Fullmetal Alchemist
Amazon/Netflix night. This popped up on Netflix so couldn't resist giving it a watch. I have to say up front I'm not the most reliable reviewer with this as I'm an enormous fan of the anime so it's pretty hard for me to review this as a film without comparing it to that. I'll try though.
For the most part the effects are great, one exception being the effects work on the homunculus Gluttony which looks pretty naff. The best work seems to have been on Alphonse Elric, whose soul it bound into a set of Automail armour. The effects work here is actually pretty good and as a result the character is the one most perfectly captured from the anime. It's a Japanese flick that Netflix have purchased so all the actors are Japanese. No whitewashing here. However its worth noting that unlike Dragonball or Death note, the characters could easily be played by western actors given that's specifically how they are portrayed in the anime. In fact the setting is an alternative Europe where Alchemy exists, and the show is based a lot on western Alchemical traditions. Some characters are cut from the film entirely for time reasons. Most notably Scar. A real shame as his character arc in the show is genuinely great. I also missed Major Armstrong. Admittedly not as important to the overall plot but one of the most likeable and fun characters in the show.
The location scouts for the film need some kind of award. The film seems to have been shot in Europe. Italy and eastern Europe from the looks of things. This really does make the film look like its set in the same locales as the anime. I'm genuinely in admiration of the film for this alone. I'm also genuinely surprised they kept the Shou Tucker plotline, which avoiding spoilers I'll say was one of the most genuinely disturbing moments in the show.
If your a fan of Fullmetal then this is worth a watch, however you might find yourself missing certain characters or spotting plot holes created by condensing what is essentially the first chunk of the show into two hours and fourteen minutes. For newbies its worth a look. Ok its a little long, but the plot is fairly dense and its certainly worth baring in mind that this is the readers digest abridged version of the plot. It can look a little flat and some of the characters might feel like they are overacting, I suspect trying to capture the anime versions of their characters. Perhaps it works as fan service but I do think they could have dialled things back a little in places. So if you have netflix and a couple of hours to kill I'd say give it a go.
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