Product Description

The next installment in the Appleseed franchise Appleseed: Ex Machinaavailable on DVD! Produced by John Woo and Directed by Shinji Aramakiand featuring next generation CG technology Appleseed: Ex Machina isback bigger and badder!Based on the manga from reknown creator Shirow Masamune in this movieDeunan and Briareos are both partners and lovers. As members of ESWATthe elite forces serving Olympus they are deployed everywhere troublestrikes. The two fighters find their partnership tested in a new way bythe arrival of Tereus who uncannily resembles Briareos before thewartime injuries that led to his becoming a cyborg. At the same timeOlympus finds itself under a stealth attack . Cyborg terrorism deadlynanotech zealots and rioting citizens are just some of the threats thatDeunan must contend with as she fights to save Olympus.System Requirements:Running Time: 104 minutesFormat: DVD MOVIE Genre: SCI-FI/FANTASY/FANTASY Rating: PG-13 UPC: 085391200642 Manufacturer No: 120064

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #9151 in DVD
• Brand: Warner Brothers
• Released on: 2008-03-11
• Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Aspect ratio: 1.66:1
• Formats: Animated, Closed-captioned, Color, DVD-Video, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: 1.25 pounds
• Running time: 104 minutes

Amazon.com
Produced by John Woo and directed by Shinji Aramaki, Appleseed Ex Machina (2007) ranks as the most elaborate, stylish, and violent of the three adaptations of Masamune Shirow's manga. When it was released in 1988, the original Appleseed felt like a summary of anime's past, while Akira pointed the way to the future. The second Appleseed (2004), also directed by Aramaki, was an unimpressive motion-capture CG feature that borrowed elements from other sci-fi anime. In this latest incarnation, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus of the E.S.W.A.T. team are charged with preserving the peace of the city-state of Olympus, a hi-tech paradise on a largely ruined Earth. Screenwriters Kiyoto Takeuchi and Todd W. Russell have given the story a contemporary twist, adding attacks by "cyborg terrorists" and an effort by the ruler of Olympus to control a world-wide satellite surveillance system. When cyborgs and human launch coordinated attacks on the government headquarters in Olympus, Deunan, Briareos, and Tereus swing into action against a mysterious enemy. The plot has little in common with the earlier films: the Appleseed technology that was at the core of the story isn't even mentioned. The look, tone, and characters in Ex Machina recall Shirow's Ghost in the Shell, rather than the original Appleseed. Not surprisingly, the elaborately choreographed fight scenes reflect Woo's signature style, with slo-mo martial-arts combat, close-ups of falling shells, dynamic camerawork, and all-out gun battles. But the weightless movements of the motion-capture characters and the limited rendering of the skin textures gives Appleseed Ex Machina the feel of an extremely elaborate computer game. Despite the limits of the mo-cap technology, Appleseed Ex Machina is a fast-past, take-no-prisoners cinematic adventure that will delight action-movie fans as well as anime lovers. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, profanity, grotesque imagery, potentially offensive religious imagery.) --Charles Solomon

Customer Reviews

not as good as I had hoped
I was a little disappointed in the second appleseed movie. The action was there, it just all felt re-hashed. The finale was a total matrix rip off. The action scenes were OK, it just wasn't as cutting edge as the first. I was also surprised to see the Blue-ray only had a dolby digital sound track. No new generation codec. If you like anime, you'll probably enjoy it, if you don't, I wouldn't suggest this as your first view. I would have been happy to have rented this one, not purchased.

Stunning visuals lacking substance.
I second many of the reviews here in recommending the high definition version of the film. The visuals are simply amazing. The detail is crisp, and the animation is fluid. Out of all the high definition films I've seen this one impressed me the most with its visual clarity.

The story content of the film is disappointing when compared to the first film or the graphic novels. The story, while more complex than the previous movie, is poorly paced and far too predictable. The plot seems to be more of an excuse to string together the fantasticly over-the-top John Woo action scenes.

Perhaps my expectations were too high. Based on Masemune Shirow's other works, such as Ghost in the Shell and the earlier Appleseed stories, I expected a much deeper and well organized story.

This is a fantastic film to demonstrate the power of HD, but don't expect a huge emotional payoff when the story's over.

I am really impressed
I purchased this blu-ray a while ago and never watched it till last weekend. And I have to say I am really impressed. The quality is amazing and in FullHD it is a real eyecatch. That is what High Definition stands for.

I enjoyed watching this flick. But as I am not that huge anime expert / fan I cannot tell you if this fits in the Appleseed Universe.

I do not regret buying this disc. But I think rental would have done it as well.....