Appleseed ex Machina - The Review Thread - Blu-ray Forum

JJ · 03-11-2008, 07:07 PM

Picked it up at Best Buy along with ID4 and Independence Day, and just finished watching it.

Now, I am not an anime fan at all whatsoever. The only thing I can ever remember getting into is Robotech for a few months as a kid; and I did happen to like the Final Fantasy Blu-ray. Now, I became excited for this title solely by looking at the cover picture! Reading the synopsis and then the review on this website made me even more anxious to pick up this title this morning, so I called in sick and declared it a Blu day.

The picture, of course, is fantastic, free of grain, defects, artifacts; as we would expect of a CGI movie. Action scenes, top-notch. The main plot theme was intertwined excellently with the love story. I can't possibly imagine a similar plot themed movie. It is by no means an idiotic action movie like Crank, etc. Sound is still DD5.1, but it still delivers...

Give it a rent, at the very least, because this movie, to me at least, has plenty of replay value and well worth the purchase price.

ground chuck · 03-11-2008, 07:16 PM

thanks for the info, i've been eyeing this one up for a couple weeks, but was unsure if i'd really like it since i'm not a huge anime buff.

DeeChizzle · 03-11-2008, 07:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Picked it up at Best Buy along with ID4 and Independence Day, and just finished watching it.

Now, I am not an anime fan at all whatsoever. The only thing I can ever remember getting into is Robotech for a few months as a kid; and I did happen to like the Final Fantasy Blu-ray. Now, I became excited for this title solely by looking at the cover picture! Reading the synopsis and then the review on this website made me even more anxious to pick up this title this morning, so I called in sick and declared it a Blu day.

The picture, of course, is fantastic, free of grain, defects, artifacts; as we would expect of a CGI movie. Action scenes, top-notch. The main plot theme was intertwined excellently with the love story. I can't possibly imagine a similar plot themed movie. It is by no means an idiotic action movie like Crank, etc. Sound is still DD5.1, but it still delivers...

Give it a rent, at the very least, because this movie, to me at least, has plenty of replay value and well worth the purchase price.

Whats the verdict on ID4 and the other movie you purchased, Independence Day...how's the PQ on both of these movies?

JJ · 03-11-2008, 07:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeeChizzle

Whats the verdict on ID4 and the other movie you purchased, Independence Day...how's the PQ on both of these movies?

Oh, geez, let me tell you - Independence Day looked fantastic, I completely did not expect that, especially since I had heard about the PQ of the import title...but the American one looks beautiful...the dogfighting scenes and sounds brought tears to my eyes. Top-notch quality for a older title, definite near-reference quality PQ, and foundation-rattling AQ.

I, Robot is coming soon after I eat lunch...

JJ · 03-12-2008, 01:37 AM

Just saw it again. It was that much fun.

u_nick · 03-12-2008, 01:52 AM

Just finished watching (Appleseed).

I'm a big anime fan, but have never seen anything appleseed before. That said, I thought it was great. Like JJ said, simply a great action movie. John Woo's style was apparent, and it rocked.

ak808 · 03-12-2008, 03:16 AM

I agree with the rest of the reviews. Just finished watching it, but only gripe I have is that I wished it had a pcm track

dvsbreaker · 03-12-2008, 03:27 AM

FYI; ID4 & Independence Day are the SAME movie

Porky Pine · 03-12-2008, 04:19 AM

I saw the first Appleseed on TV while channel surfing. I pretty much detest anything anime but I was bored, and the CG graphics looked pretty impressive so I left it on. I must say that I was pretty impressed. It was pretty much the only anime that didn't insult my intelligence, make me throw up in my mouth a bit (storywise) or annoy me with little Japanese kids with high pitched voices and oversized eyes.

So I was pretty excited when I heard that this was coming out on Blu-ray. Watched it today and was just as pleased as the first one. It's still a little cliche'd but it's enjoyable.

HRC · 03-12-2008, 04:24 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

along with ID4 and Independence Day

So, which one was better? ID4 or Independence Day? I heard if ya seen one...ya seen the other.

krazeyeyez · 03-12-2008, 05:02 AM

pq was great, but couldn't really get into the story, alot of the dialougue seemed awkward. im not a big fan of "robot anime" to begin with so that being said it was ok but glad i just rented it.

Raijin-UT · 03-12-2008, 05:11 AM

In my youth I was a huge Anime, but that was 10-16 years ago and I have since lost track with my Anime roots of Ninja Scroll, Berserker, and ETC. I came across this title this afternoon at Best Buy (I hate that store!!!) while I was picking up a copy of Hitman with a gift card that I had left over from x-mas, and I have to say that I loved this film and I am very glad that I picked it up as an impulse buy. The store has some minor flaws in the character development, but the picture is by far one of the best of any Anime or CGI out currently on the market. Plus the action is very John Wooish and comes off very nicely through out the entire flick.

Appleseed: ExMachina is very much worth a rental even if you are not an Anime fan... but if you are or have ever been an Anime fan, well then it's a must buy.

tsken02 · 03-12-2008, 05:42 AM

I thought it was excellent. I rented from Netflix. It has an interesting style. The characters were not styled as realistic, but all of the environments were very realistic. Like most people, I really like movies were you care about the characters, and I did care about these folks.

MOONPHASE · 03-12-2008, 06:26 AM

Appleseed Ex Machina was just amazing. It has to be one of my all time favorite anime movies and the pq was outstanding even with the VC-1 encoding crap and no dolby truehd or pcm which sucks like hell but the movie itself is well worth a purchase. its so great it doesnt even need a rental its just a must have to any anime fan or at least any appleseed fan. I got the last copy at Best Buy for just $19.99($5 Reward Zone coupon plus the sale price of it being $24.99).

MOONPHASE · 03-12-2008, 06:30 AM

If you thought Appleseed's CGI animation looks great then wait for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children to come out on Blu-Ray. Just the dvd version of Final Fantasy VII characters look so real its scary

ak808 · 03-12-2008, 08:14 AM

^^agreed. While appleseed does look good but as far as CGI quality goes FF7:advent children takes the cake easy. Can't wait for that to come to bluray as I honestly don't see how it could get any better. Thats how good it is.

Mystique · 03-12-2008, 09:16 AM

I will purchase this once, I can get it on blu-rayboxsets.com for under 20 dollars shipped.

The Laughing Man · 03-12-2008, 05:10 PM

I was a huge fan of the first Appleseed movie, but was slightly disappointed with the this one. The first move was Cel-Shaded, which I thought worked for the most part (there was a couple of weird moments).

This one however, isn't quite as cel-shaded as the first one. It's more like 'psuedo-Cel Shaded'. The result is this weird effect that reminded me of Game Cinematics from 6-8 years ago.

It was like like halfway between photo real (a la Advent Children) and Cel shaded (like the first Appleseed). The backgrounds were photo real, but the characters were this weird hybrid.

The story was great - a lot more development than the first one, yet the first one seemed to have more 'scope' to it. And frankly, I thought this one did a much better job at summarizing Briareos and Nute's origins than the first one.

All in all, I'd recommend it - just be prepared for a shift in the look as compared to the first one.

Chacranajxy · 03-12-2008, 05:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Laughing Man

I was a huge fan of the first Appleseed movie, but was slightly disappointed with the this one. The first move was Cel-Shaded, which I thought worked for the most part (there was a couple of weird moments).

This one however, isn't quite as cel-shaded as the first one. It's more like 'psuedo-Cel Shaded'. The result is this weird effect that reminded me of Game Cinematics from 6-8 years ago.

It was like like halfway between photo real (a la Advent Children) and Cel shaded (like the first Appleseed). The backgrounds were photo real, but the characters were this weird hybrid.

The story was great - a lot more development than the first one, yet the first one seemed to have more 'scope' to it. And frankly, I thought this one did a much better job at summarizing Briareos and Nute's origins than the first one.

All in all, I'd recommend it - just be prepared for a shift in the look as compared to the first one.

I'm really hoping the story is better than what the last movie had. That one just kinda fell apart at the end. I'm tempted to blind-buy this, though, since I'm a fan of Shirrow's stuff, and the reviews seem to be very positive.

Blu Falcon · 03-12-2008, 06:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JJxiv1215

Picked it up at Best Buy along with ID4 and Independence Day, and just finished watching it.

Now, I am not an anime fan at all whatsoever. The only thing I can ever remember getting into is Robotech for a few months as a kid; and I did happen to like the Final Fantasy Blu-ray. Now, I became excited for this title solely by looking at the cover picture! Reading the synopsis and then the review on this website made me even more anxious to pick up this title this morning, so I called in sick and declared it a Blu day.

The picture, of course, is fantastic, free of grain, defects, artifacts; as we would expect of a CGI movie. Action scenes, top-notch. The main plot theme was intertwined excellently with the love story. I can't possibly imagine a similar plot themed movie. It is by no means an idiotic action movie like Crank, etc. Sound is still DD5.1, but it still delivers...

Give it a rent, at the very least, because this movie, to me at least, has plenty of replay value and well worth the purchase price.

That sounds reassuring. I pre-ordered this title a while back and I should be getting it in the mail today. Looks like I'll be checking this out tonight. I've got the first Appleseed on standard DVD and enjoyed it. Thanks for the report.

03-11-2008, 07:07 PM	#1
JJ Blu-ray Count Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Miami, FL Home Theater Gallery:99 4K collection:619 Blu-ray collection:1293 DVD collection:31 Digital collection:5 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:203	Appleseed ex Machina - The Review Thread Picked it up at Best Buy along with ID4 and Independence Day, and just finished watching it. Now, I am not an anime fan at all whatsoever. The only thing I can ever remember getting into is Robotech for a few months as a kid; and I did happen to like the Final Fantasy Blu-ray. Now, I became excited for this title solely by looking at the cover picture! Reading the synopsis and then the review on this website made me even more anxious to pick up this title this morning, so I called in sick and declared it a Blu day. The picture, of course, is fantastic, free of grain, defects, artifacts; as we would expect of a CGI movie. Action scenes, top-notch. The main plot theme was intertwined excellently with the love story. I can't possibly imagine a similar plot themed movie. It is by no means an idiotic action movie like Crank, etc. Sound is still DD5.1, but it still delivers... Give it a rent, at the very least, because this movie, to me at least, has plenty of replay value and well worth the purchase price.

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03-11-2008, 07:16 PM	#2
ground chuck Power Member Member since:May 2007 Location:Charm City Blu-ray collection:75 Blu-ray reviews:48 Trading Score:18	thanks for the info, i've been eyeing this one up for a couple weeks, but was unsure if i'd really like it since i'm not a huge anime buff.

03-12-2008, 01:37 AM	#5
JJ Blu-ray Count Top ranked HT gallery Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Miami, FL Home Theater Gallery:99 4K collection:619 Blu-ray collection:1293 DVD collection:31 Digital collection:5 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:203	Just saw it again. It was that much fun.

03-12-2008, 01:52 AM	#6
u_nick Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jan 2007 Location:CT, US Trading Score:27	Just finished watching (Appleseed). I'm a big anime fan, but have never seen anything appleseed before. That said, I thought it was great. Like JJ said, simply a great action movie. John Woo's style was apparent, and it rocked.

03-12-2008, 03:16 AM	#7
ak808 Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Home Theater Gallery:17 Blu-ray collection:342	I agree with the rest of the reviews. Just finished watching it, but only gripe I have is that I wished it had a pcm track

03-12-2008, 03:27 AM	#8
dvsbreaker Member Member since:Sep 2007 Location:Bay Area, CA Blu-ray collection:140	FYI; ID4 & Independence Day are the SAME movie

03-12-2008, 04:19 AM	#9
Porky Pine Active Member Member since:Jan 2008	I saw the first Appleseed on TV while channel surfing. I pretty much detest anything anime but I was bored, and the CG graphics looked pretty impressive so I left it on. I must say that I was pretty impressed. It was pretty much the only anime that didn't insult my intelligence, make me throw up in my mouth a bit (storywise) or annoy me with little Japanese kids with high pitched voices and oversized eyes. So I was pretty excited when I heard that this was coming out on Blu-ray. Watched it today and was just as pleased as the first one. It's still a little cliche'd but it's enjoyable.

03-12-2008, 05:02 AM	#11
krazeyeyez Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Dec 2007 Location:the guy on the couch Home Theater Gallery:18 Blu-ray collection:287 Blu-ray reviews:4	pq was great, but couldn't really get into the story, alot of the dialougue seemed awkward. im not a big fan of "robot anime" to begin with so that being said it was ok but glad i just rented it.

03-12-2008, 05:11 AM	#12
Raijin-UT Junior Member Member since:Aug 2007	In my youth I was a huge Anime, but that was 10-16 years ago and I have since lost track with my Anime roots of Ninja Scroll, Berserker, and ETC. I came across this title this afternoon at Best Buy (I hate that store!!!) while I was picking up a copy of Hitman with a gift card that I had left over from x-mas, and I have to say that I loved this film and I am very glad that I picked it up as an impulse buy. The store has some minor flaws in the character development, but the picture is by far one of the best of any Anime or CGI out currently on the market. Plus the action is very John Wooish and comes off very nicely through out the entire flick. Appleseed: ExMachina is very much worth a rental even if you are not an Anime fan... but if you are or have ever been an Anime fan, well then it's a must buy.

03-12-2008, 05:42 AM	#13
tsken02 Junior Member Member since:Dec 2007 Blu-ray collection:293 Blu-ray reviews:2	I thought it was excellent. I rented from Netflix. It has an interesting style. The characters were not styled as realistic, but all of the environments were very realistic. Like most people, I really like movies were you care about the characters, and I did care about these folks.

03-12-2008, 06:26 AM	#14
MOONPHASE Blu-ray Duke Top contributor Member since:Jun 2007 Location:California 4K collection:8 Blu-ray collection:520 DVD collection:820 Blu-ray reviews:18 Trading Score:29	Appleseed Ex Machina was just amazing. It has to be one of my all time favorite anime movies and the pq was outstanding even with the VC-1 encoding crap and no dolby truehd or pcm which sucks like hell but the movie itself is well worth a purchase. its so great it doesnt even need a rental its just a must have to any anime fan or at least any appleseed fan. I got the last copy at Best Buy for just $19.99($5 Reward Zone coupon plus the sale price of it being $24.99).

03-12-2008, 06:30 AM	#15
MOONPHASE Blu-ray Duke Top contributor Member since:Jun 2007 Location:California 4K collection:8 Blu-ray collection:520 DVD collection:820 Blu-ray reviews:18 Trading Score:29	If you thought Appleseed's CGI animation looks great then wait for Final Fantasy VII Advent Children to come out on Blu-Ray. Just the dvd version of Final Fantasy VII characters look so real its scary

03-12-2008, 08:14 AM	#16
ak808 Active Member Member since:Nov 2007 Home Theater Gallery:17 Blu-ray collection:342	^^agreed. While appleseed does look good but as far as CGI quality goes FF7:advent children takes the cake easy. Can't wait for that to come to bluray as I honestly don't see how it could get any better. Thats how good it is.

03-12-2008, 09:16 AM	#17
Mystique Expert Member Member since:Apr 2007 Location:Newark, CA Blu-ray collection:240 Blu-ray reviews:5 Trading Score:1	I will purchase this once, I can get it on blu-rayboxsets.com for under 20 dollars shipped.

03-12-2008, 05:10 PM	#18
The Laughing Man Active Member Member since:Nov 2007	I was a huge fan of the first Appleseed movie, but was slightly disappointed with the this one. The first move was Cel-Shaded, which I thought worked for the most part (there was a couple of weird moments). This one however, isn't quite as cel-shaded as the first one. It's more like 'psuedo-Cel Shaded'. The result is this weird effect that reminded me of Game Cinematics from 6-8 years ago. It was like like halfway between photo real (a la Advent Children) and Cel shaded (like the first Appleseed). The backgrounds were photo real, but the characters were this weird hybrid. The story was great - a lot more development than the first one, yet the first one seemed to have more 'scope' to it. And frankly, I thought this one did a much better job at summarizing Briareos and Nute's origins than the first one. All in all, I'd recommend it - just be prepared for a shift in the look as compared to the first one.

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