This movie turned out much better than I anticipated! It managed to capture the feel of the comic, while still being accessable to gantz newcomers (my wife also enjoyed it.) The extreme content from the comic has also been toned down severely. While some may see that as a negative, the film makers HAD to do it to appeal to a larger audience. I believe it makes the viewing experience much more enjoyable. So, if you are a fan of Gantz, japanese cinema, or manga/anime in general, check out this movie! *WARNING: WATCH IN JAPANESE! THE ENGLISH DUB IS INCOMPREHENSIBLY TERRIBLE!*
Read Best Reviews of Gantz (2011) Here
You may not know this, but aliens are here. They're out to get each of us. Whether it is our essence or our souls or our humanity, they're bound to come for us, to take whatever it is they want from each of us, and there's nothing we can do to stop them. And, by the way ... some of us? When we die? We don't quite make it to Heaven or whatever serves as an afterlife. In fact, some of us get hijacked and put into service on behalf of the rest of us a kind of existential angelic life and we get sent out on missions to take care of these aliens.I'll admit: I found the first half of GANTZ more than a little bit confusing. It's a serviceable adaptation of characters and themes introduced in a manga (by Hiroya Oku) of the same name, but I had the distinct feeling it could've used another round or two at the writers' table. Part of the confusion owes to the fact that the audience is clearly put through the moves alongside these characters just as they're struggling to understand all of it, we're struggling to understand all of it but I have to think there may've been a better way to accomplish it. Once the world and parameters are established, the film rises to another level, delivering accomplished action pieces one right after the other where lives are at stake.
Kei Kurono (played by Kazunari Ninomiya) and Masaru Kato (Ken'ichi Matsuyama) do a good deed by saving a man from an oncoming subway, but, when they're accidentally crushed by the train, they and several others wake up in a white room where a singular black orb named `Gantz' takes control of their lives and sends them out on missions to hunt down and kill aliens hiding on our planet. Is this Purgatory where they're forced to live out their days in service to a new God in exchange for giving them a second chance at life or have they truly passed over with no hope at ever having a normal life?
It's all a bit existential for a standard action/comedy, but, for the most part, it works, albeit I would've liked a bit more explanation in several areas. First, where does Gantz come from? Is he some angelic entity despite the constant use of science and violence to achieve his means and why is he the sworn enemy of these aliens? Second, why is it that no one else notices these aliens? In Barry Sonnenfeld's film, MEN IN BLACK, most aliens disguised themselves so that they wouldn't be directly detectable while living amongst humans, but these aliens are almost decidedly `alien' with a few exceptions. Third (and I'm treading lightly here so as to not spoil the climax), how is it they seemingly know about Gantz but no one else does? Perhaps in the manga upon which the film is based, it's all explained with a bit more clarity, but I found myself asking more questions than usual until the story morphed fairly well into an origins story for Kei; at that point, I realized that maybe it all made as much sense as it was going to, sat back, and enjoyed the ride.
It's all a mostly winning formula, though I'll have to admit that the action sequences seemed to drag on a bit more than absolutely necessary. At two hours and ten minutes, GANTZ felt much longer not in a good way and I felt the script clearly weighted down with more action over human elements than it needed to be, especially when you consider the message of the climax: Kei must choose between fighting his growing arrogance and, instead, fighting on behalf of humanity as a leader AND as a member of a team. It's a great message one with relevance for the characters and situations presented here but also one so elementary that GANTZ could've used a few more tightly-edited existential sequences.
GANTZ is a production of Nikkatsu, Nippon Television Network Corporation (NTV), Shueisha, and the Toho Company. The disc distribution is being handled through New People Entertainment. This is a two-disc release, with the first disc serving up the film in Japanese or English dubbing (with English subtitles available). The second disc includes an exclusive director's interview, along with some trailers regarding other New People projects. It looks and sounds terrific, with some winning special effects though Gantz's `transporter effect' seemed awfully if not painfully slow for my tastes (but still nifty neat-o-keen).
RECOMMENDED. It's an excellent take on the whole "Men in Black" theme earthly protectors out to save mankind from some nefarious, dastardly aliens though there's very little logic as to where these baddies are from, what they want from us, and how it'll all end. Also, there's really not much insight into where Gantz as an entity came from, who put him/it here, and what it all means. In this outing, however, those considerations are secondary. What matters is Gantz is here, and the Gantz team is watching out for you!
In the interests of fairness, I'm pleased to disclose that the fine folks at MediaLab Public Relations provided me with a DVD screener copy of GANTZ by request for the expressed purposes of completing this review.That above statement is actually part of the optimistic Disney-ish jingle the Gantz orb emits just before assigning its alive again crew its latest mission, and that this jingle is a bit reminiscent of Uncle Walt's "It's A Small World After All" theme just adds to the creep factor. Because I do think that the Gantz entity has a sense of humor, only it's the dark, twisted sort. A sense of displacement is the mood the film is trying to evoke.
You'd perhaps be better served if you hadn't yet read the manga or seen the anime version of Hiroya Oku's GANTZ. Because this cinematic live-action adaptation comes watered-down. Hiroya Oku was trying to illustrate a point with GANTZ by making it such a depraved read. In the manga, the lead character, Kei Kurono, is a perverted person who gradually, so gradually, becomes a better person. The movie portrays Kei Kurono as a decent guy from jump, and so it right away loses depth and resonance and what would've been intriguing character conflict. We're left with watching shallow characters playing out their parts onscreen; it becomes a chore to invest in them.
When college student Kei Kurono and his juvie pal Masaru Kato rescue a drunk who'd collapsed onto the subway tracks, they become fatal victims of a hurtling train. But instead of the expected dirt nap, Kei and Kato find themselves in a room occupied by an enigmatic black sphere and other confused persons resurrected from the dead. The black sphere is the Gantz, an alien entity who issues the room's occupants hi-tech black suits and weapons and then deploys them to kill other and malevolent aliens. Gantz seems to treat this as a game, alloting a time limit to the missions and afterwards awarding points to the players based on its own whim.
For the participants, though, the risks are tremendous, the death toll ridiculously high. Amassing one hundred points gives one the choice of either freedom from Gantz or reviving a fallen comrade. It's a cool conceit that doesn't get explored in this film. Maybe it comes into play in the sequel GANTZ: PERFECT ANSWER. Except that this series of "games" is so damn bloody perilous that it's hard to picture anyone surviving long enough to accrue one hundred points. But if you've read the manga, then you know someone manages to do it.
The visual effects are wicked cool. The action sequences are staged dynamically. I didn't think much of the Onion alien, but the Boombox alien and the Buddha alien (with its multiple flashing swords!) are awesome. While the character aren't well developed, I do like the role switching which takes place between Kei and Kato. Kato is initially the heroic, take-charge guy, with Kei the more cautious one. But that gradually reverses itself as Kei learns that he's good at this game and as Kato's loathing for death and violence surfaces.
I admit that I'm a bit disappointed that the lewdness from the manga isn't translated onscreen. Believe it or not, that was part of the manga and the anime's draw. The characters and the situations in which they find themselves tend to be so bleak and deplorable that you're transported to this very dark place. This being a commercial effort, I guess I can see why they made Kei a wholesome protagonist. But, in the manga, the point of showing all the gratuitous violence and sex was to demonstrate Kei's growth as a human being and a leader. In this film version, we don't witness Kei's evolution or redemption. Still, this film, declawed and dumbed down and occasionally plodding, still comes recommended. Mostly, for the action bits. Also, see this with the English sub-titles. As other folks have already observed, the English dub is pretty silly.
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