As I mentioned in my review post of the first GANTZ film, I was incredibly excited for the sequal DVD to hit the shelves in the UK. So much so that I pre-ordered it soon after watching the first one. (That's a big deal for me - I can be pretty stingy with what I spend my money on!)
So, I had big expectations when I ripped open the packaging to find the cool-looking DVD staring back at me...
GANTZ 2: Perfect Answer picks up a short while after where the first film finishes off. Kei Kurono (Kazunari Ninomiya) has been left to fight the aliens without his friend Kato (Kenichi Matsuyama) with the added goal of gaining that much sought after 100 point score in order to ressurect him (oh yeah...Kato was killed fighting a statue alien by the way :P Bit of a spoiler, but it won't affect your enjoyment that much. I mean, it even mentions it in the blurb on the back of the DVD).
So, poor Kurono has been left grieving for his friend, fighting aliens on a daily basis, studying at University and working part-time to gain the money he needs to fulfil his added duty of caring for his Kato's younger brother (Kensuke Chisaka)...this also includes lying to him about what has actually happenned to Kato until he gains enough points to ressurect him.
It may surprise you when I admit that I certainly would not be able to cope with all this on my plate (I can barely cope with the stress of Uni work alone!). But, a small light in Kurono's life takes the form of his sweet female classmate Tae Kojima (Yoriko Yoshitaka) who is ready to help wherever she can. They have feelings for eachother and, although they are both incredibly shy, their relationship continues to blossom from where it started the last film.
As Kurono is forced to confidently take on all these responsibilities, he begins to discover a new side to himself. A brave and capable side that he previously never knew exsisted.
But all is not as fine and dandy as it seems. GANTZ is beginning to recruit the best former players one by one. It would seem that GANTZ is aware of a battle that is about to begin, and knows it will need all the help it can get if it is to win...
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GOOD POINTS
- As the first film has already established the setting and each characters' identity and background, we are able to dive right it and get started straight away with the action.
If you have read my review of the first film, you may remember that one of my problems with the film was the fact that there were only a few fights shown. The sequeal has no shortage of action from beginning to end which causes you to be on the edge of your seat and almost constantly excited. (Well, if you are anything like me and get really into it). - An action-related point again, but there is a fight scene that takes place on the train that is probably my favourite sequence in the whole film. The fights are so well choreographed that you become almost hypnotized by it. There are a lot of films where the fighting can seem a little cheesey in that they aren't very convincingly real. But these fights are certainly not that.
- From what I can recall, all of the questions that were posed in the first GANTZ film and the ones that are posed in the first half of the second are answered by the end of this movie. This may sound like a silly thing to point out, but there are a lot of films that I have finished watching still questioning why things happened. Either things were raised but not continued, or their was simply plotholes that revealed themselves as the narrative progressed. This film, even including it's very enigmatic beginning, seemed to shut my questioning mind right up.
- The ending of this film is great. I have a friend that tells me I am never happy with an ending of a film or drama and that I am very hard to please, but I really was with this one!
There was a point in the film were I began to think that it would end badly and that I would be hugely disppointed, however it totally turned the tables on me and actually left me quite shocked. I really think the ending was the best it could have been as it really hits you in the heart.
BAD POINTS
- Yet again, I was annoyed at the level of lighting used during this film. I get so annoyed when I cannot see what is going on properly and I don't see the point of putting all that effort into filming everything if you aren't going to let the audience see it well. The first film was a quite a bit worse than the second for this, and I was very happy that one of the main fighting sequences was staged on a train as they have very bright flourescent lights!
It may also have something to do with watching it on a TV screen as opposed to a cinema one, but as the GANTZ films were not shown in UK cinemas, I have no other options.
(They WERE screened in France though...but not in the UK...I'm not bitter about that at all...really! -.-) - I would have liked Kurono and Kojima's relationship to develop a little more thanit did. I was really hoping that they would just go for it and show eachother a bit more affection and stop being so shy. However, Japanese culture is - by nature - a lot more conservative and regarding this, I can be content with the sweet little hints the two characters gave eachother about their feelings.
- The film gets a little bit messy towards the end, and there is a small stage where viewers may get a little confused as to what exactly is happening, but this is only a VERY short period and things do become clear afterwards.
Personally, I liked this film even more than I liked the first one (and I did like the first one!)
I have never read the GANTZ manga, nor have I ever watched the anime, so I really do not know how the Live-action adaptations match up to the original story.
Therefore, I am only qualified to speak about the films as an entirely separate entity.
I would always recommend that people read mangas and watch animes before watching any film adaptations of them if they want the more authentic version of the story, but I was so swept up with the cool quality of the films and the fact that the main characters were played by two of my favourite actors that I jumped in head first.
Ever since watching these films, I have spoken about them to anyone who will listen to me and am always pushing people to watch them. (Probably drives people crazy!)
If you love sci-fi/supernatural action films then you really should watch both of these movies. As I said in the review of the first GANTZ movie, the Japanese seem to take crazy and complicated narratives with some awesone twists and turns and play them out with lots of style and finesse.
One of the things I love about Japanese films and dramas is that their narratives tend to diguise points about politics and morals. GANTZ also does this so well, making some great points about war and violence.
As a viewer, you really feel like you only see the poingancy of these messages after thinking about it a bit more when you have watched it.
There are very few Western films I know that do this very well...(District 9 and a few Mexican films I have seen like Amores Perros and El Crimen del Padre Amaro - these are also worth a watch).
In short, GANTZ is like Men in Black. That is, if Men in Black wasn't family friendly, a lot more violent, more complicated, weirder, more emotional more stylish...oh, and Japanese. :D
Give it a go if that stuff floats your boat! (It certainly floats mine) :P
EDIT
I watched this film again yesterday, and only then did a few plotholes in the film catch my attention.
It is for this added reason that I, again, recommend you to read the manga and/or watch the anime for the best version of the story.
However, I still adore these films...and the few plotholes really aren't that big, so they don't ruin the live-action films!
I also don't have the money to buy all the volumes of the manga and I watched the first ep of the anime before switching it off. (Too sexual and weird for me! :P)
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