Devilman

I saw the first Manga back in the day, and I happened to get a chance to watch the 2004 live action movie "Devilman" back in around 2004 or 2005. But truth be told, I couldn't remember a single thing from the movie. So as I had the chance to sit down and watch the 2004 movie for a second time here in 2021, I did so.

And it sort of was a waste of time. First of all, the storyline in "Devilman", as written by Machiko Nasu, just wasn't all that entertaining or impressive. The movie progressed at a rather slow pace, and there just wasn't enough contents to the storyline to actually maintain interest in it. So director Hiroyuki Nasu just wasn't stepping up to deliver an impressive movie.

Sure, the cast of actors and actresses in "Devilman" was actually rather good, and they had made some good choices with certain performers. Just a shame that the actors and actresses that were part of "Devilman" didn't have much of a solid script to work with.

As it is with a lot of movies that make a transition from an animated media to live action media just doesn't really live up to the animated work. And such was the case with the 2004 movie "Devilman".

Now, the most noticeable thing about "Devilman" was the horribly outdated CGI effects. Wow. Just wow. The CGI special effects in this movie are so aged that it is reminiscent of a computer game. In the aspect of CGI effects, then "Devilman" hasn't aged well.

Overall, then "Devilman" just wasn't a great movie, and it is not one that I would be returning to for another round. My rating of the 2004 live action movie "Devilman" lands on a generous three out of ten stars.

Be warned: this film is a failure on every imaginable level: inept direction / laughably unconvincing special effects / atrocious, incoherent dialog / gross miscasting of virtually every important character (the film is peopled with Japanese pop stars and boy bad idols, none of whom can act) / a heavy-handed and utterly uninvolving narrative whose sorrowful attempts at social commentary come across as insultingly banal. Such a wasted opportunity too, given the wealth of the source material; DevilMan is easily one of the most iconic manga/anime characters in the history of the medium, and there is simply no excuse for the disaster this adaptation turned out to be. Don't let the advertisements fool you - the only proper way to appreciate a film like this is to receive it purely as camp, but when a film is this genuinely bad, even that'll prove a stretch.

Having no preconceived ideas about what this movie should be like I count myself fortunate or I would have found myself irritated and frustrated rather than merely confused and disappointed.

I have little idea about the actual plot of Devilman but this disjointed jumble of scenes was anything but smooth. While I finally understood the actual storyline by the end I think the only thing that really came across (and by no virtue of the terrible acting) was what my already somewhat fan-girl mind had conjured up at the beginning wasn't far from the mark.

With the CGI, scenery, acting and plot coherency the only thing that buoyed this rating up was Susumu, and perhaps the end.

Unfortunately, I know next to nothing about the original series, and watched this movie only because the trailer was really cool. Thus, I went into it not knowing what to expect. I guess going in blind is an advantage in some cases. I actually liked this movie pretty well, though I didn't always understand who everyone was and what was going on. In some ways, this reminded me of a Romero zombie movie, and not only because it's kinda cheesy and involves evil dead things that attack people. It seemed to contain similar themes of social commentary, in this case mostly about man's cruelty and inhumanity towards other man, and the way fear can spark violence and paranoia. Based on that impression of the movie, the special-effects fight scenes seemed out of place, to me, almost like a distraction. I had the feeling the whole time I might understand more of what was going on had I been a fan of the original, but since they're said to be completely different, I doubt it would've helped much. As weird as it sounds, I'd have to suggest not seeing the original before this. It seems it's an easier movie to like that way.

If you admire the animated Devil Man, do yourself a favor,SKIP THIS ONE! I am a fairly tenacious Devil Man enthusiast. I have a few mangas, the TV- Series box, Devil Man OVA Collection and Amon: Devil Man Apocalypse. The animation runs rings around the live-action movie. I had high hopes for this. I had it set in my mind that the quality of this movie would be on par with the live-action treatment of Casshern but it most definitely was not. Here's where the movie fails: flat acting, stiff computer animation, bad make-up and a giant lag in the middle of the movie. Put it this way, I had the Swine Flu and that was allot more fun than Devil Man: Live Action. I hope Go Nagai (Devil Man's creator) finds those responsible for this abomination and urinates all over their mothers. The ONLY saving grace of this movie is that Devil Man model looks pretty cool.