Truly Dreadful Film

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

This is ultimately a movie about the very bad things that can happen when we don't address our unease, when we just try to brush it off, whether that's to fit in or to preserve our self-image.

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

The second part of "Berserk: The Golden Age Arc", "The Battle for Doldrey", picks up where the first left and continues with the business: fights, war and blood. And "The Battle for Doldrey" delivers, because it makes for a really engaging one hour and a half where, even if almost all the running time is dedicated to blood and guts, it has spare time to develop the characters and make them relatable.A story depends on many things. Here you won't have to care about plot. "The Battle for Doldrey" goes for 100% action and does a great job at it. The action scenes are great, with an amazing direction and the animation very dark and gritty, down to earth. It is thrilling. And even if the action does not stop, it has more than enough moments in which the viewer gets to know more about the characters and their motivations. Even the voices match perfectly with the characters.And there is a third part to end this very interesting story.

Took me longer to watch the whole thing than expected. Kept stopping after about :40 to do something else."Was it interesting?" I was expecting a darker story. The character motivations felt a little hollow.1.5 out of 3 "Was it memorable?" The worst flaw is the movie trying too hard to be pretty. The attempted mesh between different animation styles was so distracting that it almost ruined some of the action scenes. Luckily there were enough action scenes to make up for this.1.5 out of 3 "Was it entertaining?" It just felt long and badly paced, like 3 or 4 episodes spliced together. It progressed the story just enough to be adequate.1.5 out of 3 Starting with 1 (because), 1 + 1.5 + 1.5 + 1.5 = 5.5 I'm rounding down to 5 because I feel that a :40 special with more traditional animation would have been find. They tried too hard.

The anime adaptation of Berserk was absolutely amazing, so I was understandably excited when I heard of the movies coming out. I enjoyed Part I, the animation was astounding and the sound effects were great. Part II has those same qualities, but I found that the "feel" of the manga and anime were lost, as extended sex scenes were given priority over important plot points. POSSIBLE SPOILERS AHEAD I was most disappointed that the creators removed the scene where Zodd throws Guts his sword during his fight with Boscone, and instead added a ridiculous dance montage and extra boob time. Arguably the extended sex scene between Griffith and the princess was warranted, but I definitely would have rather seen the sword toss, which adds to the mystery of the story and foreshadows some of the freaky stuff that's coming up, than the three-minute dance scene which feels totally out of place. I think the reason the anime was so successful even though it skips over some stuff, is that the overall mood and intrigue of the manga is preserved, something this movie adaptation has proved it doesn't understand. I'm still giving it a 6 because I love the Berserk story and hopefully anyone who watches the movies without having read the manga or seen the anime will want to do so after.

The story arc is slowly but surely making it's way towards the point of no return. The follow up to Spring's Berserk anime remake was a pleasure to watch. The excitement flows from scene to scene without growing tiresome, and our favourite characters are shown in a new light as their relationships change and take new forms. I was expecting the story to continue further than it did, but this certainly isn't a bad point. In fact it allowed for greater character depth and emotional attachment for the viewer, and of course pure excitement in waiting for part 3. The more 'erotic' side of Berserk that the manga fans will be aware of makes it's appearance in part 2. But it never feels out of place and is played out alongside a great musical score that never allows it to feel like a cheesy anime porn scene. All in all a fantastic film. Fans of Berserk will be frothing at the mouth and your average anime/medieval film fan will also leave the cinema with a delightful grin on their face.