My Hero Academia: Heroes Rising
3/4
Starring (voices): Justin Briner, Clifford Chapin, Dani Chambers, Maxey Whitehead, Johnny Young Bosch
Rated PG-13 for Violence and Language
Sometimes a film critic must do something difficult. He (or she) must sacrifice his ego and admit to liking something he didn't think he would when he started it. I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about the "My Hero Academia" anime, but hoping for the best. Or at least something different than a generic superhero movie that we seem to get every time I go to the theater. But when it started, my heart sank as it seemed to be a movie on par with the crap on afternoon TV that gives anime a bad name and is only loved by four year olds and nostalgia junkies. But then something strange happened. I started to get invested. I cared. And I felt genuine tension. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are.
In the world of "My Hero Academia," everyone is a superhero. Human evolution has jump started to the point where just about everyone has a special ability, known as a "quirk." Initially, Izuku Midoriya, known as Deku (Briner) does not have a quirk, but one is given to him by the famous hero All Might (Christopher R. Sabat). All Might has retired, which leaves an opening for all manner of supervillains to try and take control. To find a replacement, young heroes are being trained in schools like UA High School. A new program sends Class 1-A, which includes Deku, to Nabu Island for a trial by fire. But saving cats, carrying the elderly and dealing with pranks is all that goes on in this peaceful island community. That is until a villain named Nine (Bosch) arrives with his cronies. He has very specific intentions, that if fulfilled, could spell doom for the entire world.
I might have been more kind to the opening act had the first scene not been so incoherent. I was wary of this movie before I went in, and it was so badly done that it seemed to confirm my fears that this would be less "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" and more "Dragonball Z: Resurrection F." So if I saw it again (and maybe I will sometime), I probably won't see it as an afternoon anime from hell. That said, when the evil Nine shows up on Nabu Island, the film takes off.
Ultimately what makes this movie work is that the heroes and the villains are evenly matched. The 1-A kids are enthusiastic, but they're also in training and outmatched by Nine and his cronies. Fortunately there are more of the students than the villains. While his subordinates are fairly typical as far as anime villains go, Nine is a true badass. He's unflappable and unstoppable. In a strange way, I thought of Michael Myers. No matter how hard they try, he keeps on coming. But in order to succeed in his plans for world domination, he needs the quirk of a special little boy. And the harder he tries, the weaker he becomes. At the same time, Deku and his friends are desperate to stop him, but even their combined powers are no match for him. This movie works because the stakes continue to rise.
Anime is notorious for having bad dubbing and worse scripts. That doesn't change here. All the actors can do is not irritate and not burst out laughing at the atrocious dialogue they have been given. On that level, the film earns a pass, although it flirts with failure from time to time. There are one or two mildly amusing bits and the characters grew on me. So I guess that's something.
This is not a good movie. It doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as anything produced by Studio Ghibli. The animation is discount rate and it will have zero mainstream appeal. But for what it is, I had fun. I may have shame in admitting it, but I have to be honest.
Starring (voices): Justin Briner, Clifford Chapin, Dani Chambers, Maxey Whitehead, Johnny Young Bosch
Rated PG-13 for Violence and Language
Sometimes a film critic must do something difficult. He (or she) must sacrifice his ego and admit to liking something he didn't think he would when he started it. I went into this movie knowing absolutely nothing about the "My Hero Academia" anime, but hoping for the best. Or at least something different than a generic superhero movie that we seem to get every time I go to the theater. But when it started, my heart sank as it seemed to be a movie on par with the crap on afternoon TV that gives anime a bad name and is only loved by four year olds and nostalgia junkies. But then something strange happened. I started to get invested. I cared. And I felt genuine tension. Believe me, I'm just as surprised as you are.
In the world of "My Hero Academia," everyone is a superhero. Human evolution has jump started to the point where just about everyone has a special ability, known as a "quirk." Initially, Izuku Midoriya, known as Deku (Briner) does not have a quirk, but one is given to him by the famous hero All Might (Christopher R. Sabat). All Might has retired, which leaves an opening for all manner of supervillains to try and take control. To find a replacement, young heroes are being trained in schools like UA High School. A new program sends Class 1-A, which includes Deku, to Nabu Island for a trial by fire. But saving cats, carrying the elderly and dealing with pranks is all that goes on in this peaceful island community. That is until a villain named Nine (Bosch) arrives with his cronies. He has very specific intentions, that if fulfilled, could spell doom for the entire world.
I might have been more kind to the opening act had the first scene not been so incoherent. I was wary of this movie before I went in, and it was so badly done that it seemed to confirm my fears that this would be less "Cowboy Bebop: The Movie" and more "Dragonball Z: Resurrection F." So if I saw it again (and maybe I will sometime), I probably won't see it as an afternoon anime from hell. That said, when the evil Nine shows up on Nabu Island, the film takes off.
Ultimately what makes this movie work is that the heroes and the villains are evenly matched. The 1-A kids are enthusiastic, but they're also in training and outmatched by Nine and his cronies. Fortunately there are more of the students than the villains. While his subordinates are fairly typical as far as anime villains go, Nine is a true badass. He's unflappable and unstoppable. In a strange way, I thought of Michael Myers. No matter how hard they try, he keeps on coming. But in order to succeed in his plans for world domination, he needs the quirk of a special little boy. And the harder he tries, the weaker he becomes. At the same time, Deku and his friends are desperate to stop him, but even their combined powers are no match for him. This movie works because the stakes continue to rise.
Anime is notorious for having bad dubbing and worse scripts. That doesn't change here. All the actors can do is not irritate and not burst out laughing at the atrocious dialogue they have been given. On that level, the film earns a pass, although it flirts with failure from time to time. There are one or two mildly amusing bits and the characters grew on me. So I guess that's something.
This is not a good movie. It doesn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as anything produced by Studio Ghibli. The animation is discount rate and it will have zero mainstream appeal. But for what it is, I had fun. I may have shame in admitting it, but I have to be honest.
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