Space Battleship Yamato 720p - (2010 Lang: English)

Finally, a true "Space Battleship" movie...



... should have been made by the people who made this "live-action" Space Battleship Yamato (2010) movie-- which is based on the Classic (first major "space opera"-- after Star Trek, before Star Wars) animated TV series of the same name , and much closer in style and content to Star Trek The Original TV Series... since it doesn't devolve into the teen-angst or "slo-mo" action of recent Hollywood blockbusters.

The source material is given many judicious "updates" which largely made sense to me from a story, if not production, stand-point: e.g. the talking robot "Analyzer" is now a "SIM" module which you can load into other devices and the aliens are now truly "alien" with technology and energy signatures which humans have difficulty detecting or understanding.... And the writing is smart enough to make light of the "old-schooled" stuff they keep-- like their costumes ("we're still wearing this?") and one-liners. In fact, there is so little "fan-service" or "sequel baiting" that non-fans probably won't realize that this is an adaptation of a 1970s TV animation series (using the ORIGINAL music)!

P.S. To anyone who thinks that the characters' reactions to the movie's apocalyptic story is unrealistic (taking time to make decisions, say farewells, mourn/salute the dead)-- just look at how real Japanese people deal with their earthquakes and tsunamis.

Owing to the fact that the Japanese "general movie audience" is not that much larger than the Japanese anime/manga audience, there is no faux issue of "re-imagining" the source material for a "new/larger" audience-- and the writers rise to the monumental task of "condensing" many epic, if episodic, story-arcs (which should have taken a trilogy, if not a series of 7/8 movies) into a single feature film... by focusing on the STORY! In fact, this movie is so tightly structured that the only really unexplained or implausible thing in it is probably all of the actors' great hair... and the secret lies in using sci-fi movie tropes (most of it actually originating from their source material), NOT explaining them-- since no amount of techno-babble will turn a plot device into reality.

Which is where, I believe, this movie will divide audiences into fans and non-fans of the source material (or sci-fi/anime in general)-- a downside of all this emphasis on story is, of course, a relative lack of characterization.... Though thankfully, anime stereotypes have at least one more dimension than their Hollywood counterparts and the casting is mostly SPOT-ON (you who believe skinny anime characters with fluffy hair do not exist in Japan, repent!) And some inevitably heavy narration and exposition which might have been risible were thankfully short, focused and well-delivered-- with a touch of self-awareness (*eye-rolling*) by the characters themselves. And as expected, veteran actors deliver their lines and inhabit their characters without batting an eyelid, while younger cast members are less convincing with their histrionics.

So while this might seem like a pretty generic space adventure to "general audiences"; it is and has always been intended as a treat for the fans. And this movie won me over for the simple fact that, after decades of Star Wars and Star Trek, it could still make me go "WOW..." every time an alien or a space-ship appeared, for all of 3/4 of a second-- because it's not what you have, it's how you use it!

For this is low-budget movie-making by Hollywood standards, so there is absolutely no "pimping" of expensive special effects-- which means that the only time you get to see the aliens/space-ships is when they are actually doing something ESSENTIAL to the plot. And sci-fi fans might also note that they got the relative speeds of capital-ships (bigger = slower) vs fighter-ships, missile-fire, warp-effects (almost instantaneous by comparison) RIGHT-- so there is no such rubbish as waiting for "visual confirmation" (which is meaningless in the vastness of space) or capital-ships "dodging" long-range fire (which would hit almost as soon as they are "detected").

All this means going back to the "bridge battles" of submarine/battleship warfare (this Yamato looks/works more like a submarine with a skeletal crew, than some cruise-boat or flying-city) which rely more on having good scripts/actors than special effects-- and people who don't think this can't be nerve-wrecking should see how they "set-up" the Yamato's SPLIT-SECOND "warp-maneouvers"!

The budgetary limits really start showing up near the end of the movie-- but if the money is lacking, the heart is not: the relatively simple yet distinct special effects design (transforming "2-stage" fighter-ships!) is always a pleasure to behold, even when very tight (or wide) shots are used in order to avoid rendering very expensive details. It may be just a few frames of CGI, but the "impact" will leave you re-playing it in your mind...

The real only disappointment for me, if any, would be how the human and environmental issues (Living with irradiated earth? Leaders making up "white lies"?) ever-present in the best of Japanese anime is left in the background-- as both the challenges and solutions presented in the story are essentially alien-related. I mean, I'm ashamed to admit to one of the more touching moments for me was when "Analyzer" finally took on its robot-form (hey, it had more lines than the "red shirts")....

Space Battleship Yamato (SPACE BATTLESHIP ヤマト? Supēsu Batorushippu Yamato) is a 2010 Japanese science fiction film based on the Space Battleship Yamato anime series by Yoshinobu Nishizaki and Leiji Matsumoto. The film was released in Japan on December 1, 2010. It was released on DVD and Blu-ray in Japan on June 24, 2011, and in the United States on April 29, 2014.

In 2199, after five years of attacks by an alien race known as Gamilas, the Earth Defense Force launches a counter-offensive near Mars. The fleet's weapons are no match for the Gamilas, who easily wipe out much of the force. During the battle, EDF captain Mamoru Kodai volunteers to use his damaged ship, the destroyer Yukikaze, as a shield to cover Captain Jyuzo Okita's ship, allowing his escape. Mamoru's ship is destroyed.

On Earth, Mamoru's brother Susumu is scavenging on the irradiated surface near the half-buried wreck of the battleship Yamato, when an object impacts near him and knocks him unconscious. He awakens to find an alien message capsule. Susumu also notices that the radiation has been reduced to safe levels around him. He is rescued by Okita's returning ship and it is discovered that the capsule contains engineering schematics for a new warp drive and coordinates for the planet from which it came (Iskandar). After learning what happened at Mars, Susumu accuses Okita of using his brother as a sacrificial lamb and tries to hit him, but crewmember Yuki Mori violently stops him.

Okita believes the hope for humanity lies within Iskandar. A request for volunteers for the mission is sent out, and Kodai - a former EDF pilot - decides to reenlist. Their last battleship, the long-dead Yamato, is rebuilt and enhanced with alien technology. Before the Yamato can launch, the Gamilas attack with a gigantic missile. Captain Okita gives the order to fire the yet-untested Wave Motion Cannon, which successfully destroys the incoming missile. Kodai is reunited with his old fighter squad. Yuki, who joined the EDF years ago because of her admiration for Kodai, is bitter towards him.

The Yamato crew performs their first warp test and encounters more Gamilas ships. Since the Wave Motion Cannon is powered by the same reactor as the warp drive, the crew has to wait until the engine recharges before they can warp again. The Yamato destroys the alien capital ships, but the battle damages Yuki's fighter. Kodai launches to rescue her and is sent to the brig for disobeying orders. Shima, Kodai's former squad-mate, tells Yuki that Kodai left the service because he accidentally caused the death of his own parents and also nearly Shima's wife during a mission.

After warping out of the Milky Way, the Yamato crew finds a Gamilas fighter adrift and recovers it to study, but the alien pilot is still alive and possesses Commando Team Leader Hajime Saitō, in order to communicate. The alien calls himself Dessla and says the Gamilas are a race with a hive mind. Kodai stuns the possessed Saito, but the alien apparently is destroyed.

Later, an ailing Captain Okita makes Kodai the acting-captain. The crew discovers the captured Gamilas fighter contains a homing beacon, giving away their position. The Yamato fires its Wave Motion Cannon to destroy a Gamilas ship, but a stealth Gamilas spacecraft latches onto the ship's occupied third bridge on the bottom of the hull. Kodai reluctantly orders Yuki, in her fighter, to blast the third bridge support away moments before it detonates, saving the Yamato but killing several crew. Kodai apologizes to Yuki for ordering her to doom their crewmates, and they have an intimate moment as the ship warps again.

The Yamato arrives at Iskandar, but is met by a large Gamilas fleet that sends a spacecraft to obstruct the muzzle of the Wave Motion Cannon. With their main weapon disabled, Kodai makes the dangerous choice to conduct a random warp and ends up at the opposite side of Iskandar. They are surprised to see that it is lifeless, and in fact strongly resembles Earth in its presently irradiated state. It is then discovered that Gamilas and Iskandar are the same planet. The crew thinks it is a trap, but Kodai urges them to go ahead. He leads an attack party to the planet's surface against heavy Gamilas opposition. Much of the assault force is killed, and the remaining pilots stay behind to cover for Kodai, Sanada, Saito and Mori as they head for the coordinates.

Once they reach the coordinates, an alien possesses Yuki's body and explains that the Gamilas and Iskandar are two aspects of the same race. The alien says their planet is dying and they saw Earth as the most suitable replacement, after first killing off humanity. Iskandar did not agree with this and was imprisoned. Iskandar implants in Yuki the ability to clean the radiation from Earth. As she and Kodai return to the Yamato, Saito and Sanada sacrifice themselves by destroying the Gamilas power source. The Yamato returns to Earth, where Okita dies. The crew rejoices at their return home, but a surviving Gamilas ship ambushes them and severely damages the warship. Dessla now appears and says they no longer wish to invade the Earth; however, since the majority of the Gamilas were killed, he intends to destroy the planet with his ship to avenge his race. Kodai orders the surviving crew to abandon ship before he pilots the Yamato on a kamikaze attack against Dessler's ship. He fires the blocked Wave Motion Cannon, which destroys both spaceships.

The ending shows Yuki standing with a child, implied to be Kodai's son, on the Earth's surface now restored to its original state.

This movie was supposed to be some kind of "revolution" in the Japanese movie market: great actors, great story (based upon an icon of animation from the 70-80ies), great CGI...BUT only CGI should be considered good. The acting is too mediocre especially Kimura Takuya whose presence is in 95% of the footage. There is absolutely no believable romance between the main characters, the last 20 minutes are dull, amateurish in both script and acting. The only good part is the CGI but you will see it only in 5% of the movie as i said before the other 95% is occupied by Kimura Takuyas face...