Movie | Appleseed

Visually stunning, Appleseed is a fusion of traditional Anime style with 3D computer generated images, running at breakneck speed. It’s an action movie exploding out of the constraints of both Hollywood and Animation. It has the imagination and the attention to detail of a Peter Jackson blockbuster. It stars out dark, with a foreboding warning from the book of revelations. But it promises a bright future in utopia.

The only problem with utopia, as one character notices in the movie, is that it’s only a self-imposed prison. And with any prison, someone is running it.

This is where the story kicks in. Our heroine has been rescued from the bad lands, from a life of war to one of peace in a perfect city. But she can see the hairline cracks in a society that is blissfully un-aware that there is a power struggle going on.

As the movie continues, our heroine finds it increasingly difficult to figure out who she can trust, ultimately having to face her past in order to find her future.

With themes of love, forgiveness and racial harmony this movie has plenty of great themes running through it. Complex at times, and with a pace that can be hard to keep up with, it’s ultimate statement is that we have to learn to live with each other if we’re going to survive.

Appleseed can be seen at the Telecom International Film Festival in Auckland tonight, but I’m not sure if it will follow the festival around the country. There will however be plenty of other great movies on offer.