GATCHAMAN DVD (2013)

SYNOPSIS: They were chosen...to become the ultimate weapons. The chosen five...Man's last defines against evil. Set in the near future in Tokyo, Japan. The evil terrorist organisation Galactor has declared war on the world. The group possesses more advanced technology than governments and occupies over half of the planet. Dr. Kozaburo Nambu of the International Science Organization gathers together 5 superhero ninja agents known collectively as Gatchaman to stop Galactor.

MOVIE REVIEW:

Gatchaman was one of my favourite animations when I was growing up in the eighties. In case you have no idea who they are, the superhero team consists of five members each having their own unique skills and abilities and dressed in colourful bird-like capes. This live-action version reboot of the classic anime series unfortunately ends up looking like a generic sci-fi fantasy flick instead of being Gatchaman.

Ken (Tori Matsuzaka), George (Go Ayano), Jun (Ayame Gouriki), Jinpei (Tasuomi Hamada) and Ryu (Ryoheo Suzuki) are members of the International Science Organization (ISO) formed to fight against terrorists from outerspace known as “Galactors”. Within minutes after the opening credits, an exhilarating 15 minutes of action, which featured the five members demonstrating their ninja combat skills against some invading Galactors in downtown Tokyo starts to unfold. Just when you thought there’s more to come, the story by Yusuke Watanabe (Gantz) spent the next hour or so on plot exposition and more exposition.

There’s tedious explanation on how Galactors came about, something about Virus X in our bodies that caused the mutant change followed by the introduction of Iriya (Shido Nakamura in a cameo), the number two man of Galactors who turned informant and lastly the most tedious of all, a triangular romance affair involving Ken, George and a dead ISO member Naomi. Practically nothing exciting ever happens. You could have switched to doing your housework and yet won’t miss a single thing after a long while because it’s just people standing around on screen talking.

The visual effects are bearable, just a slight notch above the usual Kamen Raiders and Power Rangers TV series even though most of the control rooms in ISO are notably far barren than the desert. The combat fights are passable and hilariously there’s a villain dressed in cartoonish pink and we thought this is serious fantasy stuff since everyone onscreen puts on a somber look. The tweaks to the bird-themed costumes are troubling as it easily passes off as a Hollywood superhero than the original Tatsuo Yoshida’s creations.

It’s hard to like this reimagining live-action version as much as I want to. The flick actually has a promising start but it simply went downhill subsequently. Not an ounce of humour and adventure are detected in the end and those repetitive messages about teamwork and loyalty starts to get on one’s nerves. Once again, this property is in need of another reboot.    

SPECIAL FEATURES:

NIL

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Visual is unexpectedly filled with jarring images and picture clarity is disappointing on a large TV setup. The 2.0 soundtrack is underwhelming as well. 

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee