What is Casshern? It is a Live-Action Japanese film from a 1973 anime released back in October in the US. The film isn't directly based off a video game but you'd be hard press not to find them while watching this colorful and fascinating film.




YES, this movie deserves big boxart like this!




Trailer (duh!)


Plot: The time is the late 21st Century; fifty years of war between Europa and the Eastern Federation have left the planet devastated and the human race completely dispirited. In the aftermath of the Eastern Federation "victory," a new federation known as Eurasia is born. But the planet has been ravaged beyond the point of repair by nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons, and a half-century of warfare has taken a devastating toll on all mankind. At first, it appears that salvation is imminent when a highly respected geneticist named Azuma announces the discovery of a so-called "neo cell" that can rejuvenate the human body without risk of rejection. Mankind's last hope threatens to become its ultimate downfall, however, when nature and science combine to create a menace that could very well extinguish the human race forever. Now, as the human race prepares to make its last stand against the ultimate enemy, a powerful warrior will emerge to fight for mankind and provide hope for future generations.
[Copy & Pasta via Fandango]


My Review: First thing I have to say is that it is pretty. It has style, yes it does. The art designers were simply on top of their game here. The vibrant colors and stark contrasts really made this stood out among my usual movie watching. Oh course, so did the video game references but not to that yet. The colors really helped with some underlying themes when one scene is brightly shaded and the next is almost as if it were black and white.


Now about them video games. They did not come straight out and say, "this is Megaman time," but it did give off the vibe. I like to refer to this film as I did in the title for that very reason. Imagine if Capcom and the movie industry got it on one night and the movie industry woke up with a present inside her and no Capcom. Nine months later, a beautiful baby came out all pretty, smart, and everything you want in a kid. Infancy and childhood, helped it develop the fundamentals while the teenage years were rough. They were endurable and led up to a satisfying adulthood, but saddly never knowing of its father. Despite not knowing of a father figure in its life, it possessed much of the attributes as its father. Such similarities were embodied in imagery of reanimated people that moved like zombies, robot armies that face off against someone who looks like the ultimate cyborg, a white-haired red cape-wearing sword-wielder, and some more. Yeah, that sums it up very nicely. I don't know if it was intentional but I immediately took these "nods to their counterparts" with a smile.


And the action sequences...can't forget those! That is what the movie is about, right?. Sure, there is a story and plot and messages but as I have said before, these types of Asian films should be all about the fighting cause that is the best part. This one does not disappoint in that line of thinking. You got real war, sword fights, robot fights, vehicle fights, and more. What more could you ask for? If you are still requesting, you are looking for too much.

There does seem to be a "hidden" political message lying in the film but it isn't too hard to get what they are poking at. At least it isn't driven into your head repeatedly in the film like some other film did unfortunately. Towards the end I did find myself wondering how is this going to work out and if I was going to be disappointed with the ending. To my relief, I was able to welcomed it with open arms. I won't spoil it but it fit nicely together to round out this movie.


Conclusion: I loved the movie. Despite the slow down period in the middle, it was a blast and came together nicely at the end. The biggest downer is that the DVD has next-to-no special features. I can't remember but I thought there was zero total. I should also point out that this is strictly subtittled. There is NO English dubbing. If you can't handle it then this movie isn't for you.

And I STRONGLY urge you to NOT watch trailers on this movie if you are planning to watch it. Most trailers contain the epic fight scenes and therefore spoils the movie. So trust me when I say, don't watch the trailers if you can help it.

Also, I want to watch this in HD.


My Rating: 8 - Sweet visual action with a nice closing, DVD extras would make this an own if you aren't in love with it.