Mars Express

The movie made me feel the full spectrum of emotions. I laughed, cried a bit, was moved by the deep repercussions of the story. Could've run for 30 minutes more and I wouldn't have been mad

It's definitely a beautiful movie too. Animation is good, despite a few low-fps sequences, it still works because of the hand drawn art style and crazy backgrounds. Knowing what the crew went through, I understand the need for some simpler parts. Designs are inspired, threading perfectly between the obvious references and something really personal. Music's very good and the overall sound mixing was perfect.

For a first movie, Périn and Sarfati really put the bar extremely high, I'm really wondering what their next move/movie will be. But first, time to rewatch this one.

While this might not be a genre bending film there is much to like about it. Starting with the beautiful animation style that is very fluid, colorful and detailed at every turn. The 2D art style meshes well with the story and its futuristic vibe. The music and sounds also compliment the overall feel of the film. The English dubbed version is well done with each voice suiting the characters perfectly. The dialogue is always purposeful providing context or aiding in the characters development. The characters however are not strong enough to be memorable. Even the villain is very stereotypical.

There are some funny moments but just enough to keep things light hearted. The pacing and structure allow for an easy viewing experience. There are some action and chase sequences which break up the exposition but nothing too over the top. The film was fine when it was a mystery thriller but when it changes course to try and be something with a deeper meaning it takes a plunge. Ultimately the ending was a letdown leading to a lower rating. This is still a good film but the ending was underwhelming.

Good animation, excellent worldbuilding, interesting characters, exciting action sequences and an intriguing plot. What else could we hope for? A good ending, instead of this rushed convoluted mess, that makes the entirety of the characters actions in the movie completely inconsequential. I'm not kidding. Everything our protagonists do, every mystery they uncover, is ultimately pointless. I understand what the filmmakers where going for and perhaps it could've worked in a longer format, but less than 90 minutes wasn't enough time to properly stick the landing. I don't regret watching Mars Express, because 90% of it was awesome. But that ending is such a letdown I'll never watch it again and I can't recommend it to others.

For many sci-fi animated movies, audience captivation is driven purely by world building. Neon scenes and expansive horizons are often used to draw attention from a weak story. Not so in this beautifully animated sci-fi detective drama. The story finds the perfect balance between much loved detective clichés and unexpected turns in a story line, that has no need for smoothing by over hyped futurism. Despite this, the imaginative graphics cleanly place the viewer into the future, pushing us just far enough into the 'what could be' to retain a believability that compliments the story. This should be on your list of sci-fi movies to see before you die.

Its a cyberpunk noir about a detective hired to track down a missing student from a prestigious tech university. Set in a future where humans have spread across the solar system, some people are a cyborg or synthetic or just augmented and computers are fleshy biocreatures with a single eye. Robots, synthetic humans, holograms and AI are just part of daily life. People can even upload and backup their personalities into robots when they die, sort of like digital immortality.

In this futuristic cyberpunk thriller with parts of detective noir, the rich have settled on the neighboring planet.

If youre familiar with Blade Runner or Ghost in the Shell, theres not much here that will surprise you. The scifi concepts feel a bit dated like the T-1000, but the animation looks great, the action is fun and the plot is decent though nothing groundbreaking, love the aesthetics/world building.

Should have been a miniseries!