Metropolis (2001-anime version) <spoilers>
----------
In Japanese with subtitles; there is also a
dubbed version, but dubbed versions tend to
suck more.

(Will not compare this to other Metropolis
versions)

This film gets wood on the bone-a-rama scale
only because of the strong scifi theme and the
majorly kickass animation on the backgrounds
and sets. This is in direct contrast to
the ultra-shitty kimba-style animation on
the characters, so it is weird to see the
juxtaposition of tasty/shite animation in the
same film. Would have been better if they could
have snagged the animators from vampire hunter D-
bloodlust for the characters.

I would say that the film is visually stunning,
though not some continuous, mad rollercoaster
ride (although I did get vertigo on the updated
"down the stairs" cart ride).

Needless to say, some of the non-scifi geeks
did not get the (unnecessary) subplot about
the mad scientist's weapon to create intense
sunspots which would frizz electromagnetic
robotic systems, thus causing the robots to go
into an electro-destructive frenzy destroying
a bunch of shit, thereby causing heavily-armed
people to have to blow them up in cool ways.


other good things about the film:

-lots of shit blows up to the tune of "I
 Can't Stop Loving You" by Ray Charles ala
 Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove

-happening jazz score goes well with cool retro
 deco images in many parts of the film

-psycho robot writes dude's name a million
 times on any available surface

-Catastrophic Ending(tm) hyper-dramatic climax
 is truly climactic


other lame things about the film:

-inane dialogue & scanty character depth

-female robot is essentially an angelic,
 innocent, blonde-haired, blue-eyed young girl.
 hurl.

-ending is not as good as it could have
 been. I am not a big fan of sappy hollywood
 endings, but this film still could have had a
 meaningful ending without the demise of one of
 the major characters. Also, the ending is made
 just plain silly with the whole electronic heart
 thing. gak. apparently, this is rectified in
 the Japanese version of the film with a scene
 at the end of the credits which is cut out on
 the US version of the film and the US DVD


viewing parameters:

worth a view on the big screen if you are into
scifi and/or anime