Review
Envy's original form looks just like in the manga and he looks great. They got the same actors as the first movie, I really like both of the films and there will be a third one eventually. It helps alot if you have read the manga ahead of time because that will fill in the gaps between the first movie and the second movie. The manga also fills in the gaps in the second movie as well since it compresses many volumes. The ost is forgettable to be honest, after watching the movie I can't remember anything about the music which is not good if you ask me since alotnof films have recognizable ost like Star Wars, etc. Scar looks great as well.Was this review helpful to you?
Disappointing FX
LIKES:Some of the casting is well done.
Music was suitable and didn’t over power the actors/actresses when they were speaking, but nothing stood out either.
It still has the cheesy moments like in the first movie.
I loved the panda of Lan Fan, too cute!
Costumes for the most part were accurate for the characters.
DISLIKES:
EDITING: CGI is very noticeable, same with green screen use and both are used way too much.
FX: For Armstrong, you can see where the scull cap ends, they didn’t blend the makeup well. Also the scar on SCAR is so badly done, to the point of being tacky. Some of the special effects for the alchemy (like Ed’s shafts of stone) were so badly done, they were a disaster.
DIRECTING: fight scenes could have been choreographed much better.
Also hated how/where they chose to end it. I understand that it’s a series of movies, but it should be able to stand alone too.
OVERALL:
It’s on par with the prequel movie, but I expected more in terms of graphics, FX and production considering the first film was in 2017 and it’s 2022 now. Even though I’m a fan of some of the actors, I won’t rewatch this and don’t recommend it to anyone who either watched the Fullmetal Alchemist anime or read the manga.
Was this review helpful to you?
I may be biased again but this sequel actually isn’t bad!
Maybe I was over expecting on the first movie that I rated it that bad (and now I put the bar so low LOL). This movie however, nailed all the emotion-evoking scenes!! I loved how they did it. Frankly, I’m not comparing to the anime/manga because it’d be very tough to capture everything, but the way the screenplay flowed through was flawless!!! Not the best opening scenes but still, the part halfway (not expounding on it to make this review spoiler-free) until the end had my whole attention captured. It is worth watching, to everyone who liked FMA or in general like the actors and actresses that are part of this trilogy.I, myself, am watching for Mackenyu more than I am a fan of FMA. Kidding aside, I still think Tsubasa Honda’s acting is great. Cinematography on the war was excellent. Tiny bits and pieces of exposition on the overly complex plot of FMA was nicely done. I know the whole plot already, but it’s like watching without a clue because it’s been so long since I’ve finished the anime. I still got surprised at what happened in the last few scenes. WHAT. A. CLIFF. HANGER. Imagine releasing this without the next movie. I would go crazy mad. Chad production move there, don’t make your audience angry!
Anyway, as per tradition, a summary and TLDR:
Cast: still a superb cosplay display, 9/10
Acting: I’m not gonna complain a lot, since the latter half is good, 7/10
CG: I’ve seen better CG, but ok 6/10
Story: 8.5/10
Overall:
Good screenplay and cinematography, lackluster CG, some actors carried the others, great costumes!, good important bits of the plot picked up and shown-so good plot! 8/10
Recommend for: fantasy fans maybe, and FMA fans of course.
-from an FMA fan who already forgot the story
P.s in all honesty I enjoyed the latter half, the first half bored me to death. So I’m still probably rating based only on the good 2nd half of the movie. Skipping and watching on 2x speed helps, though!
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Another Live Action Iteration I Shouldn't Have Watched
I finally managed to finish Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar after trying several times. Unfortunately, my initial assumptions were right, this is a dumpster fire of a movie that should never have been created. It is an insult to Arakawa Hiromu's manga and a slap in the face to FMA fans everywhere. The first one was already a tragic anomaly much like the disturbing chimera that was Nina Tucker and her dog, but this is not even a successfully created homunculus, it's nothing more than a distorted version of the author's original version.Most of the cast members are capable actors in their own right, but they do not fit their respective roles, not even in the slightest. Yamada Ryosuke is so ill-fitting for the role of Edward Elric that I rolled my eyes every time he tried to do Ed's “angry chibi” mode. Just because he's short like Ed doesn't make him suitable for the part. Mackenyu as Scar is tolerable but still ridiculous. Mackenyu sporting a “brown” face was too much for me to bear. He just did what he could with what he was given, though. Fujioka Dean may be handsome but he is NOT Roy Mustang, faaaaaaaarrr from it! He practically does nothing except look cool and that is not the character I know from the manga and anime. Honda Tsubasa is painful to watch as Winry Rockbell. Whoever thought this girl can act must be high on drugs. I've seen her in quite a few projects already and she has the acting skills of a potato. Watanabe Keisuke as Ling was alright, probably the best casting decision they made for this movie because Ling is supposed to have Asian features and one of the few characters in the story who should be played by an Asian. The rest of the cast are even more 2D than their 2D counterparts, the anime characters have more depth imho.
The action scenes are laughable, so many cuts in the scenes that you hardly see the movements at all. Don't even get me started on the special effects. *groan* I promised myself to try and enjoy these live action movies but I simply can't. The plot is all over the place. Characters appear out of nowhere and they have their own agenda but their subplots don't add up and come together at the end. I'm convinced the writers smoked weed when they wrote this shit and it was the bad kind of weed, too.
Sorry, but this is a prime example of what NOT to do when making a live action version of a popular anime. I'm not one of those people who thinks anime should never be made into live action as I've enjoyed some live action iterations in the past. But this is not it. It's not because of the goofiness of the anime, it's the horrible writing, execution, casting, and acting. And most of all, it should remain largely faithful to the source material despite some of the changes that need to be made for this medium. However, most of these live actions are just money grabs and are done by people who have no love for the original material. These movies should be burned and forgotten, or better yet, exiled beyond the Gate to be tormented for eternity.
Was this review helpful to you?
This review may contain spoilers
Doesn't get better
Should I not have watched this after disliking the first movie? Yes. I stupidly had a tiny kernel of hope that it would somehow be different than the first movie, which, non-spoiler alert, it's not! Should I have stopped watching from the beginning? Also yes, but the writer in me wants to see what the hell they're doing to the story. (I am not impressed...)Things I like:
- Lin, good casting choice
- Al's scream at the end
- I guess Envy's true form? (with the FX caveat below)
Things I didn't like:
- The plot! Unsurprisingly. You can tell which parts they're smushing together but it leaves me pretty frustrated by the lack of... good details/consequences that are left out (the train scene, meeting Lin, meeting Mei, Ed getting injured in that "fall," Al losing his hand to Gluttony, ETC)
- Some characters just look stupid the more I see them (Gluttony and Armstrong, which to be fair are hard to portray "accurately" but. Not this way either)
- FX is still not good, it looks very Fake, like most of the decor - I don't think there was much set. They also ignore the alchemy laws - if a wall becomes a TON of weapons, there's little to no wall left, sorry not sorry
- I had a glimpse at wikipedia and ok, they waited to make the movies until the technology got better for CGI, but I
wouldn't go so far as say they succeeded in challenging Hollywood's FX like they wanted (though I hope they pave the way
for Japan to become better at it/use it more)
- Fight scenes are meh, if not obviously fake. From the angles and the editing it's very easy to see *how* it was faked, which is a bummer and always brings me out of immersion (which, again to be fair, I didn't have from the get go, so, rock of salt)
- Adding in Winry everywhere for lack of other characters and a mashed plot, not a fan, even though I love Winry but this... this is done with abandon and it makes it obvious she's going to be in Danger and needing ~to be rescued~ so when it happens it's not at all surprising or shocking (because it keeps happening 🙃)
- Similarly, very little emotional resonance and impact throughout (again). I don't find the poignant moments successful at all, this is very much a live action that relies on viewers already knowing FMA rather than building up characters and letting us see them grow and have use get attached to them (and if you watched the movies first, please do yourself a favor and watch Brotherhood or read the manga, I promise it's worth it)
- Pet peeve but the Ishval flashback(s) we get through Hawkeye *should NOT* include Scar's story?? Those are two different POVs! Find another way to show us Scar's past (like making a series instead of a trilogy 😭)
- Related but, a lot of flashbacks aren't clearly flashbacks, which detracts from, I don't know, continuity/following the story?
- Mustang getting a scratch on his leg and like, bowing out of the fight?? Nope, don't buy it, it's contrary to his character, unless he's legitimately bleeding out (and needs to cauterize himself)
So. No I would not recommend any FMA fan to watch any of these movies, take those 6+hrs and use them on the other content.
Was this review helpful to you?
