Casshern at last comes to North America on October 16th! That’s tomorrow! If you watch one movie this year-heck, this decade-make it this. From the cinematography to the drama to the action this movie is leaps and bounds beyond anything in it’s realm. Some of the more hardcore anime fans out there may think the name sounds familiar; this is actually a remake of the hit 1973 anime Shinzo Ningen Casshân! Plus the theme song is done by Utada Hikaru…honestly, how could you possibly go wrong with her writing the theme song? Think of it as The Matrix if it was a billion times more awesome. That’s one heck of a lot of awesome.
Casshern takes place in an alternate world after a massive war has ended, leaving the world in a broken and distressed state. Geneticist, Dr. Azuma, vies for support from the government for his neo-cell treatment that he claims can rejuvenate the body and regenerate humankind. But the government leaders, guarding their own deeply entrenched powers, turn down the professor. Driven to complete his work, Dr. Azuma accepts a secret offer from a sinister faction of the powerful military. After an incident occurs in Dr. Azuma’s lab, a race of mutant humans known as the Shinzo Ningen are unleashed upon the world and his son, Tetsuya Azuma, who had died in the war is revived as the invincible warrior Casshern. Now only he, reincarnated with an invincible body, stands between the Shinzo Ningen and a world on the brink of annihilation.
The CGI is jaw-dropping, especially considering the movie actually came out in Japan 2 years ago now. It’s extremely stylized and actually reminds me of Sky Captain And The World Of Tomorrow in a way. It heavily uses anime techniques including camera angles, action backgrounds, acting styles, and plot elements. This movie is so immensely epic, it has been called “better than both matrix sequels combined”. That’s a rather lofty claim, but boy does it ever back it up.
This movie has everything anyone would ever want in a movie like this; incredible action and choreography, extraordinary special effects and CGI, great writing, very passionate and engaging characters, and a wicked story. Usually when someone tells me a movie will “keep me on the edge of my seat” it ends up being more like “keep me from channel out of sheer boredom”, but this movie is one astonishing exception to that general rule. Perfect isn’t good enough to lick Casshern’s boots.
I very much give two thumbs way up for this, I’d even give more if I could but I only have two hands. If you want a sensational action/drama movie to watch, go get this movie right now. You will not regret it.
The Japanese version is available at Play-Asia, if/when the English version becomes available there I will be sure to update this post!
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