Since the theme around here this year seems to be really heavy on materialism, I think I’ve got a good idea! Well, maybe an okay idea. I’ve already got two days covered, so I’ve decided that until the 24th, I’m going to post and review one item I’ve recently bought per day. Kind of like a poor man’s version of a certain other site’s annual holiday countdowns. expect mostly movies and CDs, but possibly some surprises. Who knows? I haven’t really thought it through yet.
Today’s entry is going to play off yesterday’s lengthy post, in that it’s also Fullmetal Alchemist related. This time, it’s the movie! Yes, that’s right. After watching the series, I tried downloading this like three times, but always managed to get alternate language versions (French, German, and Japanese). I really wish people would tag their torrents better. So I gave up, and when I was out getting the season one box sets, I decided to pick the movie up to. For completion’s sake, you see.
I’ll note at this point that I got the standard edition. There was a two-disc special edition as well, but it was significantly more moneys, and the extra bonus features really didn’t sell me on spending nearly double what I intended to. Plus, I’d never seen the thing, and I couldn’t justify dropping that much on something I might end up not liking. I’m an impulse buyer at heart, but I only pick up stuff I’m gambling on when it’s cheap.
Long story short, I think I made the right move. This is not to say that the Fullmetal Alchemist movie is a bad movie. In fact, it was a rather inspired movie, keeping with the general feel of the show, yet introducing some other, possibly even deeper concepts. Since it plays directly off the ending of the series, I won’t go into detail about the plot to prevent spoilers (even though by this point anyone who cares has seen every episode).
Much like the series, the FMA movie is mostly about plot and character development. A couple new people are in there and don’t get quite as much screen time as you’d expect for a major character, but they still manage to give you more than enough details to identify with these characters and understand exactly who they are and why they’re motivated to do what they do. The downside is that for anyone who isn’t a fan of the show, most of the recurring characters and mechanics are only briefly introduced (Wrath in particular), and you’ll have no idea who they are or how they manage to do the things they do. Of course, I doubt many people who didn’t follow the seires will be watching the movie, but still.
In keeping with the focus on the characters, action sequences are kept short and aren’t overly common, which again coincides with the show’s formula. The movie actually opens with an undeniably fun action scene, which makes for a really good hook, but from there on in, it’s about an hour until the next. I’m not griping about this or anything, just stating the facts. Fanservice is minimal too, and kept to fit with the plot. They don’t hamfistedly cram any fan-favourite characters in just to please, excpt for when Scar sort of shows up at the end, but even that’s a perfectly reasonable appearance.
In the end, I can’t say that the Fullmetal Alchemist movie really lived up to the the series. It was a good way to end the story, but didn’t completely satisfy. For all the good things that it brings to the table, the middle is uncharacteristically slow and somewhat dull. That’s about all I ahve to gripe about though. The extras that come with the standard edition DVD are more than enough, including a huge 18-page booklet filled with notes on the movie’s development, character and theme information, and artwork. Also included are a 40-minute “making of” documentary, trailers and art galleries. I don’t remember what extras were on the special edition, but they weren’t enough for me to justify spending almost double. In all, I recommend the standard edition to the fan, special edition being reserved more for the fanboy and those with money to blow. Outsiders will just be confused as all hell, so unless you intend to watch the entire series first, FMA newbs should just stay away.