Customer Ratings & Reviews

The third animated outing of Masamune Shirow's post-apocalyptic story, Ex Machina follows in its immediate predecessor's footsteps of being entirely 3D computer animated. I was less than pleased with how the characters in the movie from a few years ago looked, but either the technology has improved or I've just gotten more accustomed to looking at it as the character animation bothered me far less in Ex Machina. Ex Machina takes place sometime following the events of the previous movie as Olympus is still in the process of rebuilding from the climax of the first movie. The story focuses on Briareos and Deunan as usual, but throws a wrench into their mix with the arrival of Tereus, a bioroid (artificial human) heavily based on Briareos's DNA. The story follows their struggles to find their places among each other as they combat the newest thread to Olympus (and the world). It's easy to see that John Woo produced this movie- anyone familiar with his works will recognize some of his hallmarks (white doves, shells falling everywhere, twin-handgun wielding). Amusingly, at least one of them actually gets worked into the plot for once. The action is fast-paced and very well animated- I have this in HD-DVD and it looks gorgeous, presumably the Blu-Ray looks just as good. The only slight downside might be that there is a slight lack of background given on some of the characters and the situation. Having seen the previous movie (and/or the much older OVA) definitely helps- but honestly I think it probably stands well enough on its own. The background material just helps add to the enjoyment of it. Overall, this is an excellent early outing of anime into the realm of HD media, and comes highly recommended.

Okay, clear your schedule, get the popcorn and get ready to be blown away. John Woo totally outdoes himself - the story is crisp and the visuals are insane!