SYNOPSIS:
The
chapter 2 of the 20th Century Boys trilogy starts in 2015,
15 years after the world is nearly destroyed. People now believe
that Kenji and his friends were satanic terrorists and Friend,
the mysterious cult leader, is worshipped as the savior of
the world. Kanna, Kenji's niece, is now in high school and
she resents that the history textbooks tell a fabricated account
of the fateful day. She is forced to participate in the Friend
Land program to be re-educated when she is deemed to be anti-social.
While in the program, Kanna uncovers clues to Friend's real
identity, and the shocking discovery of The New Book of Prophecies!
Kanna tries to find out who wrote The New Book of Prophecies
and unravels the true identity of Friend!
MOVIE REVIEW:
Going
into this second instalment of the planned "20th Century
Boys" trilogy, you’d probably belong to one of
the three following groups- first, those who have read the
manga and already know how it all ends; second, those who
have seen Part I of the trilogy and are eagerly waiting to
see how it all turns out; and three, those who have neither
read the comics nor watched Part I.
This
reviewer belongs to the last category and despite talk of
the contrary, "20th Century Boys Chapter 2" is still
one spellbinding movie experience from start to end even if
you know no head or tail of what happened before or what will
happen after. All this reviewer knew about the series before
watching the movie was that it involved a group of childhood
friends, a Book of Prophecies, and an end of the world doomsday
scenario in the year 2000 which eerily resembles that which
was written in the Book by a young boy in the 1970s- but boy
was I captivated by the film.
That
young boy, by the way, is Kenji Endo, and you won’t
see any of him in this movie except through flashbacks. The
lead character in this movie is instead Kenji’s niece,
Kanna, a student who works at night in a Chinese restaurant
in the crime-ridden area of Shinjuku. The plot of this instalment
revolves around a prophecy written in the "New Book of
Prophecies" in which it is stated that a saviour will
arise at a church in Shinjuku, only to be struck down by an
assassin. Is Kanna the foretold saviour? What does the prophecy
imply? What is its significance?
These
are questions that director Tsutsumi Yukihiko takes more than
2 hours to answer and even so, one must bear in mind that
since this is only Part II, you’re not going to get
the neat resolution you’re looking for. If anything,
what happens here serves as fodder for the big climax in Part
III, where no doubt one expects a final showdown between the
wrongfully accused terrorist Kenji and his mysterious fiendish
enemy Friend.
Not
only that, Yukihiko is all too aware that he needs to satisfy
the appetite of the fan base of this manga, of whom are looking
for nothing less than a faithful adaptation of their beloved
comic. Perhaps that explains the sprawling nature of this
film, packed with a multitude of subplots that converge only
towards the last half an hour. But quite thankfully, under
Yukihiko’s competent direction, each of them adds a
unique flavour to the dystopia of the film, making the overall
experience all the more engrossing.
And
that best describes this convoluted but very very engaging
film- indeed, despite the myriad plot strands that jumps around
various time periods, it still manages to maintain a coherent
narrative throughout. Even though it doesn’t offer much
by way of understanding, it gives enough to tease and intrigue
you and keep you tantalized for the final chapter. So don’t
be put off if you haven’t seen Part I; Part II is a
gripping ride you will, like this reviewer, be quickly hooked
on to.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
The
cast interviews with Toyokawa Etushi, Takako Tokiwa and Taira
Airi play more like point-by-point question and answer sessions
but they still offer interesting nuggets of information from
the ensemble cast about being involved in the Japanese equivalent
of a "Lord of the Rings" production. There’s
also a theatrical trailer included.
AUDIO/VISUAL:
The
5.1 audio track comes in two options- DTS and Dolby Digital-
and both are just as robust. This Code 3 DVD also offers pristine
visuals that help the well-accomplished CG effects in the
film to stand out.
MOVIE RATING:
 
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
Posted
on 20 October 2009
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