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Appleseed Ex Machina (Two-Disc Special Edition) | 
| Director: Shinji Aramaki
Actor: Kara Greenberg
Studio: Warner Home Video
Category: DVD
List Price: $34.98
Buy Used: $17.96
You Save: $17.02 (49%)
New (42) Used (18) Collectible (3) from $17.96
Rating:  105 reviews
Sales Rank: 22041
Format: Animated, Closed-captioned, Collector's Edition, Color, Dvd-video, Limited Edition, Widescreen, Ntsc
Languages: English (Original Language), Japanese (Original Language)
Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Region: 1
Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
Number Of Discs: 2
Running Time: 104 Minutes
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1
Dimensions (in): 7.1 x 5.4 x 0.6
MPN: 120067
UPC: 085391200673
EAN: 0085391200673
ASIN: B0010358D0
Theatrical Release Date: 2007
Release Date: March 11, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Editorial Reviews:
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: 159 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391200673 Manufacturer No: 120067
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
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| Customer Reviews: Read 100 more reviews...
Worth the watch. March 4, 2008
T. Robinson (Savannah)
28 out of 31 found this review helpful
The visuals are nothing short of stunning, especially in HD. It's worth the download just to check out how beautifully the cg animation is rendered. The action scenes are tight, with Matrix-esque slow motion shots, crazy camera angles and an emphasis on heavy gun play, indicative of producer John Woo's style. One drawback on the cg animation though is that when characters interact with each other physically it seems awkward. They don't feel like they are touching. I imagine that when you make something with animation like that you'd run into clipping issues when the characters intereact heavily. In fact, it reminded me of cut scenes from Eternal Sonata, a video game using similar animation techniques but on a bigger scale obviously.
The story is an upgrade from the first movie, although the main antagonist borrows heavily from classic Star Trek villain, the Borg. There's even a Borg like cube of sorts that serves as it's foundation. The subplot consists of a triangle between Deunan, Briareos (the main protagonists from the first movie) and Tereus, a biroid created mostly from Briareos's DNA who becomes Deunan's new partner after her lover falls in battle.
If I were to make a criticism I'd say that the main antagonist was revealed a tad too late, making the final resolution a little anti-climactic. At a runtime of about an hour and 40 minutes I felt like another 20 minutes would have been justified. When it was over, I couldn't quite believe it at first. Also, and this may be a good thing, events from the first movie go almost completely without mention. This means that you won't have to have seen the first one to appreciate this, but at the same time there is a lack of continuity for those that did.
All in all though, it's a good film and worth a watch.
 Inferior to its predecessor in every way. March 15, 2008
iansomniak (USA, Planet Earth)
17 out of 30 found this review helpful
The producers of EX MACHINA have robbed Appleseed of its uniqueness and given us something that resembles a video game cut-scene. The shiny cell shading that made the previous film so visually appealing is completely gone. Everything looks like it's made of rubbery plastic and the people look and move like dolls. Deunan's cute anime look has been removed. Her eyes are much smaller and her lips are too thin. The corners of her mouth are turned down much of the time, giving her an odd pouty look. Briareos now has green "eyes" instead of red. The streets are no longer paved with reflective material and the vehicles, for the most part, move on tires rather than hovering. The city of Olympus has only one mirrored dome rather than two. Furthermore, the music is nothing special. There are no Boom Boom Satellites or Paul Oakenfold tunes to accentuate the action. The English voices are all different and the dialogue is peppered with profanity. Yet, much of the commentary track is devoted to telling viewers how "rushed" the 2004 version was and how much better this version is. And the features on the bonus disc are devoted to telling us how great anime is, despite the fact that this sequel has been stripped of all its anime-ness. Sorry guys, EX MACHINA is okay, but the first movie was not broke and therefore should not have been fixed. Simply put, if you loved Appleseed 2004, you will most likely be disappointed with this effort.
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