people are rematerialized in a room after their obvious death. The machinery responsible for their resurrection uses unimaginable technology, but orders them to fight against so-called 'Aliens', and to gain points like in an ordinary video-game. Confronted with their first mission the people react different, some of them are killed, but most of them are completely disturbed.

Until the first mission the movie is (from a western point of view) intriguing; effects and design ideas are announcing a decent mystery/sf experience, if the audience isn't aware of the Manga/Anime.

That lasts about 10, maybe 15 minutes, until one realizes, that any further impressing film experience will not happen. If you know the Manga or the Anime series, you know that the movie won't bring any deeper insights than disturbed people, hesitating to pull the trigger even when it goes for their (second) life, and Aliens mostly waiting for being destroyed between cheesy dialogs. Most of the Anime's sexual content and language is absent in the movie; but not the inexplicable behavior of the participants, both human or alien (or director/writer/producer).

Furthermore, there is no real mystery, as one, who is not familiar with the 'Gantz' Manga, may hope. It's simple simple simple. The machine is for playing the game, it's not something between the realms of death and life, it's no matter of Karma or God or the Devil. It's a machine built for a game, built by someone, and this someone isn't even a computer nerd version of an AVP predator. So, there is no revelation, no development. There isn't even a noticeable story anymore.

Between the fights the survivors are released to the real world, so they may continue their lost life, until they are transferred to the next mission, where new dead people arrive mostly to be killed because of their freezing despair (women) or dumbness (men). The real-life part of the characters between the missions is mostly lengthened and could have been cut with very little effect.

If someone would argue, that there are insights shown to the abysms of human behavior or the illness of the society, or something that goes one millimeter deeper than Video Game Shooting, I could not disagree more than to that. I would accept it for 'Gamer', but not 'Gantz'.

Overall, the movie could have been cut to some 75 min. length, and as a result it would be slightly entertaining for an audience with an IQ greater 70.

People who expect a decent Japanese movie, will be deeply disappointed. There is a CGI quality to mention, but asides from the flawed plot, there is too much overacting and screaming, to keep the level at least in the B class.

Great! Best to Binge Gantz and Gantz 2

[joeywyss · 10/10 · 3 August 2014]

This is a lot better than I expected, although I wish I'd known Gantz 2 was actually a sequel that was better than the original, or at least a vital part of what should have been a multi-episode mini-series. If I had watched both together I would have enjoyed much much more. I assumed it would be a light fun sci-fi popcorn movie, but it has much more depth than that in the end which makes it truly satisfying. It suffers from a dialogue issue I find with a lot of Asian import films, whereas the humor or exposition doesn't quite translate to English, but that's not really a fault so much as to be expected. It was a wise decision to use Asian actors to do the English overdubs , and the cast do an excellent job of mimicking to the tracks although clearly not speaking the vocal. The director has a clear and concise vision here, and is completely successful in finessing the photography although he really shines in Gantz 2. The action and fight scenes are a joy, with the wire-acrobatics and choreography you'd expect. Against the alien mutants in Gantz-1 they are great to watch, but against the more human aliens in Gantz-2 they're much more appreciated. Gantz-1 has more of a humorous undertone to it than Gantz-2 (although that turns out to be a mistake when dealing with the robot mutant, he's a badass), where Gantz-2 is much more sinister and dark. There are no glaring plot holes (save one in G-2 that I assume just got left on the editing room floor) in either piece. Plot is fluid and not plodding. The production budget is greatly increased in G-2 and it shows. The ending of Gantz/Gantz-2 as a set piece is perfect, with very little room for any attempt of a "Gantz-3 : Resurrection!!", and that makes it even more satisfying. Cast is capable and believable, even past the leads. Don't watch one without the other, you'll benefit.

This cannot be Gantz

[holoduke · 1/10 · 8 February 2012]

First of all, this movie kinda tells me that manga artists are smarter than movie directors in Japan. This movie is just a plain disaster. I've read other reviewers saying the movie was following the original series, but WTF were they barking about? I really doubt that the director of this movie has ever read the series thoroughly. I'm pretty sure he, she or it at best has read just first few chapters and then just skimped through the rest. If he, she or it has read the manga thoroughly before making the movie, then I have sympathy for him, her, or it because I cannot imagine how hard it must have been for him, her or it to live in this world having problem comprehending what he, she or it sees. The story was twisted way off the acceptable level from the original. If he, she or it could not make it better, then he, she or it should have followed the original story faithfully. Dragon Ball the movie had to obviously be stupid as with all anime based movies made here in U.S.A., but Gantz was filmed in Japan, and I had a great hope for this movie, but the maker of this Gantz movie just blew my hope away! I want this movie to be re-done in by a smarter director in near future.