Gantz Movie Review

Article by Chet Royer

“This movie SAWKS!!!,” was proclaimed loudly from the peanut gallery at the end of the film. I found myself nodding indecisively with agreement. I was not sure how I should feel. So, I decided to go home and process the film in my head. Hello every one, this is Chet a.k.a. Ninja101, and this is my review on the live action film Gantz.

Gantz is a manga written and drawn by Hiroya Oku. It is about these people who die, but are brought back to life by this mysterious black orb named Gantz. However, this ball does not bring them back to life for free. The people have to go on odd and lethal missions to earn points, which will buy them their freedom, if one wishes it.

Honestly, when I first heard that Gantz was going to be turned into a live action film, I was kind of hyped. This was the first time I looked forward to a live action rendition of an animated or manga series. Gantz live action was very do-able. So, I patiently awaited the day of its release. Then the day came, I saw it. After re-watching the movie in my head, I came to the conclusion that I enjoyed the movie. However, you have to watch it with the right expectations.

If you are going into this movie with prior knowledge of the manga, like MANY of the fans did in the theatre I was in, the movie, like I said before, is going to suck. However, if you just take in the movie as a director's take on the manga and see what he tries to do with it, the movie is actually enjoyable.

I must tell you that this movie messes with the story line drastically. Alas, it seems that it was needed. Heck, Gantz is still an ongoing series. Also, from what I heard from many fans, the anime, that has ended, had a horrible ending. That alone made me not watch it. These little factors made me become less critical towards the movie. So, I just judged the movie on it being a movie alone, but for this review I will, for the sake of the manga people, put in some manga comparisons.

Alrighty, let's talk about the good before the bad shall we? Casting! The actors were actually pretty good. The characters did match their manga counter parts. They even got the hair color and styles correct. Kato, one of the protagonist, could have been prettier though...Yes, I thought that in the manga, he looked like a pretty boy! It was a shame we didn't get to hear the voices of the actors themselves.

The costumes were spot on, if not better! Man, they lit up and had that movie quality look to them, kind of like the costumes in the Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers film. The guns looked amazing and very accurate. You were even able to see the mechanics of the gun, and how they moved as they were being fired. The graphics were just as amazing. There was a lot of bloody gore and missing limbs. The “aliens” also looked spot on. The onion alien and its father were so well done. The father actually looked even more scarier than in the manga. I think that anyone who saw the movie would agree that the Tanaka robot, an alien from one of the missions, was the funniest moment in the movie. The director was able to make such a scary situation remain scary but at the same time be hilarious.

The action sequences were awesome! They actually integrated graphics with the live action flawlessly enough to make it not look cheesy or fake. The special Gantz suits even had that muscular bulging when it was called upon. You also got to see the transferring of the body between Gantz's room and the outside world. For the fans of nudity, yes...she does beam into the room naked...the manga readers know what I mean...

Now onto the cons. The only major con, which is not even the movie's fault, was the dubbing. I don't know why it was dubbed, but it was horrid. I felt like I was watching an old Jackie Chan martial arts movie. The voice actors were over acting and at some times, it felt like they were not acting at all. That's really about it for the cons of the movie...IF you didn't read the manga that is.

Now I will tell you the cons from a manga reader's point of view! Let's start with the protagonist, Kei Kurono. They made him older, which was not too bad. As a matter of fact, it made it easier to relate to him, however, that was the problem. In the manga, Kurono is supposed to be a total bastard, almost like the opposite of a usual protagonist. However, you almost kind of like him from the beginning of the movie. Another thing was that Kurono has an odd fashion sense. I remember one scene where we saw Kurono in this one outfit. A fan yells out, “why is he wearing that old lady sweater?” I chuckled, because he did look like an old woman in the sweater. It was a bit off putting.

SPOILERS AHEAD! Remember some of those cool moments in the manga, in the first three missions? Yea!? Well, they are not in the movie! I was so disappointed with the missions in the movie. They used the first three missions: onion alien, Tanaka robot/birds and Buddha. Each of those missions had really cool moments that, in my opinion, would have been awesome to include in the film. I'll take you through them. In mission 1, Kurono is suppose to have his suit, because he is suppose to be able to run away from the onion alien's father and then jump down, what I think was, two flights of stairs. It's in the opening sequence of the anime. Well in the movie, Kurono does not have his suit at all. Instead, we get a sort of Spider-Man movie 1 sequence, where we see Kurono testing out the suit outside...in his old lady sweater.

In mission 2, Kurono is suppose to kill the main aliens without wearing a suit at all, because bullies made him go into the nest of the aliens without it. In the movie, Kurono is a college student (at least, he looks like it). So, he does not really get bullied. Since there were no bullies present in the second mission, Kurono was able to wear his suit and fight the one alien that showed up.

I know you all remember the “Tomb Raider” character from mission 3 that took Kurono's virginity! Well, she is not in it. Now, I'm not mad that there is no sex in the movie, because it's not necessary. However, the character was so cool! She should have been there. Also, remember the final Buddha in the manga? It was replaced with a “thousand armed Buddha” with swords. There was even a moment where the Buddha held up its hand to show that there was a smaller Buddha statue in it. Almost everyone in the theater said, “Oh snap! The lasers!” Nope. Wrong guess people. No lasers that killed everyone. As a matter of fact, three people survived the Buddha mission in the film. I think it was in volume 7, the manga built up this cast that you grew attached to, then it kills all of them off except for Kurono. Oh well. It was the director's choice to leave those things out. This would have made the film better in my opinion, but I guess he needed to leave them out so he can make a conclusion.

Another thing that was left out was the mini bombs inside the Gantz members' heads that would blow up if they mentioned anything about the Gantz room, or if they tried running too far away from the mission site. The third option from the 100 point menu was also left out which was the ability to get a stronger weapon. I don't know why it was left out. Strange, huh? Well I think that ends the manga rant. There is more to be said.

After the film, they had an interview with the two main actors that played Kato and Kurono. It was pretty uneventful and the host (a representative of Otaku USA) was super ultra corny and annoying. The only thing that stuck out to me was when the actor who played Kurono said that hopefully in the next movie, you will get to “hear our voices.” I felt so bad for them. An actor's voice is a very critical part of their acting. So, by having the dub in the movie, we didn't get to fully interpret the actor's full acting potential. The dub may have a negative effect on the fans towards the movie and its actors. So, that is why I feel bad for them.

Now to my beloved fans of anime and manga. It is so odd. Why is the industry failing so badly? Borders don't have enough money to buy manga, NY Anime Festival is some feature of NY Comic Con and not its own convention, and many other things. However, the community itself seems to be growing. From what I heard from one of the theaters that were showing the movie, it got sold out so fast that they had to open another showing just to accommodate the fans. My theater was packed out as well. Every seat was filled, even in the break neck section. The fans love showing up to events and conventions, but for some reason the industry is still dieing off. I feel like this last paragraph, that I'm typing here, is like those commercials were you see neglected animals in need of homes or rescue or something. The industry showed up because fans called for it, but at least in America, its up to the fans to keep it alive. So, instead of stealing the Yu-Gi-Oh card from the manga, buy it! I rather see it sold out than see the manga, pick it up and find that some one ripped a page out of it. You might just save the industry by doing so.

Well, all in all, I enjoyed the film. I would love to watch it again in blu-ray. Maybe it would have some awesome extras. So, yes I will definitely be seeing the conclusion of this film, Gantz the Perfect Answer. They have not announced the second showing. I will be sure to update you all on it. For you people who are willing to watch this movie with the right mind set, slap on your wet suits and your best pair of nike foamposites and go get the dvd when it arrives!
© 2011 Linda Thai