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Product Description: In the near future Japan's scientists have perfected the merging of biotechnology and robotics its benefits extending the lifespans of all humans. However the United Nations deem the advanced technology a dangerous threat and begins strict surveillance on Japan.Refusing to abide by the UN's demands to halt research the rogue nation isolates itself from the world. Enter Vexille a young female operative of S.W.O.R.D. a specialized military unit charged with policing the potential misuse of robotic technology sent to infiltrate the neo-isolationist Japan to prevent a potential biotechnological nightmare!Format: DVD Genre: INDEPENDENT/INTERNATIONAL UPC: 704400095900 Manufacturer No: 0 Amazon.com: Vexille (2007, subtitled 2077 Nippon Sakoku: "2077 Isolation of Japan") is a CG/motion capture film that apes the popular Appleseed series. In 2077, 10 years after Japan withdrew into a sort of neo-Tokugawa isolation to pursue illegal cyborg technology, most of the population has been turned into androids by the evil Daiwa Heavy Industries. Vexille, a tough-as-press-on-nails mecha pilot in theDeunan Knute mode, joins in a raid on the remains of Tokyo to learn about the threat this technology poses. An unremarkable series of chases, mecha battles and Morris-the-Explainer-scenes ensues as Vexille, her beau Leon, and the few Japanese who still cling to their humanity destroy Daiwa's fortified island headquarters. Most of the story elements are borrowed other films, including Appleseed Ex Machina, Dune and the two Ghost in the Shell features. Vexille was clearly a low-budget production: the poorly rendered figures ressemble wax puppets and their shadows shrink and grow like stains on their clothing. (Rated PG-13: violence, violence against women, tobacco use) --Charles Solomon Customer Reviews: Rating: 
Date: 2008-07-07
Simply Stunning, Super Animation, Super Sound Effects too
It is 2077 and Japan has checked out of the world because of a moratorium issued by the U.N. on advancing robotic research. They (the rest of the world) didn't like the biological direction the Japanese were taking with their robots, so the Japanese developed an electrical magnetic field which shields their country from both satellites and outsiders.
Now, because of a raid in the States gone wrong, the U.S. has discovered the Japanese are violating treaties and decides to infiltrate the county by sending in their top agents, a group called SWORD. Their job, find out what Diawa Robotics are up to.
Vexile and her main squeeze Leon are among the team that goes in. However, they're ambushed on arrival, Vexile gets away, Leon is captured and the rest of the team is killed. Vexile wakes up in a very different kind of Tokyo that was there ten years ago and now the job to find out what is going on is left to her. Plus, her problem has gotten a little bigger, now the fate of the world is in the balance. If she fails, everybody dies.
I liked this movie a whole lot more than I thought I was going to. The animation was first rate, the soundtrack outstanding and those guys working the Foley box (the sound effects people) really did shine. The movie has a very fast pace and I thought it was stunning. Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-24
Average
I'm not an anime fan. But I gave 'Vexille' a shot as it was not traditional anime as it was fully rendered CGI style. While some of the visuals were pretty nice, this film did not change my view on anime. There's some great looking stuff going on, the music isn't bad, but the story/plot is absolutely incomprehensible.
'Vexille' is a pretty decent visual treat, but if you are looking for some substance, then skip this one. Rating: 
Date: 2008-06-24
impressive cgi
Vexille is an interesting showcase for CGI anime. The animation in parts was very impressive, however the storyline was disjointed and implausible. The action sequences were well done but lots of the dialogue didn't really go anywhere. Overall, its light entertainment but not completely satisfying. Rating:
Date: 2008-06-23
Vexille.... Decent, but a little vexing.
It's from the creators of Appleseed, and though Appleseed wasn't phenomenal, it was more entertaining than this effort. That's not to say that Vexille is a bad movie, but gosh are there quite a few things wrong with it.
For starters, the animation, while good in part, just isn't quite there yet. Some scenes looked fantastic, and others look plain unfinished in their presentation. Since Appleseed was a while ago now, I expected this style to be near perfected as it were, and this wasn't the case. Many times things took an all-too cel-shaded look, which clearly the movie wasn't try to present. That said, other parts looked wonderful, with snowflakes being brushed off a windshield near the beginning with no obvious repeating snowflake pattern as other animators are wont to do to save animation time. I mostly just wished the characters were a little more organic... ( for example the animators really weren't even trying during the one kiss in the movie...)
But there are worse problems than the animation: Even if you follow things very carefully from the get-go, confusion is bound to ensue for a good part of the start of the movie. The problem here stems in great part from a language barrier. If you watch this movie in the original Japanese track with subtitles (as you should!), the issue is that the Americans (our protagonists for this movie) for no apparent reason speak wonderful Japanese in a decidedly Japanese accent, because... well... the movie features an entirely Japanese voice cast. Now, if the antagonists of this movie are also Japanese..., well, you see the problem here. You're not entirely sure who's whom until things really get rolling.
The other issue is that the movie starts off at a decent pace, and then slows down to quite a crawl. A little more action would have really helped, especially since what action we do get is very-well done, Matrix-ish, over-the-top, slow-moed etc. Toward the end, though, things picked up nicely, though the ending narrative (I knew it was coming, too) is an utter cliche.
And lastly, the movie proudly displays Paul Okenfold as providing the original score for this movie. While in theory this is a great thing, it sounded like (pun intended) Paul wasn't sure what to do with this movie, as the soundtrack for the first 80% of the movie is absolutely awful. Some scenes that could have been wonderfully dramatic are shattered by techno poop. Yes, techno poop. It's a new genre, where you merge techno and poop and call it music. It's a real shame, too. But with that said, the climactic scene has some great, great beats that really serve to increase the mood. I was VERY into that final scene, let me tell you, and the music played a huge part in that.
So, overall, not a bad effort for a movie. Still feels a little same-old in terms of anime, but worth a view.
3/5 Rating:
Date: 2008-06-19
Impressive and fascinating.
During the opening 20 minutes, I had fears Vexille was a soulless action flick. The graphics (it is computer generated, after all) look like what we might see at the end of the Playstation 3's lifecycle, or in the next generation of consoles, not as impressive as, say, Advent Children, yet they are extremely expressive, bringing us elements from hand-drawn animation. The characterization is, at times, shallow, and the storyline trite and at firstly nonsensical, but by the end of the film, viewers will find themselves impressed by how everything has come together, given something moving to hold onto that was more memorable and interesting (at least to me) than the lauded action sequences, sort of an allegorical analysis of what it is to be human, in the standard Japanese mold of never giving up, and isn't that why we like a good story anyway, to learn more about ourselves?
Lovers of Japan might be especially affected. I was.
As far as the voice acting, I can't comment on the English, as I viewed it with the Japanese dialog on. |
