Ace Attorney

The Phoenix Wright games are a series of clever, wildly entertaining mystery adventure games in which a defense attorney must trip up witnesses with clever deductions on the evidence he finds himself at crime scenes. The games have weird, eccentric characters with odd hairstyles, prosecutors dress like 18th century poets, the courtroom follows no sane rules, with the judge constantly and prematurely about to declare Wright's client guilty before someone shouts or bursts in or Wright shouts OBJECTION.

The movie emulates not just the formula of the game but its over-the-top wackiness. Wright's hair appears to have been vaselined during a windstorm.

Many characters look like they're badly disguised as other people. The courtroom audience is dressed for a hip New Year's Eve party.

This emulation is a double-edged sword if you know the games. Miles Edgeworth is dead-on, but Phoenix Wright's hair is mainly wrong, and the character is too boyish and not square-jawed enough. A less literal version probably would have worked better, but the attempt is certainly an interesting and quirky one.

The bigger problem is the characters. The movie gives us the same thunderous moments, crazy graphics, and sudden plot terms, but it is less successful at bringing the characters to life with life actors than the game was with still images and text dialogue. Characters like Maya and Gumshoe have gone from being interesting characters to props. And while the movie is humorous, it is never as funny as the game.

Still, at its best, as in the final courtroom scenes, the film delivers a strong concoction of mystery, drama, and surprise. I'd recommend the games over the move (the movie's a 7, but the first game is a 9), but I'd still recommend the movie.

I had the privilege of seeing this film in Tokyo while it was still in theaters. Having played all of the Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban games, I was very familiar with the source material. That being said, it easily introduces all of the characters in a very succinct manner, and their personalities show through brilliantly on the big screen.

The summary: Ryuichi Naruhodo aka Phoenix Wright is a struggling defense attorney who works for the Ayasato law firm. After a shocking murder, he finds himself in the high court defending a client against murder... pitted against a prosecuting prodigy... who just happens to be a childhood friend. The twists and turns of the case lead Naruhodo into an investigation of a long-closed case which is very relevant to current events.

For fans of courtroom drama or mystery, it's a very suspenseful and very clever murder mystery, but if you've played the first game, you already know how it turns out. For once, a director chose to go with the original story rather than trying to go off in a strange direction or "re-imagine" the details that people know and love (yes, I'm looking in your direction, Michael Bay), though some elements have been absorbed into one story to make sure the entire story takes place. All of the cases from the game are referenced, though not all of them are fully played out on screen (time constraints). Additionally, there are no clever "wink wink" moments to future games in the series, thank goodness.

Purists will be happy to know that some of the musical numbers come straight from the game, particularly in the courtroom, and the "floating box" evidence presenting element from the game is preserved as a very cool holographic system.

If I may level one criticism, it's that just like the game, the "investigation" portions tend to drag, but the courtroom scenes will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, pointing dramatically and shouting, "IGI ARI!" -- OBJECTION!

I understand how many people who aren't familiar with the Ace Attorney franchise could watch this movie and be utterly confused and weirded out. However, if you have played the games (or just the first one), I think you will enjoy this film immensely, as I did.

Ace Attorney is a movie about a young lawyer named Phoenix Wright who, after the death of his mentor, must unravel a conspiracy that stretches back to a murder that took place over a decade ago. The characters are quirky, the story is insane, and the references to the franchise are in great abundance. It's not supposed to be realistic.

Here is why it is such a good adaption. The film took liberties with the story in order to condense it down into a 2 hour movie, but they did so effectively and kept the spirit of the games alive. Because of the differences in scenes and dialogue (while keeping the same core story), fans of the games can watch it and still be enthralled, despite knowing the outcome. And the movie is hilarious. As I said before, they make a ton of references to cases they do not showcase specifically in the film. Throwing confetti out of a garbage bag. The appearance of the Blue Badger. Everyone in the courtroom falling over from the sheer force produced in Phoenix's "Objection!" These iconic aspects of the game have been creatively implemented into the movie.

The acting is over-exagerrated, but to me at least, that made the film even funnier. Honestly, the casting, costumes, and make up effectively bring the characters to life. You recognize them instantly, and their weird mannerisms and personalities are amazingly written (save for maybe Maya, who seems a bit too serious in this movie compared to the game).

It's a fun ride from beginning to end for fans. If you haven't played the games, I don't know what to say. Buy yourself a DS and get to it.

I wouldn't call myself a fan of Miike. Actually with "Audition" I might have started with one of his most wicked movies, very disturbing and very different and I might not have been open to that. This on the other hand (must be the tenth movie of his I have watched to date, not a lot if you consider his output!) is very easily accessible.

And that rings true, even if you're not familiar with the source material this is based on. I myself didn't know the game and haven't played it yet. But the essence of the movie is a courtroom thriller with a few twists. And it has a very wicked sense of humor, which might not be to everyones taste. If you don't like the first 5 minutes, don't bother watching more. Otherwise it'll be a hoot (and those hair styles ... awesome!)

This is a quite entertaining movie adaption of a series of successful mangas and video games. You don't really need to know the originals to appreciate this mixture of a fantasy and a crime movie. The film has some suspenseful and mysterious moments but also humorous parts. The movie has several short side stories that are rather appealing and don't take too much space. They involve childhood memories and the sightings of a strange monster for example. In fact, the movie adds a lot of diversified genre elements into one big potpourri but none of the elements is really dominating or impressive which is maybe one of the movies biggest flaws. It's always entertaining but sometimes lacks depth.

The story itself is divided into three parts that all lead to dramatic courtroom discussions. The three different cases are closely connected to each other and become in fact more and more interesting. A well done and short introduction, some outdoor investigations and a few flashbacks add some diversity and depth to the different characters. The story isn't hard to follow and only the first few minutes feel a little bit rushed.

While the cases are all realistic and grounded, the movie has some fantasy elements in form of holographic elements in the courtroom that could come from a science-fiction movie and a few supernatural elements involving mediums and other appearances. I happened to find these supernatural elements rather distracting and useless. They don't add much to the story and make an otherwise solid plot feel a little bit fluffy.

The most important thing that may be controversially discussed is the acting. Some fans of the games and mangas said that this movie was one of the best video game adaptions ever done, others said that this movie lacked the charm and genius of the originals. I neither know the games nor the mangas and that's probably the best thing for a neutral point of view.

Each character has its unique traits which is great. Phoenix Wright is your chaotic, determined and nervous young attorney who fights for ideals such as friendship, justice and truth. His antagonist is the aged, bitter and self-possessed Manfred von Karma. His childhood friend and colleague Miles Edgeworth happens to be a rather arrogant, cold but very smart prosecutor who could come from a medieval court or a visual kei band. Another childhood friend called Larry Butz is a humorous, ingenious and tricky fellow. His assistant Maya Fey is a rather emotional, sometimes even hysterical but also intelligent woman with stylish looks. The judge is old, patient and wise. Even the secondary actors in form of different witnesses have their own unique characters such as the broken and isolated Yanni Yogi or the dark and mysterious Redd White.

What I liked less about the acting was that many parts were simply overacted. I know that this is the case of many Japanese movies and this element seems to want to underline the manga style of the story but it feels quite redundant after a while. This element is used way too much in this film and fails at its initial attempt to put some emotions and humour in this film. Sometimes, the characters feel more like birds. Phoenix Wright is the nervous chicken who always gets upset, Maya Fey is the colourful but sometimes difficult turkey, Miles Edgeworth the proud rooster, Redd White the strange raven, the judge the wise owl who is always ready to attack when the chances are good and so on. The funniest thing is that at some point, a cockatoo comes into play as a witness and happens to play the most grounded part of the entire movie. This bird feels the most human among all characters. At some point, all this exaggerated acting may feel somewhat childish.

In the end, it,s hard to rate this movie. If you just want to watch it because legendary Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike has directed it, better stay away from it because it doesn't have much to do with his most famous works. Those who like the games and mangas either hate or love this movie. Watch the movie and choose your camp. Anyone else might get very well entertained but you should know that this film is very Japanese. It's colourful, diversified and always over the top. Some might find this mixture dynamical, others rather annoying. Fans of Japanese cinema should definitely give this movie a try, those who prefer traditional courtroom dramas or thrillers should stay away from it.