the history of film is full of entries that have more style than substance, but rarely has the divide between the visuals and the content been this wide. casshern is a unique, dazzling visual spectacle, but otherwise its deeply flawed.
lets talk about those flaws first. casshern makes the classic sci-fi nerd mistake of wrapping an undercooked idea in an overcooked plot. the resulting story is boringly simplistic and incomprehensibly convoluted at once. at its core, casshern is an anti-war movie, but not only does it have nothing interesting to say other than "war is eeeevil", but it contradicts itself by fetishizing violence, and clutters its main message further with a vague anti-bio-engineering stance that seems completely unfounded. add some outrageously dated gender roles, a sluggish pace, unclear character motivations, lots of heavy-handed melodrama, and a plot so byzantine its all but incomprehensible on first viewing, and you have... a hot mess.
however, for those who are patient and bring some good-will, some of those problems become less pronounced on second viewing. once the plot more or less clicks, the story shows a little more depth than it initially seemed.
but the one thing that makes this movie worth watching - and make no mistake, it IS worth watching - is its visuals. words can not describe what a gorgeous steam-punk sci-fi animé masterpiece this is. every minute is brimming with dazzling pictures, from the eye-popping landscapes, to the head-spinning battle scenes, to the terrifying flashes of war-memories. really, I'm not gonna go further into this, because whats the point? just go and see it. you will probably find the story acceptable at best, terribly boring at worst, but the visuals will make sure that you wont regret a single second of it.
lets talk about those flaws first. casshern makes the classic sci-fi nerd mistake of wrapping an undercooked idea in an overcooked plot. the resulting story is boringly simplistic and incomprehensibly convoluted at once. at its core, casshern is an anti-war movie, but not only does it have nothing interesting to say other than "war is eeeevil", but it contradicts itself by fetishizing violence, and clutters its main message further with a vague anti-bio-engineering stance that seems completely unfounded. add some outrageously dated gender roles, a sluggish pace, unclear character motivations, lots of heavy-handed melodrama, and a plot so byzantine its all but incomprehensible on first viewing, and you have... a hot mess.
however, for those who are patient and bring some good-will, some of those problems become less pronounced on second viewing. once the plot more or less clicks, the story shows a little more depth than it initially seemed.
but the one thing that makes this movie worth watching - and make no mistake, it IS worth watching - is its visuals. words can not describe what a gorgeous steam-punk sci-fi animé masterpiece this is. every minute is brimming with dazzling pictures, from the eye-popping landscapes, to the head-spinning battle scenes, to the terrifying flashes of war-memories. really, I'm not gonna go further into this, because whats the point? just go and see it. you will probably find the story acceptable at best, terribly boring at worst, but the visuals will make sure that you wont regret a single second of it.