Mars Express

Extremely derivative work but in a good way. It reminded me of The Matrix, Terminator, I, Robot, Fifth Element, Blade Runner, Scavengers Reign, Minority Report, Chinatown, Ghost in the Shell and other cyberpunk animes. And these are just a few I didn't even write down.

But the fact that it is derivative it doesn't matter that much. It's just a very interesting and kinetic animation about robots and robot A. I., all part of a big conspiracy conducted by a cool duo formed of a woman and her partner, Carlos, a human in the body of a robot. I can say I was just absorbed by the story and animation. It's not something new but it's just something I enjoy.

The world building really elevated this movie. It felt like there was a tv season's worth of material compressed into a 1.5 hour movie, but it worked, and it worked wonderfully. The world world was well thought-out, everything fit together well.

It's about a private investigator and her robot partner investigating the disappearance of a college student. As we learn more about the case, we also learn about the world this story is set in. This movie is like a perfect showcase for "show, don't tell". There's very little exposition, if any.

It's one of the best sci-fi movies I've watched recently, animated or otherwise. Highly recommended.

The movie made me feel the full spectrum of emotions. I laughed, cried a bit, was moved by the deep repercussions of the story. Could've run for 30 minutes more and I wouldn't have been mad

It's definitely a beautiful movie too. Animation is good, despite a few low-fps sequences, it still works because of the hand drawn art style and crazy backgrounds. Knowing what the crew went through, I understand the need for some simpler parts. Designs are inspired, threading perfectly between the obvious references and something really personal. Music's very good and the overall sound mixing was perfect.

For a first movie, Périn and Sarfati really put the bar extremely high, I'm really wondering what their next move/movie will be. But first, time to rewatch this one.

Good animation, excellent worldbuilding, interesting characters, exciting action sequences and an intriguing plot. What else could we hope for? A good ending, instead of this rushed convoluted mess, that makes the entirety of the characters actions in the movie completely inconsequential. I'm not kidding. Everything our protagonists do, every mystery they uncover, is ultimately pointless. I understand what the filmmakers where going for and perhaps it could've worked in a longer format, but less than 90 minutes wasn't enough time to properly stick the landing. I don't regret watching Mars Express, because 90% of it was awesome. But that ending is such a letdown I'll never watch it again and I can't recommend it to others.

I wasn't prepared for the level of attention to detail and plot in this adult animated thriller sci-fi. The Three Laws of Robotics, which are included in Asimov's Robots novel series, were even used by the writers to explain the behaviour and interactions of the robots with humans.

There is a lot to enjoy about this movie even though it may not be a genre-bending one. Let's start with the exquisite animation style, which is incredibly colourful, flowing, and detailed throughout. I thought Carlos was one of the best-written and most well-designed characters. A lot of attention has gone into creating the futuristic environment, down to the smallest elements, which provide realism to the film.

However, everything happens very quickly, and several significant personalities or events are merely skimmed over. 'Mars Express' needed a bit more screen time to better develop these elements, but official sellection of the Cannes Film Festival usually doesn't like overlong animations, and this was one of those films in 2023!

Overall, it was a great animated feature to enjoy!