Recap: Bob Arctor lives some different lives. In secret he is a detective under cover trying to stop the highly addictive and very dangerous drug Substance D. But in his line of work he slowly becomes addicted to the substance himself. To complicate matters further he is given the task to run surveillance on himself and his friends, this by his superiors that don't know his real identity. But nothing much is clear when everything is hidden in layers of secrets.
Comments: The first thing I noticed while watching was the high quality animation. Telling by how the figures moved and the likeness of the actors it was clear that it was based on normal film, and turn into animation. An interesting idea in itself, but also a way to more easily insert those special effects and fictitious elements that is there.
With special effects I mean gadgets and effects that are not possible today (or at all). Not explosions or gunfights or stellar futuristic surroundings that almost have come to be standard when a Philip K Dick-novel have been filmed. Of those, this film has none. Actually the pace of the story is slow, very slow. So slow that it at times quite frankly becomes dull.
Yes, it does have some very interesting elements with all the deceit and mystery. Also the dystopian view of the near future bears watching. The ideas in this story are captivating. But it is told in such a slow pace that it is sometimes easy to lose interest despite these ideas. Maybe also the choice to animate makes it harder to connect to the characters, I don't know. All I say it actually was a little dull at times.
6/10
Comments: The first thing I noticed while watching was the high quality animation. Telling by how the figures moved and the likeness of the actors it was clear that it was based on normal film, and turn into animation. An interesting idea in itself, but also a way to more easily insert those special effects and fictitious elements that is there.
With special effects I mean gadgets and effects that are not possible today (or at all). Not explosions or gunfights or stellar futuristic surroundings that almost have come to be standard when a Philip K Dick-novel have been filmed. Of those, this film has none. Actually the pace of the story is slow, very slow. So slow that it at times quite frankly becomes dull.
Yes, it does have some very interesting elements with all the deceit and mystery. Also the dystopian view of the near future bears watching. The ideas in this story are captivating. But it is told in such a slow pace that it is sometimes easy to lose interest despite these ideas. Maybe also the choice to animate makes it harder to connect to the characters, I don't know. All I say it actually was a little dull at times.
6/10