Supêsutoraberâzu

I was lucky enough to be in Singapore at the time of the release of this movie, and I'm certainly glad for it. The movie was one of the more artistic and stylish action movies that I have ever seen, with some libertine cinematography and a dash of the fantastic. I'm not a big fan of subtitles, but the humor shines through in any language, and it's definitely worth seeing.

Although it is a "bank heist gone wrong" movie, it is surprisingly well done, with vibrant--if slightly shallow--characters, understated and well-placed special effects, a hip, hip soundtrack, and a good sense of humor about itself. Highly recommended.

My brother is a huge fan of Asian cinema. Every month he goes to Chinatown with a list of films he "needs" to get and returns with three new DVDs or VCDs for his collection. This is how I was introduced to Space Travelers, now one of my favorite films of all time.

I don't want to give away much of the plot, because the experience will be so much more enjoyable with the less you know. All I will say is that it begins with a stereotypical bank heist that fails only minutes into the robbery and that three orphans, a fiancée, a feuding couple, an electrician, an insecure bank teller and a terrorist will partake in cosplay* like no one has ever done before.

The film is about holding on to something. A dream. A goal. No matter how hard things get, even if the dream is ridiculous, impossible, never give up. During the film I developed Stockholm syndrome along with the other hostages as I began to believe in the three robbers dream of `paradise'. Very rarely am I so absorbed with a film.

And for what starts as such quirky comedy, ends in such dramatic and powerful climax. I've heard people consider that a negative thing, but I've seen enough of Asian cinema to realize that ¾ comedy and ¼ drama is not unusual. Such an ending could only work in this Industry; I shudder to think of how it might of ended if it followed the traditional Hollywood formula. Coupled with Faure's powerful `Requiem' and director Katsuyuki Motohiro powerful images the ending of Space Travelers is one that I will never forget.

While there are many parts of the film that could be considered flaws (such as some loose ends with certain characters, some low brow humor or some completely unrealistic situations) I found that they never detracted the experience and in my opinion were not flaws at all.

And yes there's the title. Space Travelers. What does it mean? Well it's the name of an anime series that used to be popular. One of the robbers happened to be a big fan of the series and collects trading cards for it. Still don't understand? Good, now go see the film.

*Cosplay is when anime fans dress up as their favorite characters.

I can't believe how I've been refraining myself from watching this movie the first time I'd heard of it. From the title 'Space Travelers', I thought that it's going to be somewhat a science fiction movie. But it turned out that it had nothing to do with space...or traveling through it!

I rent this movie from a rental nearby. I rented it just because it's a Japanese movie, yes...I'm a Japan freak...nevertheless, I was the most reluctant to watch this movie, aside from my other rented titles at the time. But from the moment I started to get into the picture, I couldn't get my eyes off the TV set not for once. The comedy is really great, the pacing is great also and not to mention the ending. Although many would say that the ending sucked...but I really liked it. It really serves up to the Japanese melodramatic spirit, if you know what I mean. If you pay attention, most of Japanese drama's ended in a very unsuspected yet realistic way.

Anyhow, this movie really deserves the credit for being able to capture one's emotions and drag the audiences' feelings to it. Although you've never robbed a bank (or ever will), you're still able to relate with the characters in the movies, their dreams, their desire of doing something really meaningful, even in the most absurd ways. I'd give this movie 5 out of 5 stars! ^_^

The dynamic animation and list of characters in this film's opening scene might lead you to believe that what you are about to view is either an animated film, or a mixture of animated and live action sequences. Neither is really true. Like 1997's Cat's Eye, the opening scene is the longest stretch of animation in the film. However, unlike Cat's Eye, this movie is not actually based on a comic. This is a classic bank heist gone wrong. Takeshi Kaneshiro, in a performance more like those in his television dramas than in his notable screen successes, leads a psychotic Hiroyuki Ikeuchi and a nervous Masanobu Ando through the doors of the bank at closing time. Their goal: to take the staff and patrons hostage, and liberate the institution of its assets. As their plan begins to deteriorate, Ando provides the team with fresh motivation by assigning them with character names from a comic book that he is obsessed with, allowing them to escape the severity of the situation (and the boredom of their own lives) by living that fantasy.

Space Travelers is a stylish action comedy with a decent soundtrack and a lot of pretty faces. It isn't exactly a brain-teaser, but that can play in your favour. If you are faced with an un-subtitled version, the visual comedy and slick action shots should be able to maintain your interest.

SPACE TRAVELERS is a comic thriller about three men (Takeshi

Kaneshiro, Masanobu Ando and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), orphans all,

who decide to rob a bank just before closing time to finance their

escape to a tropical paradise. Plans, as they often do, go south

and the trio ends up trapped in the locked-down bank with an

eclectic and eccentric collection of staff and customers, each of

whom corresponds to characters in an anime show adored by one

of the robbers (Ando, the psycho kid in BATTLE ROYALE). In short

order, the hostages realize their captors are actually misguided

losers and decide to help them out, adopting character names

from the anime and making the growing throngs of cops outside

think the gang is much bigger than it really is and, in the process,

discovering untapped potential and new senses of purpose in

their mundane lives. A fast-paced, often touching piece of work,

with extremely well-drawn characters.