Far from Perfect, Far from Terrible

The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

While it is a pity that the story wasn't told with more visual finesse, this is trivial compared to our real-world problems. It takes a good movie to put that into perspective.

A film of deceptively outspoken contemporary relevance, this is cinema at its most alert, alarming and alive.

Well, I am so glad to say that I have changed my mind about the best live-action video game movie as this certainly qualifies! It helps that it came from Japan, which is where the world's most popular video games come from. It's just great to see all of these characters looking just like their video game counterparts. At the same time, that can be kind of a flaw. I mean, a lot of them do look pretty goofy. It's just hard to translate animation of any kind to live-action. It's a little hard to take seriously. I know a lot about the "Phoenix Wright" games, but only because of all the Newgrounds parodies! Then again, the parodies themselves told very little about the actual games, so I guess I still couldn't understand it. At least I got to see a good representation of it. This happens to be the longest movie ever made based on a video game and I think the pacing was quite good. Yeah, it probably could have been a little shorter, but still good. The story and twists are very nice. The film is mostly just well trials, which I what I expected. There are so many awful live-action video game movies, it's great to see the best one ever made. It's a saving grace for Video Game Month! ***

'Ace attorney' is a courtroom drama about crime solving theme based on a popular video game called 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'. The trademark of this story either movie or video game is that main character Phoenix Wright shows his index finger like a style Ambedkar statue saying 'objection'.Its hard someone to understand who are not familiar with Japanese movies or culture. If you are then this movie will be so fun which is directed by one of popular Jap director Takashi Miike, the '13 assassins' fame. Not so long ago I watched an another courtroom comedy called 'A ghost of a chance' which these both are kinda totally enjoyable. If you like any one of these you will like another too.This is a story of a not-so-popular attorney Phoenix Wright who starts to claim best period of his professional when he bags back to back cases to his hand with successful results. The structure of movie plot was brilliant especially solving crime puzzle which opens new sub-plots instantly towards the last quarter of the movie. The story happens in the courtroom is like a wrestling match between two without physical contacts, if someone wins they qualify for the next round. Like I said it is a comedy genre so there's no seriousness in movie characters. I did not get a couple of jokes which I believe are pure Japanese which we won't get in translation. The movie was good to have once especially if you like Takashi Miike movies.

I wouldn't call myself a fan of Miike. Actually with "Audition" I might have started with one of his most wicked movies, very disturbing and very different and I might not have been open to that. This on the other hand (must be the tenth movie of his I have watched to date, not a lot if you consider his output!) is very easily accessible.And that rings true, even if you're not familiar with the source material this is based on. I myself didn't know the game and haven't played it yet. But the essence of the movie is a courtroom thriller with a few twists. And it has a very wicked sense of humor, which might not be to everyones taste. If you don't like the first 5 minutes, don't bother watching more. Otherwise it'll be a hoot (and those hair styles ... awesome!)

Gyakuten saiban or Ace Attorney is a Miike take on a story based on the popular games and manga. It brings Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Larry Butz and the Spiritual Fey family to life in a fantastic story of futuristic trials that are seemingly interwoven. Leave it to Miike to deliver a movie with incredible pacing control. The beginning races you through the characters to start with the crime that sets off the main plot to be followed. At times the movie is really intense in showing what the characters experienced, catering to the more understanding older viewer. However, he said so himself in the worldwide premiere today at the International Film Festival Rotterdam: you should watch this lightheartedly, like a kid. The way he adapts the famous series onto the screen is definitely one that combines his skills at bringing the best of a story with making it a very fun one. I can strongly recommend watching this if you're either a fan of his (later/(not lighter) work (like Zebraman) or of the games. I had my eyes glued to the screen except for a few moments where I looked at the audience and saw they were equally drawn into the movie.. It has great CGI for the court scenes and the spiritual moments with the Feys and as always with Miike; it caters to the idea of a greater plan. If you're taking the time to read this review; you should probably go see it already!