Mike Caputo · From fps #2 · May 1, 2005 | I'm sure there are legions of fans that will absolutely love Appleseed, especially the ones whose knees go weak during the cut scenes in any popular video game. In fact, I often thought while watching this big-budget anime feature that parts of it looked an awful lot like a good Xbox game.

That's not to say it didn't look good. On the contrary, Appleseed is a visual beauty, with some breathtaking visuals and remarkable detail. The contrived story might even be overlooked thanks to the lavish backgrounds and environments (the same tunnel vision you get when staring at the headlights of an oncoming car) if not for the scene-deadening characters.

Appleseed Directed by Shinji Aramaki Geneon Entertainment, 2005 Originally released theatrically in 2004 119 minutes Shop for Appleseed DVDs and more: Amazon.ca Amazon.com

But maybe that's what invoked the likeness to a video game.

I won't get into the storyline or plot—there's a million places you can read about that. There are many things to like about this movie, and if you are the type of person who likes a movie regardless of the calibre of actor, then you might really enjoy the ride in Appleseed, especially with its fast pace and contemporary soundtrack.

But those characters...

Want to read the rest of this review?

You'll find it and many other articles in the May 2005 issue of fps, available as a free download.