Asaruto gâruzu

I give this a 7 because of the Introduction: It was Long. Looooong. Talky-talky Loooooong. Boringly LONG! I began to wonder if I had mistakenly streamed a documentary.

But really, you don't need the beginning Blah-Blah-blah to enjoy this flick. So Fast-Forward past the first 8 minutes. Don't need it.

Now to enjoy this movie-- you get extra oomph if you are a Gamer, because this flick is speaking on a basic level about Gaming and what it does to people, and thru implication, to greater society. Now the other reviews have the plot firmly on the head. A couple of female players team up to take on a mega-dragon/sandworm.

But that's not really the plot-- it's a context. And the Movie itself, is a Commentary.

Warning-- especially to Gamers. Even though it's about a Game-- it's Not non-stop blood guts and explosions. Instead it's scenically poetic. And when the action happens it's very nicely FX-ed, but it's pointedly emplaced.

Instead, pay attention to the Characters and the direction the Dialogue is going. When the End comes, because I have placed an online game, I actually busted out laughing because IT MADE SENSE! And it was that moment that made the entire flick pleasantly enjoyable (Minus the 8 minutes of blah-blah-blah, that is) I wouldn't make this a Main event movie for a Saturday night though. I'd stage this as a Friday night runner-up with some friends. Even Better if ALL of you do online games. You'll get a kick out of this one.

Extra Warning-- Even though the lead actors are women, this is NOT a Girlfriend Friendly Flick. . .unless she's totally cool and she also plays online games with you.

That movie, from the same guy who made the also very boring "Avalon", is very similar to it: - Great special effects - Everything is gray all the time, giving you the chance to take a nap - No story - Looooooong scenes that never end, containing nothing.

Just as an example, there is a scene of a guy eating for 3 minutes at some points. And not a nice artistic scene or something that make the story to advance. Just 3 minutes of a guy eating like a pig.

Well, if you rented this movie, I would recommend you to go immediately to the 10 last minutes of it. That's the only interesting part. And, if the movie had been exactly those 10 minutes for the entire length of it, maybe it would have had some potential.

To read another review that seems to exactly write what I wanted to say, go read the review from "Paul Haakonsen". It's exactly that !

I picked this up on a lark because the cover was three hot Japanese babes, and the flick was directed by the same guy behind Ghost in the Shell. For a bargain bin find, it was well worth it.

I'll say straight away, if you're not into hard sci fi (especially written hard sci fi), you're probably going to find it dragging and dull, and you're going to hate the intro.

If you don't really like Japanese movies/anime/manga, you might struggle to like this film. If this is your first Japanese movie, put it down, and go pick up Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children instead, it has a more universal appeal, and fewer long scenes that don't advance the plot.

The basic plot: The world had some big problems, there was a big economic collapse, wars, stuff like that. Afterward, the world fell into a kind of dark ages where everything (technology especially) stagnated. People were no longer satisfied with their lives in the false utopia that followed all the problems. A lot of them found an outlet for their most basic human emotional needs in a video game named Avalon. This movie follows a group of players in a second imagining of Avalon, named Avalon-F, which is basically a MMO/Hunting game on steroids. The characters all start off trying to solo a big boss, which the game informs them is not really possible. However, the gamers are stubborn and want the glory/advancement for themselves, and it takes them a while to come around to working together. The movie is about them finally coming to the decision to work together, and the struggles, internal and external they go through in the process.

There are lots of long, pretty shots where you don't see anything that advances the story in a meaningful way, just gives you things to think about. I enjoyed it, I like meandering around in video games and exploring my surroundings, so for a movie about a video game to do that was fun for me. That said, if you're a passive viewer who doesn't like sitting around waiting for action to happen, this movie is not for you.

I loved the costume design. Lucifer in particular was great. She appears to have feathers for hair, which will make sense if you keep watching. I love the personal moments that show this character having fun, she's a pretty character, and looks like she really enjoys herself in this virtual world. She finds unexpected ways to have fun, considering the premise of the video game she's playing.

My biggest complaint about this movie comes from the choice of having the actors wear masks, but not recording their voices in a recording studio later. It makes their speech very hard to follow because it's muffled all the time. Movie making 101 should have told the director not to make that mistake.

Overall, it's a good movie, and it hits all the right points for me. If you can pick it up cheap and like sci fi and Japanese movies, go for it.

The only reason to watch this film is because it has three hot Japanese babe in it.

Sadly, they are given very little to do. The plot is I guess is that for some reason, three babes are in this Virtual reality game because the world outside has been largely wiped out, but apparently, the game merely consists of hunting CGI sand-serpents with elaborate weapons. Or something. Let me know if you figure it out...

The special effects aren't bad, but the characters are so dull, and there are such long gaps in action, such as long shots of a huge snail before the male lead eats it....

Maybe this is a treatment for insomnia in Japan.

For those who enjoy the work of Mamoru Oshii, you needn't read this review, for much like his previous ventures, including Ghost in the Shell, its sequel Innocence, and the Sky Crawlers, this particular feature is one that is sure to captivate and enthuse.

Separated into chapters, Assault Girls takes place in Avalon (F), a virtual gaming world where the avatars of real people must do battle with massive carnivorous monsters in order to score points. Those familiar with Role Playing Games will especially understand the importance of scoring points in order to successfully level up to gain better defensive and offensive capabilities.

Assault Girls focuses on three competitive women, vying for ascendancy in the virtual arena. Meissa Kuroki steals the show as the skilled tactician Gray, not least of all because she's more gorgeous than Aphrodite. Colonel, portrayed by Hinako Saeki, who viciously attacks with proficiency, is far nicer than her title might suggest, while Rinko Kikuchi as the skilled magician Lucifer, is easily the cutest character of all. Deserving a larger role, she dances across the battlefield, having, what could be assumed, the time of her life.

Despite the film's title suggesting the cast is comprised of women, joining the ladies in this adventure is Yoshikazu Fujiki as Jager, a glorified nomad with a violent temperament.

Although the visuals are not Hollywood standard, they are certainly engaging, while the additional sound, and Kenji Kawai's score (not to mention the Kotoko single Screw) project the viewer into an environment, that although desolate, is as engrossing as it is alive.

Despite each character's ability to use the English vernacular is well achieved, and listening to them occasionally poke fun at each other is enjoyable, it is plainly obvious that none of them are natural speakers. On the occasions when characters speak with masks covering their faces, the dialogue becomes less audible, and thus, subtitles are perhaps a good investment throughout the entirety of the film.

With the exception of the narrator, dialogue is seldom used in many instances. This aside, the director and actors alike are able to efficaciously express the character's motives and desires through their actions. Despite the ideas transcribed upon the screen at the start of each chapter being as thought provoking as they are entertaining, the way the character's use the game's environment is one of the most uniquely satisfying focuses of the picture. Where some characters respond to the environment by beneficially assisting it, others play with it, while others see it as a source of food, or destroy it completely.

Relying on neither intense violence or coarse language to tell its story, this entertaining, gripping, and occasionally laugh out loud funny feature proves that Mr. Oshii is a director whose work is as satisfying, as it is worthy of watching. With unfathomably beautiful women, captivating action scenarios, and intellectually stimulating ideas, Assault Girls may not appease everyone, but for fans of the director's previous work, this is certainly not to be missed.