Ganheddo

If you can surpass some of the crappiest acting in human history, the annoying brat that makes retarded noises, some questionable editing, disjointed story, slightly sluggish pacing and embarrassingly painful dialogue Gunhed is a pretty good movie. What make this movie stand out is its impressive set design, costumes, action and effects and does make up for the aforementioned flaws. But in the long run, I could only really recommend this movie to people who are fanatical cyberpunk enthusiasts because this movie is a train wreck. I hate kids.

I saw GANHEDDO (aka GUNHED) back in 1989 when it opened in Okinawa City, Okinawa. I had seen a write-up in NEWTYPE magazine and I just had to see this "giant robot" movie. Some buddies and I went on a quest to find it, and I was thrilled that we made the effort. I've seen the Japanese version of GANHEDDO numerous times, and I have to admit that I still don't understand the logic of Khyron's scheme to take over the world. I don't get why Seven's mouth glows, or why she needs to stand over the vial of Texmexium when the clock runs out. But that's okay. GANHEDDO satisfied my urge to see a kick-butt big robot movie. That half the dialogue was in English with Japanese "side-titles" was a bonus.

It's not a perfect movie by any means. And the horrendous dub job done for ADV's American video release just makes it worse. (For example: in the video, Brooklyn mutters "G** d*** f** you" to Sgt. Nim. In the original, he mutters silently. Was the nonsensical cursing necessary?) Still, the miniatures are impressive and Brenda Bakke's futuristic Lauren Bacall impression is enjoyable. My advice: seek out the LD or original Japanese DVD, and avoid any of ADV's versions.

I came to this film after a viral tweet expressed how Final Fantasy VII, Armored Core and Metal Gear owed a debt of gratitude to this film's imagery. I can easily imagine an impressionable teen or 20-something seeing this and later creating concept art for any of those game series; the resemblance is sometimes uncanny.

A story about tech scavengers entering the dormant 500-floor megafortress of a Skynet-like rogue AI is an obvious product of its time; one part Stalker, one part The Terminator, and existing in a continuum of otaku "mecha" media & techno-action video games.

The fortress is a chemical plant hellscape; the Death Star but without its austere cleanliness. Tangles of pipes stretch endlessly into the dark horizon strewn with wreckage from a decade-past humans-vs-robots showdown. Nightmarish "bioroids" lurk in the shadows as the scavengers rummage for lost technology.

Gunhed's particular horror revels in Japanese industrialization gone amok with its labyrinthine steel superstructures, putting it on a similar wavelength to "Patlabor: The Movie" and Katsuhiro Otomo's "Akira" and "The Order to Stop Construction". Its sometimes sublime imagery recalls the foggy and colorful sci-fi noir of Ridley Scott films and "Aliens". It could be a cultural touchstone for some, but it's very much a product of its time and wears its influences on its sleeve.

When the rogue AI's apocalyptic plans are revealed, their only hope is to repair the titular "gunhed", a giant, bipedal, transforming tank accompanied by a witty computer personality. Gunhed delivers the goods in terms of miniature-based visual effects. Whether good or bad, it often charms. A scene where the gunhed tank aggressively fords a pool of chemicals while fending off automated defenses is impressive; fire and waves and sparks filling the screen. I would love to see the filming of that battle.

Unfortunately, much of the storytelling is conventionally poor, visual or otherwise. Sometimes it's hard to tell what characters are doing, or what's happening to them. The dialog, with its blend of spoken English and Japanese, is 1980s style-over-substance; charmingly dated and poorly acted. It's only engaging as an artifact of its era, rather than a functionally good movie. If you're looking for cultural artifact to study, then Gunhed is interesting. Otherwise I'd skip it.

Patlabor: The Movie is an extremely similar but significantly better film in almost every respect: depth, writing, visual storytelling, and comprehensible action choreography. Like Gunhed it's about characters who enter a labyrinthine superstructure full of mecha gone amok in order to avert a Japanese industrial robo-pocalypse. Proving my point about the zeitgeist, it released at nearly the same time as Gunhed.

This film is abysmal.

Maybe it's lost something in the translation. Perhaps it's just plain rubbish.

I bought this video because I thought it was Manga Anime. Unfortunately it's the most unbelievably poorly acted euro-nippon trash I've ever seen. It's actually so bad I've had to watch it about four times to try and work out what the plot is. I still don't think it has one.

Why anybody would seriously want to watch this is beyond me.

I saw this movie, listed as "Gunhed" on Sci-Fi channel and complained often about how difficult it was to make out what was happening because the film is dark and has a green lighting to it retro-reminiscent, of Matrix. Also the cuts and scene transitions are seemingly random including some dotted dissolves early on which just don't work. So I was surprised at myself to want to check it out on DVD to view on my RP wide screen TV. I fully intend to. I love atmosphere heavy films and this is nothing if not that. It has a nice texture, good action and a remarkably good blending of mecho-maniac gadgetry and robotic "acting", without CGI. Some modern directors will not use CGI except for things which literally could not exist w/o such imagi-creation and this film deserves credit for doing so well w/o CGI.

Cyber-punk?... Decidedly! Plot?... yes, pretty much... well... some techno-scavengers dare an island, the smoking site of a robo-rebellion (since put-down) find a female soldier type person. One thief, the woman and some latter discovered child refugees struggle against a still surviving cyber-ruler program.

I couldn't sell this movie at gun point by describing it, but I still like it and believe viewing it will win over many who risk it. Just for reference, the first movie I ever bought was Blade Runner.