Fullmetal Alchemist: The sacred Star of Milos

By no means is "The Sacred Star of Milos" a bad film. For those wanting to feast their eyes on flashy Japanese animation, or simply to escape from the dullness of everyday life, this motion picture will be a good time.

That being said, at no point does this truly feel like a "Fullmetal Alchemist" film.

Throughout the entire viewing, I felt as though something was off. It wasn't the animation; though "-Milos" utilizes a completely different kind of design and animation than either of the two anime series, once you've accepted that contrast it's easy to marvel at how good-looking it is (almost like a cousin of Ghibli animation). But the story, the characters (old and new), the action, the (lack of) comedy, the (melodramatic) drama...

It feels as though no member of the production had any previous history with the franchise. That alone wouldn't necessarily make this a less-than-awesome film, but the fact is that I never once cared about anything going on on screen does. I didn't care whether our heroes succeeded or if anyone were to die.

In conclusion, "The Sacred Star of Milos" is a better-than-decent adventure film which features some cool animation, but it lacks the emotion to make us care, and - I feel - won't satisfy those expecting another adventure with the Elrics.

If you've read my review on "Fullmetal Alchemist: Conqueror of Shamballa" already, you would know that I am a fan of the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise, which was originally a series of Japanese graphic novels (often called "manga") written and designed by Hiromu Arakawa for "Shonen Gangan", a monthly magazine published by Square Enix. Yes. That Square Enix. It was turned into two anime television series sometime later, one starting in 2003 while the manga was still being written, and another in 2010 (dubbed "Brotherhood"), a few years after it was finished. Both of these anime series would premier in the United States on Cartoon Network's late night block, Adult Swim.

"Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos" (pronounced Mē-lŏss) is the second feature film in the franchise. While "Conqueror of Shamballa" is spun off of the 2003 series (and serving as its official ending), this movie is spun off of the 2010 series and is an original story, taking place somewhere near the halfway point of the show's run. It starts with a prisoner, an alchemist, breaking out of prison in Central City, despite only having a few weeks left in his sentence. The Elric brothers, consisting of Edward (Vic Mignogna), a young state alchemist dubbed "Fullmetal", and his younger brother Alphonse (Maxey Whitehead), decide to go after him. They end up near the edge of the country border, to a town called Table City, where they cross paths with a young girl named Julia (Alexis Tipton), who belongs to a society called the Milosians. Thus, the Elrics end up becoming a part of a conflict that could either bring peace and prosperity or the extinction of an entire people.

Even though I did say that this movie took place somewhere near the middle of "Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood", I cannot say where exactly this movie is placed in the storyline. Even if I did know, the movie pretty much serves as just feature-length filler, and I don't really see that as a bad thing here. However, I do understand that there are a few fans of the franchise that will have a tough time wrapping their head around the overall plot. The animation is also pretty good for a theatrical release, though it's not the best work I've seen from Bones, the studio that has also worked on both the 2003 series and "Brotherhood", as well as other anime series and movies.

So, to sum up, I actually enjoyed this one. Could it be better? Yes, but what I got out of it is a rather thrilling (and sometimes brutal) adventure flick based on a Japanese franchise I hold as near and dear as "Cowboy Bebop". However, if you plan to watch this picture, I would recommend watching at least half of "Brotherhood" first. It may not help you fully understand everything this movie unfolds, but it would make it a little easier than it should.

I had the chance to see this at my local theater, a treat since they usually don't get such obscure titles and I'm usually forced to resort to waiting on blu-ray releases. This time I was able to see the beautifully hand drawn animation up on the big screen in all its glory.

I am a relatively new fan of the series but have been well exposed to the mythos by now. This film, unlike the film tied to the earlier series (Conqueror of Shamballa), is not an ending/finale as much as it is a filler episode that fits into the Brotherhood series. It should be viewed as another chance to spend time with the Elric brothers, though perhaps this time on an ever slightly more epic journey than usual. I feel viewing it this way, which is how I went into it, will merit the most enjoyment.

I don't think anything needs to be said about the voice acting, this dub is terrific, truly one of the best. I know some fans only watch the subs but this is well known as one of those anime that almost every fan finds the English dub to be on par or in some cases above the original one.

The visuals were fantastic and the action was excellently staged. The only downside is that Ed and Al seem to play side characters in this film, whereas in comparison to Conqueror of Shamballa they were definitely main characters there. While I would have liked more of them and more stakes for them in the story that didn't stop me from greatly enjoying the film. The story keeps one eager to see what will happen and where things will go, even though a few too many scenes without any presence felt by Ed or Al left me wondering when they would return to the screen.

It isn't that I didn't enjoy the side characters, just that Ed and Al were always on my mind when gone too long as this is a Fullmetal Alchemist film. The side characters are interesting and well designed, there is a large back story about two warring countries and another caught between and a smaller back story about a brother and sister who, like Ed and Al, lost their parents The large amount of plot is well explained without getting too expository, several flashback sequences definitely help.

The film starts out very linear, light and fun but soon gets very dark and heavy as it begins to pile on the plot twists towards the end, back-to-back-to-back at one point. I didn't mind personally but I mention it just to help others decide whether they want to find this in a local theater or wait for the spring blu-ray release.

On another note, if this film didn't carry the title Fullmetal Alchemist or if Ed and Al hadn't been in the story I would have felt like I was watching an older Hayao Miyazaki film, which I say as a compliment. Even the character designs reminded me very much of Nausicaa or other similar films.

So while I do wish Ed and Al were more involved both physically and emotionally, they mostly stand on the sidelines and give their opinions to these new characters who may make the same mistakes the boys once did, it is nevertheless a good if not great film. It is especially engaging for those who love hand drawn animation as I do.

It's not a bad movie -- the action is good and the animation is excellent -- but, while it's great to see Ed and Al in action again, "The Sacred Star of Milos" is a bit of a let down compared to the series itself (either version).

Were a newcomer to watch this as a standalone movie in the Fullmetal Alchemist universe they'd probably enjoy it more than existing fans who are repeatedly forced to wonder what happened to the laws of alchemy and the entire point of philosopher stones. On the other hand, a newcomer would have a lot of questions about everything else as this movie was clearly made with only Fullmetal Alchemist fans in mind.

The director explains in his commentary that this is a different land so the alchemic laws are different (though Ed and Al have travelled just as far if not farther before, albeit not in this direction) but this isn't mentioned in the movie, doesn't explain the antagonist's overwhelming powers while he's in Central City or why Ed and Al can't catch him (or anyone for that matter), puts into question the entire point of the series if all Ed and Al had to do was travel Southwest to Creta or beyond where the laws of alchemy are supposedly different, and doesn't explain the unnecessary rebound after the disappointing climax. Fans will also catch on to the truth about Table City long before Ed and Al who've encountered the exact same thing before.

Overall, this movie is worth watching, but Fullmetal Alchemist fans should be aware this technically canon movie does a terrible job of following canon.

I was fortunate enough to see this movie at Otakon, the second showing in the United States ever. (The first was a day before at the Otakon convention and I missed it due to a crisis, I would never miss it otherwise.)

The movie was Japanese audio with English subtitles, the way it should be.

I really enjoyed the storyline and the action scenes were none less than amazing!! It had me tearing at one point..someone cutting onions in the room.

As an avid FMA fan, I truly enjoyed this experience. Watching it with other FMA fans at Otakon (other otakus) was quite the movie watching experience as people all cheered, clapped, and laughed at the appropriate times. This movie definitely exceeded my expectations and they were rather high. I saw this movie right after The Last Unicorn, and it was a great way to end the Otakon convention!