Metropolis was meant to be an epic, a great project blending breathtaking animation with a masterful tale on the future of humanity. Unfortunately it faltered.
Loosely based on Fritz Lang’s 1927 classic of the same name, Metropolis follows detective Shunsaku Ban and his young nephew Kenichi as they make their way through the great city in an effort to solve a case. However, the two have unwittingly stumbled in a power struggle that goes beyond anything they could have imaged and soon find themselves dealing with egomaniacal politicians, overzealous revolutionaries, oddly friendly robots and a mysterious young girl who can’t even remember her own name. As Kenichi tries to help this poor and obviously lost soul, a puzzle begins to form before his very eyes. What exactly is happening throughout the many layers of Metropolis and who (or even what) is Tima, the inquisitive and charming girl without a past? More to the point, will these questions keep you entertained for an hour and a half?
Although Osamu Tzezuka’s tale of class struggle and revolution in an all too possible future certainly is grand, and the underlying quest for self-discovery is a tried and tested tool of the art of storytelling, somehow the whole thing just doesn’t blend properly. The secondary characters aren’t given enough background and the main ones don’t seem to have enough personality. This makes it hard for the viewer to relate or even care about anyone. The plot is thick with political intrigue and underhanded grabs for power, but these aren’t very well explained and presented in a way that makes the whole thing more confusing than intriguing.
On the other hand, the technical aspect of Metropolis is close to perfect. Some will argue that the “old school” character designs don’t fit the futuristic storyline but I thought they actually enhanced it. We must remember that Metropolis the manga first came out over 50 years ago, much of the plot incorporates the visions and paranoias of the time, this aspect was represented by the dated designs and soundtrack, both of which happen to be wonderful. The backgrounds are also complex and detailed works of art. The action is smooth and painstakingly animated. The colour palette is huge and varied making every scene jump out of the screen.
And now, let me talk about the computer graphics. I am not usually a fan of mixing three dimensional computer graphics with classic animation. The results are often jarring and distracting if not down right ugly. However this movie is the exception that proves the rule. Far from being unnoticeable, the computer graphics are boldly and proudly displayed, having been created with just as much care and attention to detail as the rest of the animation but as they are used intelligently, they actually add to the viewing experience rather than detract from it. This is truly a rare thing to be seen in anime.
So how do you reconcile the whole? Let me put it this way, the sheer beauty of this anime will make up for the plot holes as long as one goes into it with the idea of seeing a gorgeous animation rather than hearing a brilliant story.
Stats:
Director: Rintaro
Script: Katsuhiro Otome (adapted from Osamu Tzezuka’s work)
Animation Studio: Madhouse
Licence: Columbia-Tristar 2001
Length: 107 min, 1 movie
Official web site http://www.sonypictures.com/cthv/metropolis/
Tags: metropolis