[FILM REVIEW] Gyakuten Saiban (2012)

[Also read this on UnitedJPop - here!]
Gyakuten Saiban (meaning “Turnabout Trial”) also known as Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney is a 2012 film based on the first instalment of a Nintendo Game Boy video game of the same name that gained a lot of success in its native Japan as well as in the USA. This film adaptation was directed by Takashi Miike.

 
Set around the year 2016, a newly-graduated attorney Phoenix Wright (Hiroki Narimiya) finds his mentor and friend Mia Fey (Rei Dan) murdered in her apartment. He must now go up against his childhood friend turned prosecutor rival Miles Edgeworth (Takumi Saito) to prove that Mia’s sister Maya (Mirei Kiritani) was not the perpetrator of the crime.

Not long after this, prosecutor Edgeworth himself is accused of murder. Wright sees no alternative but to stand as his defence in court. He then learns that the prosecutor for this case is Von Karma (Ryo Ishibashi) – a formidable man that has not lost a single case in his 40 year long career.
However, Wright has a found a friend in and a great help in Maya, who is able to channel spirits and bring his mentor Mia forward when he needs her most. However, he cannot help but feel that all this cases are linked to an incident that occurred 15 years prior and that big secret is about to be revealed…

GOOD POINTS

• Having never played any of the video game franchise before, I cannot say how well the film sticks to the narrative of the first instalment. However, you can see how well they have adapted the characters just by carrying out a little research on the original game online. I found it quite amazing how similar the actors and actresses looked to the original characters! It really is very good.
• I am a big fan of films that have been adapted from comic books or video games as I love that unrealistic nature of it all and how it allows the film producers to go completely over the top with special effects and action. This film does not disappoint in that respect, viewers will be able to see that this is quite a high budget affair. The costumes are extravagant, the effects are flawlessly epic and the general composition of the film is very crisp and slick.
• Initially, I was thinking that the narrative would fail to interest me very much. I have liked crime dramas and films in the past, but the whole idea of the main setting in a courtroom made me yawn just to consider. But, I was pleasantly surprised at how engrossed I became in the plot development. It was really very gripping to see what was going to happen next and trying (and failing) to guess things correctly for myself.
• I adore the fact that they managed to slip in - often very abrupt - humorous moments. They really would catch you by surprise as they are so contradictory to the rest of the film; Nevertheless, I think they were great. I was so happy to see that stereotypically Japanese 'anime-style fall to the ground' whenever a character said something stupid or unbelievable. I have never seen so many characters do it all at once in a live-action film!
• I think Hiroki Narimiya was great in this film. I am horrendously biased in this respect as Narimiya is one of my favourite Japanese actors. Even so, he is always picking the strangest of roles and you can really see that he is an actor that likes to challenge himself which I think is great. Takumi Saito also caught my attention, he played the character Edgeworth very well and I think I will be looking up more of his work in the future.

BAD POINTS

• Personally, I found the story a little difficult to follow in parts. A flash of a scene would be shown randomly, only to be covered later on. I found this made for quite unsettling viewing and was perhaps trying too hard to be enigmatic when the story was already good enough that an entirely linear progression would have sufficed.
• I would have liked to see a few more comedic moments squeezed into the film. As I said before, these moments were very enjoyable parts and I simply felt that there were not enough of them.The film producers had a whole cast of talented actors and actresses at their disposal and I think they really missed a beat here. Of course, I would not want the serious nature of the film to be compromised, but perhaps a bit more comedy would have made me more settled in my laughter, rather than left with slightly perplexed giggly outbursts.
• I found the character of Wright’s other childhood friend (played by Akiyoshi Nakao) slightly annoying. He had that kind of “faux-Yakuza” accent that was a little too over-exaggerated. I warmed up to the character soon enough though and he was a good provider of comic relief, but the way he talked still grated on me a bit.

OVERALL
Having waited a very long time for this film to be available and subbed online, I can say I am not disappointed, but at the same time, I am not overly amazed.
It has a lot of strong points and was very enjoyable, but there is something missing from it that I feel means it wouldn’t be appealing to a very wide audience.
However, I would definitely recommend this film to lovers of the sci-fi and crime genres. Of course, lovers of weird Japanese humour in general will probably find it equally enjoyable.
It is an undeniably unusual and unique piece, full of much tension and laughs, all with an admirable amount of effort placed in its beautiful cinematography and execution.
[SIDENOTE: In this review, I have obviously used the American character names from the US adaptation of the game. The reason for this is because, in the particular subbed version I watched, these were used and have stuck themselves in my head!
I did enjoy the fact that Wright's origianl name was "Naruhodo" though, a pun on Japanese for "I See" haha].
[Image Source: Google Images]