Patlabor: The Movie |
 | Summary:Slow-paced, intricately designed sci-fi drama follows the original mobile police in a mission to even the odds for a newfangled Tokyo. While an absolute must see for sci-fi/drama fans, viewers expecting the usual fast n' furious patlabor fare will be disappointed. |
| Title Aka: | Patlabor 1 |
| Company/Distributors: | Manga Entertainment |
| Year: | 1989 |
| Length: | 100 Minutes |
| Rating: |  |
| Genres: | Science Fiction, Drama |
| Format: | Feature Film |
| Content Level: |
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| Comments: | N/A |
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Synopsis:
The Tokyo of the future is a government-based, futuristic civilization; where the advanced construction robots known as "Labors" are commonplace, and where the society depends upon the Labors for means of development and advances in technology. Labors are used by many companies for perposes of large-scale production within the city. However, amidst all the advancement in new technology and the Labors; the governments believe that there is always room for improvement. With this comes organizations like "The Babylon Project", a technological advancement committee dedicated to developing the new system software (HOS); the "Hyper Operating System". The intent is to have all Labors throughout Tokyo Bay to be upgraded with this new operating software, hoping that it will make the robots more efficient and better able for construction means. But one day, without warning the mastermind behind the new "HOS" software committed suicide. Shortly afterwards, various Labors upgraded with the new HOS begin to go berserk throughout the city. The SV-Division team (Special Vehicles Division Team) Patlabor Mobile Police are assigned to the job of investigating the various incidents. Noa and the gang at SV-2 soon get deeper and deeper into the dark secrets of the Babylon Project and the HOS program. Soon the Patlabor Mobile Police must take action in putting a stop to the evil intent of the organization, and the mysteries behind the berserk Labor robots. But will the team be able to stop it in time before the whole of Tokyo experiences mass destruction at the hands of the mad robots. It's once again time for high-tech action and fast-paced combat in Patlabor: The Movie!!, Right? Well, not exactly.
Review:
For those Patlabor fans out there who plan to watch Patlabor 1, those expecting the usual fast-paced action sequences and light-hearted humor seen in the original series are in store for a disappointment. Patlabor 1, is in fact NOT generally an action-based movie; but works extremely well as a sci-fi thriller. With plenty of drama, and far less Labor action. The movie is extremely different from the series, it's rather amazing that it is able to maintain that same feeling as the series; because not much else of it is the same. Patlabor 1 is more so a sci-fi drama, rather than an action movie. The movie is chalk-full of dialouge, character development, a dark epic scope; and contains far less of your typical Patlabor humor and action. And the film is in no hurry whatsoever to do so. Although there are segments of several action sequences and some comic relief; the film is not mainly an action film. It focuses more on character development. The viewers are able to see a side of Noa and the rest of the SV-2 gang which we have not seen before. Character interaction plays a large part in the story of Patlabor 1, and concentrates more on it's attention to detail and animation. As for the animation of the film, it is rather excellent; highly intricate and smooth frame rates are present, as well as some very well composed action-sequences and musical score (also very different from the series). Nearly everything of a technical aspect is highly accurate in the film. Guns fire as they do in reality, and every single inch of detail can be seen on the Labor robots. But a warning to those who crave instant action/violence, you are in for trouble. The movie is very leisurely-paced, and it is very spread out and slow going. The film gives us a chance to see different sides of the characters, containing several scenes of dialouge (They are all very long). Many will find the film's plot to be hard to follow, since it is very intricate and confusing at times. But many Patlabor fans will find themselves to be right at home in the climax of the film, since most of the movie up to this point is purely action. Those action fans that can hold out that long I bid you well, although the rest of the anime fans out there will find themselves at a stand still. If you want a pure anime action fest, Patlabor 1 may not be the way to go. However, for those sci-fi fans out there who appreciate an engaging and intellectually challenging plot, with many twists and turns and loads of drama; this movie is perfect for you. Patlabor 1 is an engaging sci-fi epic, with a good production and some fantastic animation. And in that respect, the film is as good as the series in every sense of the word. |
