Customer Ratings & Reviews

This movie looks great on blu-ray, the sound on this disc is excellent, the surround sound is perfect. I have one complaint, there is no Japanese audio or subtitles, I should have read the description more closely, I was rather disappointed to have to watch it with English audio, but the voice acting was really good. There is a Sony commercial at the beginning that you can't escape, but you can skip through the previews.

There is very little about the entire Appleseed series of movies that 99% of anime lovers won't thoroughly enjoy. Frankly, even if anime isn't your 'goto' medium, it will be difficult to beat Appleseed's quality of story, characters, artwork and more. From the original alone it has easily withstood the test of time; for me personally it's almost more enjoyable every time I rewatch it (which happens a couple times a year). Alpha is no different! Without giving anything away so it's as enjoyable as possible, basically Alpha is best noted as a prequel to the original Appleseed. A lot the of the same characters are still present...only, it's all for the previously (and relatively untouched) back story. Alpha shows us the path *TO* Olympus and the fight to get there - not just the struggle within Olympus. If you like to round out the stories and characters you commit your time to, and enjoy immersing yourself to the point they are actually people versus characters on the page (or screen in this case), then Alpha is worth every penny...on sale or otherwise! Currently it's listed for 15 bucks; it's worth twice as much in my opinion or anyone who enjoyed the original and wants to delve further into the story & the characters. Especially for Duenan and Briareos. (In addition, regarding the English dub, Luci Christian (Duenan) and David Matranga (Briareos) positively knock it OUT OF THE PARK! And while I enjoy English dubs whenever possible (so I can keep my eyes on the action / screen, not reading the bottom 1/8th of my television screen), additional credit where it's due: Luci and David are phenomenal. They both, CONTINUALLY bring their A-Game and never disappoint in the slightest! There is truly, almost nothing negative to say about this prequel. And that's rare, regardless of genre. (There are a couple tiny glitches in the CGI at one point, but it's so brief it's honestly hard to catch at all unless you're studiously hunting for quality errors. I just BARELY caught it myself, and had to rewind to see if it was possibly the physical disc itself, just my eyes getting tired or something, etc., and noticed the hiccup. But it's truly gone as quickly as it happens and does NOT detract from the story or presentation in the least. I'm very surprised I even caught it because I was so intently watching, heh heh.) Nevertheless, if you're a huge fan of the original and looking for more of the same or expansion of the original, or even just retelling (a reboot) of the original Appleseed, you will not find it here. Alpha is NOT the original story, save for the the fact it's the same people; they are making their way TOWARD Olympus, and not yet fighting for the (their) home / city. And Alpha is strictly about that story! In fact, if you're in the mood for an Appleseed concentrated day and need to rewatch the original anyway, this is the perfect time to pick this up and watch first - then rewatch the original. You'll be able to begin the series anew, with a greatly expanded focus on their time prior to arriving in Olympus...then of course the struggle within the city as only they can manage it. Sorry for the long-winded comments. Basically, if you like the original and typically prefer as much history as possible on the characters & story you're investing your time in, then Alpha is most definitely a valued, and necessary addition to ANY collection! Also, while we all like saving money - and I recommend doing so whenever possible; I am certainly no different - Alpha doesn't need to be on sale just to make it worth buying. And whether here at BB or through an alternate vendor, you can almost always find it for $15 with the quickest of online hunting! :-)

The CG effects are stunningly beautiful and better than a live action. Appleseed is a very well-known comic and this one is depicting the beginning of it. It is a reboot so the story is slightly different from the first movie in 2004 and it looks like a set up for a new start. The characters are more realistic than the previous anime so I think the filmmakers wants to approach toward a live action but stayed on CGI since Briareos is a complete cyborg and it will look more natural that way. This probably equal or even better than Final Fantasy. Great film !

Appleseed has come a long way. In this Alpha version, it took us to the beginning. The graphics are great and the story is interesting. This biggest problem is that in other movies Briareos' cyborg was fitted by the city of Olympus, and in this movie, which is pre-Olympus city and Briareo is already fitted with the cyborg enhancements. This is what I hate.

The animation and storyline misses several opportunities to shine. This science fiction animated cartoon story takes place in a post apocalyptic future, where enhanced humans and high tech robots exist. This story takes place in New York City, where the main crime lord controls the subway system. Despite once having 8+ million people, the movie makes it look like the streets are all deserted with less than 800 people living in the city. The director and artists could have added a few extra background people walking around or trying to rebuild the neighborhoods, rather than having vacant streets. The main plot is ok, and action scenes solid. Overall an average movie, with some predictable Anime storyline moments.

This could have been so much better, why did they make Duenen look like a dude? I don't know. I liked how she was tough but feminine in the previous versions. this one she is a dude looking for some tacos. not a good deal.

Appleseed Alpha (2014) Based on the comic book by the creator of Ghost in the Shell, a young female soldier Deunan and her cyborg partner Briareos survive through the post World War 3 apocalyptic New York in search of human's future hope, the legendary city of Olympus.

No need to get import version, but would loved the original Japanese audio track. Enjoyed the movie and any can be enjoyed by anime fans and non anime fans alike.

The other movies in the Appleseed series are better than this movie, but this movie had an interesting story too. Great price for the movie.

Similar to the Final Fantasy movie. Very well made. Didn't know if I was going to like it, but it got better as it went on.

First of all, technically speaking, this story is a prequel. Shinji Aramaki has previously directed two other APPLESEED movies, APPLESEED and APPLESEED EX-MACHINA (aka APPLESEED SAGA) respectively, which tell the story of protagonist duo Deunan and Briareos from just before they are taken to Olympus and continue their story from just after they become established E.S.W.A.T officers. It seems to me that with each new iteration of Masamune Shirow's Appleseed, there is less and less left of what made the story an international hit as a manga. I know nothing at all of the history of this movie's production, but I really shouldn't have to search for reasons to excuse it's shortcomings, some of which are inexcusable, no matter what kind of production challenges may have arisen. This movie seemed to be an excellent concept. I've always wanted to see some of the things that Deunan and Briareos experienced before going to Olympus. Furthermore, APPLESEED ALPHA contains some of the most beautifully detailed CG rendering that I've ever seen in a movie of this type but, ironically, this is where problems begin to arise. The motion capture sometimes lacked dynamism and often looked recycled in spots. There were instances when separate onscreen characters seemed to have exactly the same gate and cadence in their step and body language and overall it lacked energy and character. Also, the actors often seemed uncommitted in portions of the action sequences. They seemed to be trying to avoid on-set injury at times when the story required that they seem to be desperately trying to avoid a horrible death. Possibly because there were no hand animated tweaks to the motion capture, it just looked too soft and slow and too much like acTING rather than acTION. An even bigger problem was the designs. I really wanted to like them. The characters in the badlands, such as Deunan, Briareos, Two Horns and his Cyborg henchmen all looked as if they were based firmly on Shirow's Appleseed designs but there was a bit too much affectation in some of them. They just seemed too busy and just a tad over the top. This goes double or better for Talos and his crew. it makes perfect sense that the design of the Olympus characters would be slicker, more modern, more organic.... different...but there were so many hard edges and superficial looking bits and pieces that they just looked uninspired and out of place. It was a heavy handed attempt. Beyond this was the English voice acting. Flat, unnatural, uninteresting, inappropriate... boring. it made me sad. The soundtrack is slathered in dubstep or a cacophony of some other harsh, emotionless, unmelodic, computer generated noise that often didn't really seem appropriately placed and therefore certainly didn't help the atmosphere or mood of the story but in fact, especially near the beginning, seemed to blot out some of the dialogue. It made me angry. The worst grievance of all, however, was the screenplay in general. The Deunan and Briareos that I know are a HIGHLY intelligent, battle hardened pair who have developed an intuition about each other (See the opening sequence of APPLESEED EX-MACHINA for an excellent example of their character and the nature of their relationship IN ACTION rather than halfhearted exposition i.e. Appleseed Alpha) that makes them so dynamic and dangerous that, more often than not, its difficult for most other characters and most readers/viewers to keep up with them, much less anticipate them. They have experience which keeps them alert and aware. It seemed that all of this was missing from this screenplay except wherever it was convenient to include it. Deunan was inconsistent, erratic, witless and weak. Briareos was flat and robotic and his whispery, half-raspy, "too cool for school" voice was just plain aggravating. Long story short: WHO ARE THESE TWO PEOPLE??? This is NOT Deunan and Briareos.... Not at all. They were just plain WRONG. Is it just me, or does it seem ENTIRELY nonsensical that Deunan and Briareos should encounter a gun platform BEFORE they get to Olympus? WHAAAAA-?!!??? Recycling the gun platform as central plot device, at this juncture, was just inappropriate and comes off as lazy. Shinji Aramaki should know better. In the end, this was a beautifully drawn movie whose plot was tragically lacking in character and therefore was high on activity but ultimately felt empty... Soulless, heartless and by the numbers. Terribly off the mark as an Appleseed story. I'd give it a 1/4th star review, if I could.

I like it a other good deal on sale at the right place at the right time

There are a bunch of audio tracks for the different languages, but there is no original Japanese dialog for the movie. While there is 'filmmakers' commentary', it is in Japanese. I could not find subtitles for the commentary.

movie is put together very well.story line is good.nice to sit back and watch a good movie for a change.awlsome effects..

great movies for laughes, good aq and pq, very fun, highly recommended

It's another exciting entries to the Appleseed series.

Nice action film to add to the Appleseed series....