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Appleseed Ex Machina (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD] | ![Appleseed Ex Machina (Combo HD DVD and Standard DVD) [HD DVD]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51ir%2BEIx2iL._SL500_.jpg)
| Director: Shinji Aramaki
Actor: Kara Greenberg
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
Buy New: $49.93
Avg. Customer Rating:  105 reviews
Sales Rank: 13605
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, Widescreen
Language: English (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Media: HD DVD
Number Of Items: 1
Running Time: 104
Aspect Ratio: 1.85:1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 120065
UPC: 085391200659
EAN: 0085391200659
ASIN: B0010358EE
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: April 1, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Brand new, factory sealed! 100% Guaranteed!
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.com
Produced by John Woo and directed by Shinji Aramaki, Appleseed Ex Machina (2007) ranks as the most elaborate, stylish, and violent of the three adaptations of Masamune Shirow's manga. When it was released in 1988, the original Appleseed felt like a summary of anime's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. The second Appleseed (2004), also directed by Aramaki, was an unimpressive motion-capture CG feature that borrowed elements from other sci-fi anime. In this latest incarnation, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus of the E.S.W.A.T. team are charged with preserving the peace of the city-state of Olympus, a hi-tech paradise on a largely ruined Earth. Screenwriters Kiyoto Takeuchi and Todd W. Russell have given the story a contemporary twist, adding attacks by "cyborg terrorists" and an effort by the ruler of Olympus to control a world-wide satellite surveillance system. When cyborgs and human launch coordinated attacks on the government headquarters in Olympus, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus swing into action against a mysterious enemy. The plot has little in common with the earlier films: the Appleseed technology that was at the core of the story isn't even mentioned. The look, tone, and characters in Ex Machina recall Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, rather than the original Appleseed. Not surprisingly, the elaborately choreographed fight scenes reflect Woo's signature style, with slo-mo martial-arts combat, close-ups of falling shells, dynamic camerawork, and all-out gun battles. But the weightless movements of the motion-capture characters and the limited rendering of the skin textures gives Appleseed Ex Machina the feel of an extremely elaborate computer game. Despite the limits of the mo-cap technology, Appleseed Ex Machina is a fast-past, take-no-prisoners cinematic adventure that will delight action-movie fans as well as anime lovers. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, profanity, grotesque imagery, potentially offensive religious imagery.) --Charles Solomon
Product Description
The next installment in the Appleseed franchise Appleseed: Ex Machinaavailable on DVD! Produced by John Woo and Directed by Shinji Aramakiand featuring next generation CG technology Appleseed: Ex Machina isback bigger and badder!Based on the manga from reknown creator Shirow Masamune in this movieDeunan and Briareos are both partners and lovers. As members of ESWATthe elite forces serving Olympus they are deployed everywhere troublestrikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way bythe arrival of Tereus who uncannily resembles Briareos before thewartime injuries that led to his becoming a cyborg. At the same timeOlympus finds itself under a stealth attack . Cyborg terrorism deadlynanotech zealots and rioting citizens are just some of the threats thatDeunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus.System Requirements:Running Time: 104 minutesFormat: DVD HD Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391200659 Manufacturer No: 120065
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| Customer Reviews: Read 100 more reviews...
 Worthy Sequel September 26, 2008
I've enjoyed anime in the style of Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed. Appleseed Ex Machina is a worthy sequel to Appleseed. While the plot is not as intricate as one of the GITS movies, it's still engaging enoough to be enjoyable and a fun escape from reality. I recommend this movie.
Complex story, richly detailed animation September 23, 2008
Only the action is over the top. But it's 'just' a cartoon, so that's OK, right?
Visually, "Appleseed Ex Machina" is overwhelming in detail, design, and in the illusion of camera movement. The city scapes are so detailed you'd think they were rendered from photos of real urban environments. Textures of fabric and surfaces are incredible, only a small step from photo realistic. Only human skin is visibly simplified, consistant with the animé aesthetic. The opening sequence was set in what appeared to be the cathedral in Koln, Germany, down to the gothic detailing in the buttresses and the stained-glass windows, except you'd never be able to film that kind of action there. The sci-fi gadgets were equally well done, mostly with a very plausible and appropriate feel. Pulling in Prada to design costumes for the animation was innovative, and added another layer of depth to the cartoon.
Yeah, the action was over the top. Noted. It was no more extreme than 'Matrix', despite having less limits than a photography type movie. Still, it was appropriate to the medium and plot.
The complexity of the story, the relationships, the character flaws, and depth of the characters pushes out of the Saturday morning league, and past the level of many conventional films. There is a mixture of flaws, tensions, caring, and bravado entirely fitting the story, but well done. In the story, there are several layers from a chaste romance between colleagues, questions of trust and loyalty at many levels, to international power games.
I don't normally hold animé in high esteem, but "Appleseed Ex Machina" exceeded all expectations.
E. M. Van Court
P.S. Nice analog watches.
V
amazing! September 18, 2008
State of the art! Japanese animation at its full potential! Great Computer Art Work, with details that value a level up an already excelent screenplay. Two tumbs up!
 Lacking September 17, 2008
Visually it is great but that is the best thing about it. The story drags along at times....fight scenes are decent. Nothing new here...Vexille is a far better watch.
 John Woo Needs To Be Stopped August 20, 2008
1 out of 3 found this review helpful
I've never been a huge fan of John Woo. I think Hard Boiled (1992) is one of the greatest action films ever made, and I liked The Killer (1989), A Better Tomorrow (1986), and Bullet In the Head (1990), but we need to be honest with ourselves and recognize that this guy sold his soul to Hollywood in the mid-1990s and hasn't made a great film since 1992.
He has, however, completely destroyed a sequel to one of the best American movies of recent memory (Mission Impossible) by over-Hollywoodizing a uniquely non-Hollywood film made by Hollywood. That's quite an ironic feat that he should be particularly ashamed of. Now we have Appleseed: Ex Machina (2007) to add to the list of Woo-ish debacles over the past 16 years.
This sequel to the exceptional anime drops the ball in a number of respects, yet still proves to be a marginally entertaining movie. The most obvious fault is that numerous events are near copies of science fiction movies from the West, thus making this endeavor much too conventional for a Japanese anime. In addition, the storyline wasn't as well-conceived as the original. Luckily, this movie has just enough positives to earn a watch. The protagonists are very likable characters, the plot is engaging, and the visuals are very good. The action scenes don't reach the levels of exoticism or quality of the original, but they are still moderately entertaining. In the end this is a very flawed picture that will only satisfy anime action junkies that can look around some mediocre elements.
Now, there were some very specific Woo-ish aspects that really annoyed me. First and foremost are the doves. Yes, there are heaping amounts of flying doves in this Japanese anime film! Why the hell is John Woo so obsessed with doves? Yeah, they provide some ironic symbolism during action scenes, but using them to the degree that he does I have no doubts that he touches himself to pictures of doves when he's alone at night. And the fact that he uses these little birdies in almost every one of his movies proves to be almost as annoying as Rob Zombie's habitual use of white trash folk in his movies. Yes, it's that annoying.
But wait. Maybe I'm jumping to conclusions regarding just how much influence Woo had in this watchable (yet severely disappointing) sequel. So I fired up the Special Features option on the DVD menu and watched the 16-minute "Making Of" featurette that focuses specifically on John Woo's influence as a producer. It provided some much needed information regarding just how far this has-been shell of a director has fallen. Let me run down some of the statements made by the Japanese director and producers of this film:
"This is the first time a big time Hollywood director has tried to tackle Japanese Anime."
So Woo isn't even recognized as a director of Chinese cinema anymore. How quaint. No one in this "Making Of" feature even mentioned his Chinese filmography.
"Japanese producers wanted to expand into the Western market and saw that working with John Woo would be a good match."
Nice. If your name is dropped by someone as the foremost expert in Hollywoodization, would you really take that as a compliment? Man, this guy has really hit rock bottom.
"John brought his years of experience in Hollywood to it."
Well, he certainly brought all of the negatives of Hollywood cinema to this production. That was obvious from watching the movie. How many times do you see a Japanese Anime film copy scenes from I Robot and The Matrix Revolutions? Yes, it's really, really pathetic.
The most enlightening statement was with regards to the preliminary Japanese storyboards.
"John took a look at it and came up with some really great notes."
What was particularly hilarious about this statement is that on-screen you see John Woo's head shaking in a disapproving, almost disgusted manner while watching the initial storyboards. It's almost like he's saying to himself, "This is way too Japanese for an American audience. We need more slow-mo shots and conventional elements to reach a wider audience and make more money." Nice job Johnny boy.
Director Shinji Aramaki apparently conceived Ex Machina to be nothing more than a tribute to Woo's work. He says:
"We devised the Cathedral scene before John showed up to pay homage to his work."
It's really too bad that Aramaki was so accommodating to implementing all of Woo's ideas into the film. It effectively crippled a movie that should have been as good as the original.
I hate to say it, but John Woo is a no-talent has-been who has only harmed the international film industry since making Hard Boiled in 1992. I have no problems with him making tripe in America. Heck, that's what American cinema is for. But don't you DARE to take your new-found money-grubbing mediocrity to Japanese anime - one of the most unconventional genres of cinema in the world today.
Someone needs to stop this guy before he attempts to wreck another Asian movie.
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