X/1999: Le film

When you find yourself skipping through large segments of a film just to arrive at something vaguely interesting, you know it doesn't have the longevity you want it to. X is decidedly niche which I believe to be a positive, but in its attempts to constrict a manga series down into the constraints of a mere ninety minutes, you know you're not going to create the desired effect, and you're more than likely going to end up with an equivalent to Evangelion Death&Rebirth without the extra something which makes you not skip forward large chunks.

I will state (and prepare for the negative backlash) that I have not seen, but would very much like to, the accompanying mangas and series, because there is something about X that lurks in the background amidst all the faults that is desperately trying to get out, and desperately trying to impress itself upon you as the viewer, but just doesn't quite make it. But is that enough? Given that the directors new of these time constraints, could they not have created a film which did not cater to those like myself that hadn't known anything about it, and just plunged you straight into the world? Too much time in X is wasted on idle dialogue which is disguised as plot development but is as tedious as reading an instruction manual on how to work your DVD player. Yes the explanation of the dragons (I will come to this shortly) is necessary but in the films opening five minutes two characters wage an all out mystical battle and eventually both fall. Now during this sequence they have unnecessary banter, I know this can be common place in manga but if you wish to produce a slick opening, trying to set these characters up as long time enemies who we should feel a connection for (because many reviewers have claimed theirs to be an epic rivalry) only to have them killed two seconds later is madness. There is no logic behind it. This leads me to think that perhaps this was a film specifically designed for those which have a great knowledge over the "X" saga, but I would have thought the directors would wish to be inclusive rather than exclusive (I refrained from using the inane 'X' pun).

There are positives however, one being the creepy Gothic animation which apart from being utterly unique in my experience lends itself to a creation of a sinister and severely dark overtone inevitably benefiting the film.The notion of the opposing forces of "good" and "different good" (I hesitate from saying 'evil') using the connotations of dragons, i.e. the good are the dragons of heaven who wish the world to continue seeing as it was "He" from Heaven that put them there versus the dragons of the earth who wish Mother Earth to regain her rule, is clever and again is unique. The means by which the dragons of heaven defend the planet through the usage of "shields" and the construct in which they work is also an absorbing premise as these sequences provide the high points but, unfortunately, it's not enough.

The trouble with films like X is the content they must squeeze into a shorter time span, it therefore is inevitable that chances are it will not succeed at being able to tell its story fully (try compressing Broken Saints into 90 minutes), and here is the issue. I'm privy to that the directors wanted to create this film regardless, but they needed to make a choice, either completely forgo the notion of trying to be exclusive and create a film entirely for fans of the saga disregarding all outsiders thereby pleasing the contingency of fans that have done the hard work, or the alternative. The second choice is that the directors must create a film which explains everything to everyone and be completely inclusive, they must lay the construct of their world bare on the table and let people try and come to comprehend their universe; and unfortunately they did a little of both, to no great success. I wanted this film to give me more, and if I now want it to I have to put in the hard work which after having viewed the film I don't particularly want to do, and to do it this way around isn't as much fun either. No puns about missing the mark, X not being where the treasure is or 'wordplay' about the film being Xtremely disappointing, it's simply a shame.

I'm not an anime fan myself, but these movie is a HUGE exception. The landscapes look extremely natural, the characters have personality and the sound track is solemn. But what took my breath away were the fight scenes, that no matter how violent and bloody they were, they didn't fall into the shameful gore category. Actually, they looked strangely beautiful, metaphoric and aesthetical. I loved the detail of the sakura leaves rain and how Kamui couldn't ever catch them. If you're into anime, this is a must see. If you're more into human films, like me, this is a must see for you too.

What is up with this movie! Can someone tell me? Please? I don't think I've ever seen such a strange movie! There was no plot, no characters, and pretty much nude women with swords being either stuck into or extracted from their bodies. This film makes Lynch, a big mysogonist, look like friggin Ayn Rand! Every woman in this film is either innocent and sickly violated, or evil with a pair of giant hoo-hoos. The only redeeming thing about this convoluted nonsense is the artwork, and it it BRILLIANT! I've never seen such outstanding animation. This puts Akira to shame!

Rating: 4/10( My advice, ignore the dialogue and the nonexistent story and look at the breathtaking artwork)

I did not like the movie because they killed off my favorite character Subaru. and its sickening. the only thing i liked was the breathtaking artwork. READ THE MANGA INSTEAD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I am a huge anime fan and the movie was a disgrace to CLAMP and anime.

When I first watched it, I thought it was one of the best movies I've ever seen. I mean, the story is great. I absolutely love the storyline. I still think so today. But as for the movie, that's another story.

I've read the mangas. I'm not exactly a big fan of CLAMP's work, but this one is the first that I got into with the mangas. I fell in love with one of the characters in the story name Subaru Sumeragi. Favorite character for obvious reason, but if you like any character other than Kamui or Fuuma, then you're in for the biggest disappointment if you watch this movie. OK, to get to the point, this is basically stuffing all the series of the manga into one movie. You won't have time to get to know the characters if you didn't know them already. You just won't get to. Well, they at least explain a bit of their purpose in life for a few seconds. Also, they failed to explain a lot of things about the movie, so that's another big disappointment. Er, and another big disappointment is that, they change some of the character's personality! ANOTHER big disappointment is that they didn't put some of the good story lines in the mangas into the movie. I know that doesn't seem like a big deal and I would like to give an example. There's this one character who loves another character from the other angel (they're enemies angels), but in the movie, they hate each other. So that's what I mean.

But wait, there's a good! The good is that the animation is great. Beautiful and artistic like all of CLAMP's work. It's realistic in animation, and the way it was done was just, wow. even though they lack everything else, but it was still nicely done in animation wise. Now if only the series was done the same way. Oh yeah, the music is great also.

Even though I like the story and how it was animated, I just didn't want to sit through it anymore. Once was enough. So I gave it a 4/10