Purachina dêta

Platina Data is a Japanese thriller / sci-fi / mystery. I mainly watched it because Kazunari Ninomiya was in it, but I also found the premise of the movie interesting. In the movie, Japan is developing a DNA database that has everyone in it. The main goal is to be able to solve crimes more easily. However, already at the beginning we can see that they have taken DNA profiling to the next level. When people closely related to the program die, a surprising series of events start. More would be spoilers.

I found the movie interesting. The story had me glued to the screen. Though frankly, I knew who the killer was halfway through. It's usually the case with me. I probably watch too many crime shows. What did keep me watching was Nino's character, whose story was an integral part of the movie. The cinematography was excellent. Some pictures I was tempted to pause, because it spoke of so much. Silence is always more difficult than dialogue.

The main character is played by Nino. He's a scientist working on the DNA system. I have watched him in other movies, and I always find him very good. He made me forget that it was Nino that I was watching. The other main character is Detective Reiji Asama (Etsushi Toyokawa), who is tasked with figuring out who committed the murder. While being a prolific actor, I actually haven't seen him in anything, but I'm definitely going to hunt some of his work down now.

Overall, this is an exciting movie. It has many twists and turns, and I didn't even see them all coming! Worth checking out, even if you have to read the subtitles.

Set in the near future 2017, "Platinum Data" refers to an ideal system of keeping track of all the citizenry by means of their DNA especially with regards to solving crimes. Young genius Ryuhei Kagura makes this dream project a reality. However, when two key members of his own staff get brutally murdered, Ryuhei's own DNA was identified by the system as the perpetrator. Can Ryuhei prove his innocence and still get to the bottom of the crime against the autistic mathematical savant girl he loves, Saki?

This DNA identification system is very much within the realm of reality even now. However, there are limitations which this film also delved on, which becomes the motives behind the crimes connected with the project. The way the program comes up with the composite three- dimensional image of a criminal based on the DNA-based clues he leaves behind is amazing. Also very interesting is the way of pinpointing actual locations of a person of interest based on his DNA data.

The result is an absorbing and unpredictable suspenseful film that will keep you thinking to the end. The computer visual effects were very well-done. The actor who played Ryuhei underplays his showy role well. There were some dramatic elements which may bog the pace of the storytelling, but were interesting and novel in presentation, nevertheless, despite having familiar devices already previously used in many films of this genre. Recommended viewing!

This movie is a good combination of science fiction and thriller. Interesting twists come just at the right time, and when you least expect them. Story takes a new turn just when you think that everything ought to be straightforward from now on. There is not much of action as such and people looking for action will mostly be disappointed. Watch only if you have patience to stay till the end and I assure you, the movie won't disappoint you. There is a very dormant romantic storyline beneath the plot, which is barely recognizable even at the end. So bit of a disappointment there. But in all an okay type one time watch for people looking for a new science fiction story. There was no Japanese flavor in the story or plot. The characters, movie setting and sets are obviously Japanese, but that is the extent of the 'Japany-ness' of the movie. The storyline is like any English sic-fi.

Set in an unidentified period during the early twenty-first century, Platinum Data, unlike many other outlandish science fiction themed features, develops a believable plot that has the potential of becoming a reality. Before viewing the film, I was personally concerned that it may exhibit too many similarities with other features, like Minority Report, however, the film uniquely conveys a thoroughly convincing morality tale.

Before watching Platinum Data, it should be known the feature contains infrequent action scenes, instead, being portrayed as more of a dramatic thriller. Even a long chase scene does not exhibit any extraordinary stunts, the characters being restricted by their own physical means, which efficaciously allows audiences to view the film without having to frequently suspend their disbelief. The film draws viewers in with its intellectual script, the opening of the film being not only engrossing, but exciting, the plot absorbing the audience's attention without any need for ridiculously intense action.

Although there are effects, these are primarily used in regards to the technology at the disposal of the Special Analysis Research Institute (SARI), the body behind what is dubbed Platinum Data, while the musical score is a combination of retro meets digital, and for the most part, efficaciously benefits the plot.

The feature begins with Detective Asama (Etsushi Toyokawa) gaining the assistance of SARI in regards to a violent serial killer the police are unable to apprehend on their own. A man who is as open-minded as he is intelligent, the detective immediately realizes the acquisition of the DNA that assisted the case was perhaps illegal, though, as Kagura (Kazunari Ninomiya), a top scientist in the field of DNA research explains, this will soon be redundant as the Japanese government begins to amend the constitution to support these new policing methods.

In so doing, despite DNA being heralded by many of the characters as representing who we are, the film questions what makes up an individual person, which is effectively demonstrated through the characters, many of them being more than what is immediately imagined at face value, the production also questioning the legalities of how far governments should be inclined to go when it comes to protecting citizens. However, some of the more fantastical ideas regarding DNA required further explanation to be accurately ascertained.

Moving on, the aforementioned leads are not only exemplary in their roles, but portray characters that are genuinely likable. After the opening case, in which SARI begins to requisition DNA from everyone, Detective Asama is assigned to investigate the murder of Saki (Kiko Mizuhara), an autistic savant, whose genius mind assisted in promulgating SARI's policing methodologies, and her brother, Kosaku (Soko Wada), both of whom deserved much larger roles.

The murder is committed in a style similar to a serial killer who is, as of yet, unidentifiable, being referred to as an NF (Not Found (in Genetic Database)), thus revealing a probable flaw in the plot - how does SARI ensure every citizen voluntarily provides a DNA sample? After additional DNA evidence from the crime scene is analyzed, surprisingly, Kagura becomes the lead suspect, and in order to discover the truth, is forced to become a fugitive from justice, whilst the organization he proudly worked for begins to hunt him down, Detective Asama working alongside high raking administrator Shiga (Katsuhisa Namase) to apprehend him, though questions regarding Shiga's intentions are especially prominent. Receiving assistance from an initially unidentifiable woman (Anne Watanabe), Kagura comes to realize the murder he is accused of is linked to an unimaginable conspiracy.

Though thought provoking and deeply interesting, there are some lacking definitive answers over the course of the plot, one of which is directly tied to the primary murder case, this particular part of the film unfortunately taking away from other sub-plots, some of which include very beautiful, touching moments. With this in mind, there is a love story buried in the film that deserved to be further explored on screen, in order to heighten the beauty of this particular romance.

Although occasionally predictable, and despite Mr. Ninomiya and Mr. Toyokawa commanding the attention of the audience, and in so doing, prohibiting other characters from being further fleshed out, Platinum Data is an intriguing feature, that combines investigative policing practices with questionable ethics, to paint an image of the future that may one day soon be a terrifying reality.