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::sigh:: Where to begin? I just watched Devilman today. No, that's not entirely accurate, more like I skimmed through devilman today. I TRIED to watch, I really did, but dear sweet Jesus the acting is about as HORRIBLE as I've ever seen. Ever. Previous posters have all expounded on the sheer folly of casting pretty boy actors to play the mains, so I will avoid beating a dead horse past what is absolutely necessary.
A trained hamster would have been more believable as Akira.
I love the Devilman storyline and universe, and have been a fan of the manga for years. In my opinion, the movie went disastrously wrong because it attempted to consolidate a super-massive and incredibly relevant story into a mere 90 minutes, touching on not just one but several huge plot lines and seemingly expecting the audience to bring previous knowledge of the series to the theater. It's absurd, and the inane plot is made even worse by the utter emotional detachment the actors have to the material. I've seen B-grade movies with more convincing acting than this.
In all honesty, I can only imagine what the director must have been going through, but even complex source material is no excuse for thoroughly botching a theatrical release. At its crux, the Devilman storyline attempts to distill the nature of human evil by pitting its title character not only against the more black and white villainy of the demons, but to the atrocities that we human readily commit against one another in the name of self preservation. Akira is the perfect tool for trying to convey the various schisms of the concept, but instead of taking his polar natures and attempting to portray them realistically, the movie establishes Akira as a hero simply because he is a "demon with the heart of a human." Stated right in the beginning, after which Ryo comes up and gives Akira the most ridiculous handshake ever.
Oh. Great. Now I understand. That's a lovely way of destroying what could arguably be one of the most intriguing personal conflicts in the history of anime. Hell, Akira's demon nature, Amon, doesn't even so much as blink an eye this entire film even when Akira is stumbling through the ruins of his home clutching his girlfriend's dismembered head to his chest! WHAT THE HELL?! Perhaps I'm being too harsh on the film because I still hold Amon: Apocalypse of Devilman to be one of the better adaptations of the franchise, but is it unreasonable to expect TRAINED ACTORS instead of androgynous manikins trying to bring these characters to life? At the very least, the CG direction did have a few impressive moments, most especially with the way the scene seems to suddenly shift into manga speed lines and scratch-inking whenever Devilman offs a demon. It would have been an absolutely wonderful tool if it had been used as a central visual theme, but on its own its hardly capable of salvaging this mockery of a film.
The director took an amazing storyline and butchered it. Useful only for nights of drunken party dubbing or as a teaching tool for "WHAT NOT TO DO WITH A BELOVED FRANCHISE" in film class. Save yourself the misery and just walk away.
score 1/10
ichongson 7 August 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1145141/ |
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30-3-2021 12:05:23