Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Kanketsu-hen - Saigo no Rensei

This movie is by no means perfect, but I still had a lot of fun watching it. No live action adaptation of an anime is ever going to be good, especially when they're working with 27 volumes. Still, it was a fun watch.

Uchino as Hohenheim is by far my favorite part of the film, and seeing his ending scene with Trisha was really sweet. I was always bummed that hadn't made it into the anime, so I'm glad this film included it. Also, his voice acting for Father as a blob was really enjoyable! I was also happy they included Hohenheim's "vintage armor" line, as the anime didn't. Overall, I think these films do a better job at adapting Hohenheim's funnier/softer side than the anime does, but that's just me.

The CGI was definitely not great, but I was able to look past it.

My main complaint was how long this film was. I think cutting out the Briggs stuff entirely would have benefitted them. As much as I liked that arc in the manga, it didn't work here. I think they could have removed it, and still made the film work. Still, Olivier's actress was really spot on.

I also felt the ending scene was a bit awkward, as they only show one image of Edward while no music plays. I think it would have been cute to show multiple cast photos, like the manga does, along with some music.

Speaking of music, the score for these films is really disappointing. Especially if you've seen both the 2003 anime and Brotherhood, the scores there are incredible.

Overall, the main parts I enjoyed were Hohenheim's scenes. I'm a sucker for hot dads with depression.

I certainly wouldn't recommend these movies to people with no knowledge of the manga or anime, but if you are a fan then sure, watch 'em. Just don't go in expecting anything groundbreaking. These movies are just fanservice at the end of the day.

I don't remember much of how the manga was, but I know that I was both disappointed with the ending and angry because the story did not continue. So much universe, so much magic and interesting ideas and what... it was just over?! Something similar I felt for this third and final film in the trilogy, two hours and a half to tie up all the open story ends, which was both too little and too much. However I did not experience the same sense of loss when the film ended. It was necessary, just as it wasn't to make a live action film of any anime :)

The film was epic, I give it that, with all the characters coming together to defeat the final boss. Unfortunately, the story gets rushed, inconsistent with some ideas in the first two movies and with the same almost horrible acting as the first two movies. Can I rate it higher? Should I rate it lower because after all that setup it gets to a stupid all character fight where everybody talks too much and everything feels weird? Nah, it was just below average.

I highly recommend you read the manga or watch the anime. The films are for people who, just like me, felt a terrible loss when those ended and are able to watch anything, even the same story told horribly, just to not end. Hmm, the Alchemist Stone as a metaphor for our desire for our favorite stories to never end? Could be.

Objectively, this film deserves a rating of 4/10, or 5/10. Without knowledge of manga/anime, it is difficult to understand what is happening on the screen. The story starts from the middle, the threads are suddenly interrupted, only to return at the end of the film (I will skip the example so as not to spoil, but it is enough to see this film to understand what I am talking about) and the characters don't have a moment to be well portrayed.

The choreography of the fights is tragic. They wave their arms like paralytics, shoot from their hands like Spiderman, and as if that wasn't enough, transmutation is shown in a primitive way, as if someone animated it in stop motion in Paint. In general, this film looks a bit like an amateur work created by fans.

So why did I give it a 6/10? I even had fun on it. It was fun to remember this story. That a completely new way of presenting this story about brotherhood and bravery is ok as a one-time experience for a fan of the series. This is nothing fantastic. It's an average film at best, trying to cram several dozen hours of an animated series into less than two hours of film. It's not hard to imagine how this film came out, since he so desperately wanted to tell the whole story of the brothers.

FMA anime/manga is one of my favorites, I just finished the trilogy live action just to see it and.. well it really didn't live up to any sort of good expectations for it.

Plot: Overall a miss.

Revenge of Scar is probably the best if I were to choose? Likely because there's not a lot of plot points that busy themselves in the story telling. So much of the plot points and what made FMA great wasn't present in these movies because they had to cut off so many. They just took what they thought were good memorable points then threw it in the pot with no seasoning. I am wondering if someone who hasn't seen the source material can really bond and understand the nuances of the characters.

Acting: Mostly miss if you're not used to the styling.

They chose to do an 'animated' telling... you know how in anime they react dramatically? That's in here. The slapstick comedic timing, exaggerated reactions etc. I have watched a lot of Japanese shows that do it this way so to me I'm used to it but I am aware it can be so cringy because it takes you out of the moment.

CGI: Miss with very few exceptions.

The bad effects are too noticeable especially in the first and third film. I know people can tell it's CGI because normally it's quite impossible for it to be done irl since it's clearly not animatronic nor practical but see they also didn't do the CGI any justice. You can tell they poured their heart out in making Alphonse look good because he actually is able to blend in with the environment, perhaps some of the alchemy effects as well are good but the rest... not so much

Costumes: Average.

Wigs were bad and you can tell they're wigs. First film Yamada (Edward) dyed his hair and it was really a trashy job people thought it was a wig. They sorta fixed it next installment but...eh

Costumes were I think the better part of the film. It looks worn in for the most part and they tried to really replicate what the anime characters were wearing so that was nice.

---- Overall not really something I'd recommend for a live action show but well some people clearly like it so who am I to say what other people will like or not but this review isn't it. Perhaps if you view this as like a fanmade trilogy with more budget in it then you might have a better time.

This looks more like a cheaply produced television soap than a fantasy movie. Honestly, I cant this serious. Perhaps only suited for a diehard kind of niche group of fans who are into these kind of stories?

The bad; this movie has got incredibly cheap looking special effects. That's a real bummer for a fantasy movie, in which it is paramount that we, as viewers, get to believe in another fantasy world. None of that.

More bad: the actors look the part, with all sorts of weird kinda hairdos and makeup, but that's about the only thing positive that sets them apart from C-listed actors who would usually only star in television soaps.