Memorable, crazy movie

Good movie but grossly overrated

best movie i've ever seen.

It is encouraging that the film ends so strongly.Otherwise, it wouldn't have been a particularly memorable film

When I got this I was hoping for a Sci-fi movie with some shooting, a bit of a story and some interesting characters. This is exactly what I got.The pace of the movie is typically Eastern, the action scenes are fast and packed, the rest is slow and considered.A large portion of the film is dedicated to the characters trying to find out who they are; as well as trying to understand each other.Don't expect too much exposition. Why does all this strange stuff happen? Because it's a Sci-fi movie; roll with it.The affects are good, the bad guys are interesting and (compared to Western villains) refreshing and quirky.ACting is good, camera work solid, production lavish.

I've never read manga series or watched the TV show but after seeing this title knocking around for a while I decided to rent it and give it a go.I enjoyed it and thought that there were some great moments in it. I love the teleport effect of slicing the person (although I notice that there is the usual Star Trek transporter quirk that sometimes people arrive as they were sent but at other times they don't). I also like the basic concept of a hidden war (and that it's not too certain who are the good guys.Yuriko Yoshitaka is stunning to look at but has nothing to do (Ken'ichi Matsuyama as Kato is the same to be honest). The down side is that there are occasions when terrible decisions are taken simply because no one could (presumably) think of a better way to write the scene. for example when Kato is killed it takes forever to die during which time Kurono could have been trying to kill the alien and so save him.Overall a good and some pleasing design

If you think that only Hollywood is tapping deep into comic book source material for its films, well they're not alone, with the Japanese also digging deep into its rich manga culture for adaptations to bring to the silver screen. It's taken Gantz quite some time to reach our shores given that the concluding sequel had already been aired weeks ago and we're only getting the first installment, but as I say it's always better late than never. Based upon the original works by Hiroya Oku, Gantz is a science fiction fantasy film that posed a lot more questions than it answered, and really asks that you put aside nagging thoughts and accept things for what they are at face value until the second film rolls along.We're introduced to the teenagers Masaru Kato (the popular Kenichi Matsuyama) and Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) who meet by chance at a subway station, once best friends with the latter always standing up for the former. They get involved in rescuing a man who had fallen onto the train tracks, but in the process get themselves killed, yet transported into some sparse apartment room together with strangers, all of whom had their life expired, and a huge black orb to whom they owe their temporal lives to. Here's where a lot of questions get tossed up as to the origins of the orb, and some thick existential queries - are they really dead, or operating on a separate limbo plane, or are really just dreaming - but put all of these aside to just soak up the ground rules that the characters have to engage in, and the set action sequences that come with the territory.To help make the narrative a little bit more palatable, treat it as an extreme version of Men in Black, where a randomly selected group of apparently dead folks get topped up into an existing team, all of whom are given exo-skeleton suits to power up and weapons fit to kill aliens who walk this earth. Gantz, the orb within which houses a comatosed bald man communicating via a console on the orb, summons the players, sets the mission objectives, and teleports them into the thick of the action. Survive, and you get to live another day. Die, and you'll stay dead permanently. With a catch of course, where a Gantz summoned player earn meagre points in a mission (in addition to getting insulted), and a 100 points allows one to either wipe one's memory and go back to the "real world" not remembering a single thing when serving Gantz, or opting to resurrect a fallen comrade.The first hour or so is spent learning the ground rules, and what better way than to be thrown into the deep end of the pool in an effort to immerse both the characters and audience in double quick time. Our main protagonists with their different perspectives and values often come up clashing against once another in their ideals, but when push comes to shove it's a life and death issue should they choose not to cooperate with each other, and with others in the same boat, unless of course one decides to use the clueless newbies as fodder.The story's made more interesting with this particular contrast between the two leads, one being very reluctant to shed more blood and taking it upon himself to ensure that the newbies are properly briefed and told of the risks involved, often being ridiculed, while the other sees his new life under Gantz as an opportunity to rise up and be the hero he's meant to be, since in real life he's a zero this presents him a chance to answer what would be his calling in life, bordering on arrogance and partaking in riskier maneuvers. But alas given the need to cram everything into a slightly more than two hour film, you can bet that plenty of characterization and development got thrown out of the window, and subplot casualties include the romances between Kato and buxomy Kei Kishimoto (Natsuna Watanabe), and that of Kurono and fellow student and manga enthusiast Tae Kojima (Yuriko Yoshitaka), whom I suspect will have a much larger role in the concluding film.Surprisingly there is plenty of bloody violence and gore peppered throughout the film, sticking close to the treatment as in the manga and anime, with only the gratuitous nudity in the source materials being toned down by quite a bit in the live action movie. Computer generated graphics are the order of the day, as plenty of futuristic weapons got produced, in addition to the skin tight exo-skeleton suit. Villainous aliens take on different looks, from robots with awkward mobility, to inhabiting statues of Buddhas that give rise to one of the largest action sequences in the film that came complete with high casualty and property damage. Undoubtedly a special effects extravaganza, Gantz is ultimately half a film, and I am looking forward to the concluding episode to wrap up the open questions posed here. After all, the sequel's subtitle is Perfect Answer, so I'm really hoping for that to happen. Stay tuned during and after the closing credits for that trailer to the sequel, and tell me if that doesn't pique your interest even more, so much so that like me I'm putting that anime DVD collection on my wish list. Recommended!

To start with, I enjoyed the Gantz movie.When it comes to movies versus "books" it's a hard choice to make, when deciding which is better.The Manga is definitely the best.But here's what I've concluded with comparing books and movies...Movies are made not to necessarily follow the book word for word. Gantz really did a decent job with following both the Manga and the Anime. Yes, stuff was changed around. Most movies do such a thing.I am upset that the driving basis for the character Kurono is gone... (He was very sexually frustrated and found out how to play the game better due to this fact...) And the violence was toned down tremendously.. But overall, I found the movie to be enjoyable.The thing about watching a movie based on a book (Or an addition to an anime series) is that they want to change things. What fun is it to read a book and see the exact same thing happen on screen? It's kind of interesting to find something different happen in the story compared to what you had read.I am very familiar with the series, I'm on my third time through the Manga as we speak. The Character designs are great and the development is wonderful. Though, I can disagree on Kurono's character in the movie... They popularized it.Going from a perverted teenager who just wants to get laid to a "I want to be successful" character is quite a jump, but them doing Kato... Hit the nail on the head... I can't make a full on review at the moment until I see part two and how much they encompass with it. Considering the Manga is still ongoing and the movie claims that it's going to be an end makes me think that Phase 3 will not be part of this set and it will be like watching the Anime all over again...Final Thought: The movie did the manga justice for what I had seen of it. Minus the sexual tension, immense violence and extensive swearing (Which are all major portions of Gantz, but could be toned down to be more friendly... Especially for a two hour movie) They hit the story and overall aspects of the series on the head. No, it's no word for word by the Manga, but who cares? Instead of seeing the same thing repeated, why not enjoy a new twist on the story that still follows the major guidelines?