Fullmetal Alchemist

It's gonna be difficult to fit the long and complicated story line to fit around 2 hours. They've all done their best and you can't deny all of the actors and actresses are so similar to the characters and they really did well in bringing those characters to live action. Of course, it's gonna be difficult for fans who have been so familiar with the manga and anime for many years to cope with no element of surprise that may be you feel it's lacking. I know the story line by hard too so there was not much surprises in the movie but seriously, I'm surely satisfied with the casts and cgi and really enjoy the fantasy became reality and no doubt have to give 8 stars.

Unlike other "live action" films, this one is faithful to the the manga/anime! The visual effects are awesome. Some cast's perfomances were a bit lame, though.

Should you watch it? Yeahh! However, if you haven't read the manga or watched the anime you may find the ending not so satisfactory.

My advice: Give the anime FMA: Brotherhood a try and all the doubts on your mind will be cleared up.

A couple of years ago, my brother showed me an anime that revolves around two brothers Edward Elric and Alphonse Elric trying to use alchemy to get their mother by using an alchemical ritual only to end up with disastrous results. Alphonse loses his body and has his soul transferred to a suit of armor while Edward loses his leg and arm. A few years later, Edward becomes a State Alchemist working for the government to find him and Alphonse find the Philosopher's Stone, an artifact that would help them regain their bodies while performing human transmutation without a circle while discovering the truths about their world governed by the law of Equivalent Exchange, the stone itself, alchemy, their family, and evil forces using alchemy for sinister purposes. That anime was Fullmetal Alchemist.

When I watched the 2003 anime and Fullmetal Alchemist Brotherhood with my brother, I was surprised at how beautifully written the story was and how compelling the characters and their motivations where. Their situations make you relate to them during their adventures, but not only that. It deals with deeper themes including the true meaning of family, and the difference between life and death. Nonetheless, I loved both of those shows and are now my favorites of all time. So, when a live-action film adaptation of Fullmetal Alchemist was being made, I was really excited, hoping it wouldn't end being like Death Note (a USA live-action adaptation back in 2017 which disrespected the source material fans loved). Then, when it arrived on Netflix, my brother and I watched it... And sadly, it ended up being a disappointment. It's not as poor or terrible as Death Note, Dragonball Evolution, and The Last Airbender, but it lacked something that made both the manga and anime much more complex.

Let's start with the problems. Those who read the manga and watched the anime might be disappointed. I'm not going to spoil the story, but I will say this... the movie didn't include key characters that contributed to the story including Scar, Armstrong, Izumi, and Fuhrer Bradley. If the producers of the film ever make a sequel, they better bring them together. Not to mention the special effects on the Mannequin soldiers are really poor along with the other effects including the Homunculus. Also, the story fell apart. It had a decent start with an accurate depiction of the younger Edward and Alphonse using alchemy to try and bring their mother back, but the rest of the film suffers from some of the biggest problems. The writing is really weak because it had bits of the manga and place them out of order in a two hour and fourteen minute length, which results in uneven pacing that drags too long and because of that, the character development ends up lacking in comparison.

That being said, there are some good things that saved the film. The actors did a fine job capturing the personalities of Edward, Alphonse, Winry, Colonel Mustang, and the bad guys Lust, Gluttony, and Envy. The other actors who portrayed General Hakuro, Shou Tucker, and Hughes also did a fine job. The directing is actually really good. It captures the look and feel of the anime perfectly. Also, the music score is good. It's atmospheric, it has a great use of drama and action, and ends up being really powerful. And most importantly, some of the effects, including the transmutation sequences and Alphonse's metal armor, is nicely detailed and looks good in movie form. Oh, and the costumes are great and are accurate to the anime/manga counterparts. Kudos to the producers for being at least some effort.

Overall, Fullmetal Alchemist ends up being a huge disappointment. It has good intentions and is faithful to the anime/manga, but due to the weak writing and lack of character development, the movie just comes up short. My advice, if you want to see a live-action movie based on your favorite manga/anime, this film is only watchable. However, you might want to revisit the 2003 anime and Brotherhood again and remember the complexity they had. 2.5/5

Overall, I enjoyed the movie. Is it perfect, no far from it. I do think it's much more faithful to the source material then the live action Death Note was, like Death Note it is a very ambitious movie trying to pack a lot of story into a short amount of time. As a result, some characters are omitted and the story is condensed. To be honest, it felt like I was watching a fan-made movie with a big budget. This is not a bad thing, actually it was refreshing because it makes me believe those who worked on it really cared deeply about the original anime and did their best to show it. Other reviewer's issues with the show are right, the acting wasn't the best and I would have liked to have seen more comedy. Also elements of the story were passed over or not explained. What I did like was the homunculus, I thought they were done very well. While the story was condensed, it was still easy to follow and the movie had a good (sometimes too fast) pace.

I was skeptical of this movie, to say the least. As a huge fan of both animes and the original manga, I doubted that Fumihiko Sori and his crew could do Hiromu Arakawa's masterpiece any kind of justice.

However, the end result is surprisingly okay. Sure, the CGI tends to be an eyesore, the acting is all over the place, and some characters aren't remotely similar to their badass manga/anime counterparts (here's lookin' at you, Riza). But on the whole, this film kind of works. The screenwriters made good choices in terms of what to adapt and how to fit it all together, and some characters (mainly Hughes, portrayed by Ryuta Sato) work really well.

Most importantly, the film has heart. I get the feeling that Fumihiko Sori and c:o genuinely cared about the adaptation, and that ain't nothin'. It's an ambitious production, though arguably an overly ambitious one.

FAR from a perfect adaptation, and nowhere near as good as the animes or manga, but it's not an insult to the original story, and not a bad way to spend two hours of your life.