Appleseed series

(In French, On TV, May 2020) My expectations going into Appleseed Alpha were not all that high—I would have settled for a typical 2010s Japanese CGI production and I suppose I got exactly that. I have dim memories of the original manga, but not dim enough to realize that this take on the series is wildly different, taking place in (and around) a post-apocalyptic New York indulging in the most convenient clichés of the genre, with cyberpunk elements thrown willy-nilly in a bleak landscape, except with electricity, a working subway system, fantastic orc-like creatures and many other things that clearly don’t make this a work of serious Science Fiction. The buxom heroine being squeezed in a chest-and-midriff-highlighting outfit doesn’t help any further in taking the film any more seriously. The images are superb, sometimes almost photorealistic—but the animation, as good as it usually is, does have curious shortcomings at times, probably due to budgeting issues as if a few corners were cut. At least the film ends on a bit of a high note, what with a spectacular assault on a massive mobile fortress that helps make up for a lacklustre second act and meandering story. It’s not much, but then again, it’s got enough going for it to make the viewing worthwhile if you’re partial to CGI Science Fiction movies, no matter how little sense they make.