Reviews (4)

I wish people would stop complaining
I like Season One a great deal, and I'm now waiting on the Season Two release to be delivered.

I just wish people would stop complaining about the fact that ADV released the boxed sets at a lower price than the individual discs. Buying in bulk, things are always going to be cheaper, that's just the way things are. I always wait before buying any series, including this one, because boxed sets will come eventually, and as time goes on, prices will inevitably fall on just about anything.

I don't want to be rude, but I think anyone who didn't have the foresight and patience to wait for prices to fall, and boxed sets to come out, and rushed in to buying individually packed discs at inital retail prices, deserved to get ripped off.

Bring on the boxed sets for Seasons 3 & 4!!

its about time
Strange to think that it's now cheaper to buy the entire set than each DVD indivudualy. Shame, too, because the second half of season two stinks. I'll still buy it, though, because I have no shame. Have a feeling that sales of the "volume" style discs will slow down considerably for the rest of the seasons. I know I waited till 2 came out in a box set, and I'll do the same for season four and five. Season three also stinks, so I think I'll pass.

I love the series, but feel used by the way its marketed.
Now I will not buy season three piece by piece as I just did season two to the tune of $117. I will just wait until it gets released at a fraction of the cost just like season two. Big marketing mistake by some corporate MBA who would try to sell snowballs to eskimos.

Andromeda Season 2
I have the entire set and really think that it stinks that after the whole set comes out as single set that they finally have the entire collection out at a fraction of the cost. That is not a way to get people but the product. I really enjoy Andromeda and the season premire was awesome but the whole idea of selling one way and changing after you have issued the whole set is just bad practice. ... Read more

Reviews (426)

Stop Complaining
I REALLY hate these reviewers saying this is a bad dvd. For 20 bucks, you get enhanced visuals and sound, a commentary from the composer [Music is halfthe movie, after all!], AND the uncut edition you'd previously have to buy through Canada or bootleg! Rhino could've sold this at 30 bucks-like most dvd's-but they're LOSING money by selling it to the fans at vhs retail. If you think Lucas will give you a better deal, then don't buy this and wait another decade for the Star Wars trilogy! And yes, I consider this the best deal I've ever had on a dvd! It's perfect, exactly like I remembered it, but with the curse words I missed the first time around. It almost makes me feel like I'm watching Macross Plus; that's how good it looks and sounds. Transformers fans-like myself-MUST own it. DVD's like this are reasons I'm glad to own a dvd player. Now let's hope the He-man movie on dvd happens too. (And I mean the animated movie, not the horrible live action-flick with Dolph Lundgren.)

The coolest Transformer movie created!
This movie rocks! Just if you're wondering, the Transformers are two legions of robots who war over the control of their home world, Cybertron. These robots convert from vehicle to robot, whenever they please. The good guys are the Autobots: Hot Rod, Kup, Blurr, RC, Ultra Magnus, Blaster, Wreck-Gar, Perceptor, Ironhide, Jazz, Cliffjumper, Bumblebee, Grimlock, Slag, Sludge, Snarl, Swoop, and of course, the legendary Optimus Prime (there are other Autobots; too many to list). The bad guys are the Decepticons: Megatron, Starscream, Astrotrain, Bombshell, Kickback, Barrage, Shrapnel, Venom, Soundwave, Thundercracker, Bonecrusher, Hook, Laung Haul (Bonecrusher, Hook, Laung Haul and a bunch of other guys combine to form the most powerful Decepticon called Devestator), and more.
What really was dumb to jam in the movie was 2 swear words. I thought the coolest scene in the movie was Hot Rod opening the Matrix of Leadership and Transform into Rodimus Prime, and also "lighting their darkest hour" while playing "The Touch" in the backround. Having the coolest soundtrack a director could dream of, this movie is probably the coolest you'll ever see! By the way, the Transformers theme song and the song called "Dare" are in my favorite range of soundtrack. Hope this reveiw helped everyone who read it.

One word AWSOME
I went to see this movie when I was a teen in the theaters. It was an awesome movie to see in the theaters. Now my son is into the Transformers and found my VHS of the movie and plays it all the time. He actually likes it better than ARMADA, ENERGON BEAST WARS and MACHINE WARS. About 4 years ago I went thru a lot of trouble getting a VHS of the movie (It took me over a year of searching and finally I got it from a Canadian video company). I'm glad to see the DVD has come out. It is a great movie a lot of action, humor and watching it with my son he sees that war has consequences. Every now and then we will put sound thru the stereo and put the headphones on. Now I got to get the DVD because he may wear out the VHS.

The best of theTransformer's movies.
I went to see this movie when I was a teen in the theaters. It was an awesome movie to see in the theaters. Now my son is into the Transformers and found my VHS of the movie and plays it all the time. He actually likes it better than ARMADA, ENERGON,BEAST WARS and MACHINE WARS. About 4 years ago I went thru a lot of trouble getting a VHS of the movie (It took me over a year of searching and finally I got it from a Canadian video company). I'm glad to see the DVD has come out. It is a great movie a lot of action, humor and watching it with my son he sees that war has consequences. Every now and then we will put sound thru the stereo and put the headphones on. Now I got to get the DVD because he may wear out the VHS.

Disney can take their movies and stick em up their wazoos
Disney artists need to take lessons from this movie. Disney uses a lot of lazy computer animation, which usually looks horrible.

This movie is 99 percent actual hand drawn animation. All of which looks superb.

The music is also great. About 6 great songs with that 80's hard rock attitude.

For another example for great hand drawn animation, check out G.I. Joe the movie. ... Read more

Amazon.com essential video

The skillful blending of drawn animation and computer-generated imagery excited anime fans when this science fiction mystery was released in 1995: many enthusiasts believe Ghost suggests what the future of anime will be, at least in the short term. The film is set in the not-too-distant future, when an unnamed government uses lifelike cyborgs or "enhanced" humans for undercover work. One of the key cyborgs is The Major, Motoko Kusanagi, who resembles a cross between The Terminator and a Playboy centerfold. She finds herself caught up in a tangled web of espionage and counterespionage as she searches for the mysterious superhacker known as "The Puppet Master."

Mamoru Oshii directs with a staccato rhythm, alternating sequences of rapid-fire action (car chases, gun battles, explosions) with static dialogue scenes that allow the characters to sort out the vaguely mystical and rather convoluted plot. Kusanagi's final quote from I Corinthians suggests that electronic evolution may compliment and eventually supplant organic evolution. The minor nudity, profanity, and considerable violence would earn Ghost in the Shell at least a PG rating. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (373)

Storyline is extensively borrowed, but good A/V
When Ghost in the Shell was released, it was hailed as "the future of anime." A fair claim, as more recent works blending drawn artwork and CG have demonstrated. In this respect, it's an interesting piece of work. Note that Macross Plus experimented with this visual technique 3 years earlier, but not to the extent of Ghost.

Unfortunately, Ghost in the Shell borrows heavily from "Blade Runner", "The Terminator", and even "La Femme Nikita" to creative an unoriginal storyline. American movie fans will undoubtedly see the similarities here. I don't think Mamoru Oshii was racking his brain to create something absolutely original from a script perspective. He probably had a "look" in his head of how the film should have appeared, and filled in the narrative gaps to include as many special effects as possible. Hardcore Ghost fans will undoubtedly disagree with me on this.

The anamorphic format is great, picture quality is great. The sound quality is good, except it's too bad that there wasn't a DD5.1 Japanese audio track available on the disk. The English version dub was fair, at best. Overall, the film is definately worth watching, but isn't quite the classic it's hailed to be.

Best anime next to Akira!!
This anime was revolutionary, well drawn, well animated, and highly philisophocal. I love how GITS intrigues the mind with how technology has created highly sophisticated robots with human brains to make them the best replication of humans. Also, it teaches how science will never be able to define life. Lots of action, some violence, bare female robot flesh, and sophisticated thought have created a masterpiece. This not only challenged minds, but was the first animation to combine celluloid and computer animation. By the way, Paul Duet outta be beaten to death with a mace for saying Akira and GITS suck and saying that Trigun and Tenchi Muyo rule!! I also think genner outta be shot in the face with a 20-gage shotgun loaded with phosphor shells. Watch this, it's alot better than Princess Mononoke and Trigun combined!!

Matrix like anime
Ghost in the Shell is by far the most intellectual anime I have seen so far. The story deals with a group of cyborgs running after a new sort of being, the Puppetmaster.

The animations are of course superb and even realistic. Try the Japanse voices, I heard the American and they are sometimes lacking in emotional depth and range. A little flat sometimes and that did not do good to this otherwise great movie.

If you like the Matrix, it looks a little like it. People who can hook up to the net etc.

One of the greatest sci-fi films of all time.
Ghost in the Shell is simply my favorite science fiction film second only to Blade Runner- Director's Cut. Which, not surprisingly, influenced this movie a great deal. I remember back in 1996.....already a full blown anime aficionado, I had followed the production of this film since the first Japanese press release and was eagerly awaiting its indefinate arrival on American shores. Having read Masamune Shirow's graphic novel that inspired the film, this became the first anime title that I ever pre-ordered and counted the days upon its release.

But the movie wasn't what I had expected. The entense action was toned down a bit. The humor in the graphic novel was entirely non-existent in the film. What was left were the deep philosophical ovetones. And I commend Mamoru Oshii for making the risky decision to focus mainly on this aspect of the story. The movie, in fact, was BETTER than I could have ever hoped.

The story seems simple even typical when described, but it's the underlining philosophical themes that make this film such a treasure.

Our protagonist is Motoko Kusanagi, an officer of a military division known as Section 9. On the trail of a Notorious hacker dubbed The Puppet Master, Kusunagi begins to question her own consciousness or "ghost" as she unravels the case.

Deep in 'noir' territory, Ghost in the Shell is definately not for the viewer who likes to check their brain at the door. You will be challenged to discover the existential nature of the characters as they discover it themselves. This is not bad filmaking rather than a forced empathy with Kusunagi that will hopefully get you contemplating some of the philosophical issues presented here.

An instant classic.
intellectually and visually stimulating. great shots, action, and dialogue. ... Read more

Amazon.com

The 1985 series Tatakae Cho Robot Seimetai Transformers ("Fight Super Living Robots Transformers") was a U.S.-Japanese coproduction, written in America and animated in Japan. Based on a line of robot toys from Takara--licensed to Hasbro in America--that could be reconfigured into cars, trucks, planes, etc., it spawned numerous sequels and a feature. Civil war rages on the planet Cybertron between the virtuous Autobots and the evil Decepticons. Both sides launch crews into space to find new energy sources, but the ships crash on Earth and are buried in lava. When the robots awaken four million years later, the Decepticons, led by the dictatorial Megatron, want to drain the planet of its resources, enslaving or destroying mankind. The Autobots ally with humanity and befriend oil-rig worker Spike Witwicky. The Saturday morning-style cheat of cutting to a logo, rather than animating transitions, and the frequent pauses for commercial breaks make for very choppy storytelling. The designs of the robots are interesting but lack the graphic sophistication of Yoshiyuki Tomino's Gundam Mobile Suits. The animation is very limited, and the choreography of the battle sequences lacks the panache of Tomino and other more talented directors. Like Robotech, Transformers will appeal most strongly to adults who watched the show as kids: it's remained popular through Web sites, role-playing games, fan fiction, and a lively trade in the original toys. Serious students of anime will find this early series of historic interest. Unrated; suitable for age 6 and up: Robot vs. robot violence. --Charles Solomon ... Read more

Reviews (175)

A dream come true!!!!!!!!!
I've been waiting so long for this day to happen. The Transformers complete first season on DVD. This was the most amazing cartoon I had ever seen while growing up. I was nine years old when the Transformers debuted in 1984 on Saturday mornings. I had my mom set the alarm clock ten minutes before six o'clock to make sure I didn't miss the begining of it. I only wished I still had all my original toys. The entire story line is brilliantly written. The heroic Autobots, lead by there leader, Optimus Prime versus the evil Decepticons, lead by there leader, Megatron. It shows the true meaning of the phrase "It's good vs. evil". I'm hoping that they continue to release all the Transformers seasons on DVD until the very last episode. Just like the recently released Robotech series. The Transformers were, and still is, my favorite cartoon and toy ever!! I have never stop thinking about Transformers even to this day. It is a must have for everyone!! Buy this DVD!! It is MORE THAN MEETS THE EYE!!!!!!!!!!

THE classic 80s cartoon series! ...but over-remastered
PICTURE QUALITY (2/5 STARS)
The overall image quality has definetly been improved: brighter colours, sharp images and heavy remastering (scratch removal, ect.) but WHAT HAVE THEY DONE?? They really made some devastating mistakes! Some scenes are played in reverse (i.e. the infamous Ironhide transformation scene from 'Heavy Metal War'), some visual heat-, smoke- and fire-effects are just missing!! And there is this mistake-documentation which should show the people what errors the original film masters had and that they have been corrected... they found the errors, but forgot(?) to correct many of them.
Sharpness and colour of the image deserve 5 STARS, but in fact of the errors 2 STARS is the proper rating!

SOUND QUALITY (2/5 STARS)
Generally the sound is very clear and free of hiss/crackles but WHAT HAVE THEY DONE...AGAIN?? They have remixed the soundtrack to Dolby Digital 5.1, initially that sounds brilliant but to reach this goal Rhino added some really strange&stupid soundeffects. Ok, the explosions have a great *boom* but gunfire sounds like children toy guns.
The Dolby Stereo soundtrack is another mess, some episodes have the new 5.1 remix simply downmixed to stereo, but others have the original soundtrack with no added effects. I believe every fan of the series demands at least an option to hear the original sountrack!
First a disappointment then you (have to) get used to it. Nothing more and nothing less.

EXTRAS (5/5 STARS)
The extras is the real strenght of this set! I wonder why they have used so much from season 2 and 3. Can it be that they already have used up all their resources?

SPECIAL/UNIQUE ON THIS DVD RELEASE:
- all new transfer from the original 35mm negative
- Dolby Digital 5.1 remix & Dolby Stereo
- extras... more than meets the eye
- 2 limited-edition cels of Transformers characters (limited?? just to the availability of this boxset LOL!)

COMMENT:
I am a great fan of Transformers G1 and I would have loved to see the TFs in its original form, without remastering mistakes and additional soundeffects.
As a Transfan I also bought the UK boxset of season 1 which contains a lot of other worthy extras. The picture quality is not so sharp and brilliant but there are NO MISTAKES and errors. The soundtrack is the 5.1 remix from this US boxset. I highly recommend buying both editions or if you are not sure, just buy the UK Region 2 boxset if your DVD player is PAL-compatible!

Great transfer, but with a few errors
While not the best production to bear the Marvel Productions or Sunbow Productions banner (that would be Dungeons & Dragons and G.I. Joe, respectively), Transformers is by far the most popular Marvel/Sunbow series. So, of course, Rhino knew they'd make a mint by releasing the first season on DVD in its entirety (*and* uncut, unlike the original FHE releases).

Rhino did one better by restoring the series, going for the 35mm source, and the original vocal/sound effects tracks. While the sound is spot on (and actually better, as the "changes" reflect effects unearthed in the new mix), the 35mm masters are from the *first* take that Sunbow ordered. In essence, that source has errors that were corrected (or not, depending on the episode's budget) before airing. For the most part, Rhino has corrected these errors using alternative sources (including the suddenly very horrid-looking broadcast master), but they weren't perfect (and the bonus disc manages to catch them with their pants down)-there are additional moments where Starscream, Skywarp, and Thundercracker are miscolored, for instance, and the disappearance of the Decepticon space cruiser in "More Than Meets the Eye", Part III. Rhino wanted the best quality possible, as evidenced by a few feats of digital editing where the 35mm master was only slighty "wrong".

However, most have noticed the big issues with "Heavy Metal War", which has a huge host of "new" errors, while still covering up a lot of problems with the 35mm master (the last minute or so of the ep has a good 4 cuts to the broadcast master in order to cover up missing animation, for instance). However, since the ep features the first appearance of the Constructicons (plus a major battle between Optimus Prime and Megatron), we notice the errors that much more. The fact that the three affected scenes are the ones featuring Megatron's challenge of Prime, the power transfer sequence (which Rhino would have been better served by just using the broadcast master for the entire scene, save the few shots that weren't fixed by Sunbow in 1984), and the battle between Prime and Megatron makes it almost unbearable on some level.

Rhino did a great job with the remastering process, even with their mistakes. Of course, Toei's mistakes in processing the animation (most of which are amazingly dumb, especially for such a high quality studio) and the lack of a 35mm master of the corrected episode don't make it any easier for Rhino. One not only hopes for an even better job from Rhino with season 2, one expects it, largely because the re-take budget dwindled to practically zero from that point on as Sunbow's workload increased almost sixfold (as evidenced by the whopping three distinct styles in the animation in Season 2). Regardless, if you like Transformers, you'll probably enjoy this box set.

Awesome
Ok, there are tons of reviews nit-picking every little detail in this box set. I am not going to do that. If you look for mistakes hard enough you will find them, hell you will spot them easily in this box set. But if you are looking to be entertained, as you were when you were a kid watching this series, then you will feel like a kid again seeing this series come to life again on DVD. This is not your kid's Beast Wars or Beast Machines or Transformers Armada, Energon or whatever other boring, bad-animation, rip-off that spun off of one of the greatest cartoons/toy-lines ever. No, this is the original and best.

From the introduction of the Transformers in the 3-part opening episodes "More Than Meets The Eye" to the introduction of Skyfire (Fire In The Sky) & Dinobots (S.O.S Dinobots & War Of The Dinobots) to the introduction of the Constructicons (Heavy Metal War) & the Insecticons (A Plague Of Insecticons). This first season is what started it all. None of us would be writing reviews, or caring about the Transformers all these years later, if not for this first season.

The 2nd season gets better with introductions of Omega Supreme, the Aerialbots and others.

The 4th disk is all Special Features with bumpers, Botcon special and oher extras and outtakes. The first Box Set is definately one of the best.

The animation and characters stand the test of time. This was long before they created Transformers with little or no character. Optimus Prime is one of the best leaders ever in a cartoon, cool characters like Sideswipe, Jazz, Bumblebee and many others in the first season left us fans wanting more and more.

The only problem I have with the Transformers cartoon continuity (not this box set but the overall series) is that there seems to be chunks of story cut out. For example, how did Teletran One get destroyed? What happened to the Ark? Where did Transformers from the Movie come from originally? Was Hot Rod built by the Autobots on Earth or was he a rebuilt Autobot from Cybertron? Same for Sky Lynx. Who created Autobot City aka Metroplex? What happened to Sparkplug (Spike's Dad)? If someone could answer some of these questions please feel free to email me at Joecool1@ptd.net

i love transformers no 1 !!!!
i love transformers long time since i was kid and my favorite love no1 is optimus prime the autobot leader he turn in semi truck and lot battle with megatron much times. and also my favorite 2nd is starscream too best than megatron. thanks i have two dvd of season 1 and 2pt1 thanks i will order more like season 2pt2,3 and season 3, 4 soon thanks very much i love it!!!!!!! thanks!!!!! ... Read more

Reviews (182)

Cowboy Bebop fans are the only winners here.
Cowboy Bebop is my favorite anime series. When I finally saw this movie, I was pretty satisfied, but there are many weaknesses seen here.

The basic plot: Faye, one of the bounty hunters of the CB crew, sees a mysterious man blow up a truck in a freeway, killing hundreds. Soon afterwards, the same man has a bounty on his head for hundreds of millions of woolongs, the CB world's currency. The crew, of course, gives chase.

The plot is no thinner or thicker than your average Hollywood action movie, except this time it's animated- beautifully. The action scenes are absolutely terrific, the highlight being the fight between Spike (Our main character) and Elecktra, a woman he meets on the way. This is the definition of a modern anime title, and it looks great.

CB is known for it's classic soundtrack, and in this movie it is no expection.

So why only 3 stars? Cowboy Bebop: The Movie, even for me, can get downright boring.

Much of the movie is concentrated on Spike getting information from a single character, no matter who it is. The rest of the crew is seemingly put off to the side, and you'll see that they play very small roles compared to Spike. The conversations can go on and on, and once you think he'll get into action, Spike goes and talk to someone else. The dialogue will have viewers squirmming in their seats.

And this is a two hour film.

If you are a fan of CB however, go out and see it. Fans will love it because the crew is thrusted into it's own motion picture, and fans will love seeing their favorite characters on screen.

I loved the action scenes, but I can only give it 3 stars, even for a huge fan like myself. If you haven't seen the series, go out and buy it immediately. You'll see why this is one of the most popular animes of all time, and the movie is not nearly as good as the series.

Get ready for the world of Bebop!
It's really hard to understand why Japanese anime hasn't crossed over to a wider audience in the United States. Many anime films are consistently better in terms of quality storytelling than their western live action counterparts. And Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is a prime example of that "quality".

Directed by Shinchiro Wantanabe, Cowboy Bebop: The Movie is based on the anime/manga series about four bounty hunters; Jet, Faye, Ed and Spike. But this time they aren't after a mere hacker or bail jumper. A terrorist has released a bioweapon onto an unsuspecting city. And if he isn't he will unleash a more devastating attack that threatens to destroy the entire human race. While that may seem like standard action film fare, where Cowboy Bebop: The Movie shines is it's ability to weave complex themes into the story. The characters contemplate life, death and the meaning of existance. There's some pretty heavy duty stuff going on here. More than likely you'll need more than one viewing to soak it all in. It's definitley deeper than what most western filmakers are churning out of Hollywood these days. The story is told well. Eventhough Bebop is well known series running about twenty five episodes, this can be considered a "stand alone" movie. You really don't need to know alot about the series to enjoy the film. This film probably would make a good introduction to the anime/manga for those who are unfamiliar with it.

The animation is richer and more detailed than that of the animated series. It has a more film like quality to it. One thing that the Japanese animators have been able to do in recent years is develop styles of animation that, despite not having a alot of photo-realistic elements that a CGI film would contain, have the ability to immerse you into a rich world all it's own. When watching Bebop you really do get the feeling that this is a living, breathing city that the characters are living in. The sound is also crisp and very clean. Space ships race past you, bullets whiz past your ears. I really wish I had viewed this film in a home theater setting to take full advantage of the surround sound elements. The films default setting is the Japanese language track with English subtitles. A bit unusual even for anime. The English track contains all the television series voice characters and sounds just as crisp. This is one of the few series that the English dialogue is probably just as good as the Japanese. And remembering a time when just about ALL dubs were horrible, that's saying alot.

There's not alot in terms of "extra's" on this disc. There's two music videos of both the title and end credits songs. A good "making of" feature which is interesting because we get to see the voice actors who play the characters on screen. And there's an image gallery, character profiles, and some trailers, including the English theatrical trailer for Cowboy Bebop: The Movie.

This is a film that should have reached a much wider audience. Hopefully it can now that it's on DVD. If you're new to Japanese anime then this will make a good introduction to the genre. This film is definitly worth checking out.

Wow
Im usually not a fan of animated shows like this, considering that in all honesty the majority of these Japanese shows and films consist of corny childrens shows or even more corny shows of cliched personas going around shooting people alongside of slutty girls with cat ears and/or gigantic breasts. Im not to waste time or money on crap like that. And for everyone who thinks that if something is animated that it must be for kids has appearently never seen any japanese films becuase if they did im sure they wouldnt let their kids near it. But dont let the R rating worry you too much. This isnt one of those pornographic films japan seems to love so much. No, its simply like a regualar american film, just animated. Theres some violence, but its used in good moderation and the nudity isnt too bad. Faye gets her shirt cut off by one of the guys, and there is a scene of her in the shower, but trust me, you dont actualyl see anything innaproprait. I enjoyed the fact that the film was done maturly and stylish, and the animation seems to make it even cooler. To start, the animeation was AMAZING. Some of the best that exsists, im sure. And the visual effects were amazing, making you think that these characters were let loose in the real world and cameras were watching them. The story is one of those classic 'mr crazy bad man wants to destroy the entire world', but its done with such a differnt spin. the 'villan' is Vincent Volaji, a test subject who lost his memory from the experiments done on him. He believes that life is purgatory and his goal is to realease the world from this purgatory and to face judgement. The title 'Knocking on Heavens Door' is so perfect taht it couldnt have been better. the entire movie is based on vincent and as he calls it 'the door between heaven and hell.' Vincent's chracter is incredibly deep and philisophic and makes up for much of the amazing quality of the film. He was prbably my favorite part. The action scenes were increadibly well-cheoriographed, like they had been cut from Kill Bill or a Jackie Chan movie. Even if you dont like this kind of thing im sure you could find something you could like. This isnt a disney movie and this isnt a pokemon movie either, so keep that in mind.

very good movie
Mind u, i havn't finished the series yet, but i couldn't wait to see the movie when i found out there was one! The movie is excelent! I've divided this movie into 3 parts. The first 30 minutes are cool when we first see all the characters, the middle 10 minutes are ok, but theres alot of talking so sit back and relax, then it picks bak up agian for the last 45 minutes with cool action. the soundtrack is an A+! With new songs and staying true to the cowboy bebop theme it's the best! animation is wonderful, much better and clearer than in the series. so join Edward, Jet, Faye, and Spike as they track down a terrorist who plans to wipe out all the humans on Mars! If you've ever seen at least 3 episodes of the series, u will love this movie! so what does that say for the rest of us who love it? ^^ this is a must-have for any anime fan! Now if they'd jus make an InuYasha movie in english, we'd be set! Agian, at the very least rent it! You won't be dissapointed!

Newcomer likes this one
I'm a relative newcomer to the world of Japanese animation. Cowboy Bebop was on my list and I was not dissapointed. I have never seen the series so I cannot judge on the differences or likenesses.

The story is as often ten times better than American animations. This time it's a bounty hunt for a man who wants to destroy the world, which in this case is Mars.

The choise of music is fun, some country/western and other English language pop songs (I always watch the anime movies in Japanese with subtitles and the animations of course perfect. Sometimes it reminded me of The Matrix because of the fighting scenes and camera angles. The young hacker Ed is the funniest character because of her speech and movement.

Worthwile! ... Read more

Reviews (652)

Great Visuals, But Not Much Plot.
I had heard mixed reviews before watching the film on tape so I wasn't sure what to expect from FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN. A lof of friends of mine who had played the video games were really excited when this film was released in 2001. However, I've never played any of the games and therefore watched the film solely on its cinematic merit.

Overall, the movie isn't that great. The story drags on in a plot mix of science fiction and eastern mystic paganism. Films of the later variety usually aren't that interesting (see WHAT DREAMS MAY COME). However, decent sci-fi flicks are enjoyable. Unfortunately, FINAL FANTASY: THE SPIRITS WITHIN isn't a decent sci-fi movie. The only good thing about the film is the visuals: FINAL FANTASY is a computer animated flick that contains the most realistic looking computer animation to date. The characters in the film are the first synthespians. The movie is worth watching for that aspect and that aspect only. Other than that, you're wasting your time.

The most underrated film of the decade thus far
In July of 2001, this movie was ignored or misunderstood when it was released in theaters.

In September of 2001, a terrible, historical event occurred.

In the history of cinema, I can't think of a movie that is more relevant with everything that has happened in the world in the past few years.

One simply has to look through the facade (an alien sci-fi action movie) to see what makes this an instant classic.

(The 4 stars are for the quality of the DVD, not for the movie)

Great Movie
Whether you love final fantasy games, or you've never heard of them before, this movie is great for you. It is amazing what computers have been able to do. The animations are so lifelike that at points you actually might begin to think that the people are real, and not just computer programs. Even if the plot was horrible, the movie would be worth watching just to see the advancements in computer technology. The plot is so intriguing, and the voice talents let you relate to the movie more because they are people most of us have heard of and not just random actors. It may not be Oscar quality, but for any sci-fi fan, it's definately a must-see.

3 stars for visuals
The purpose of this film was to push the envelope of computer animation. This goal was accomplished, and then some. However the story sadly was little more than a stoned hippie's day dream. One can only wonder what this movie could have been if they had spend even 1/4 of the time they spent on animation writing a decent story.

Suprisingly Wonderful
I admit to being one of those people who wasn't the least bit interested in this movie when it first came out because of the computer gernerated characters and the video game reference. However, a friend of mine brought it over a few days ago and I watched it. Boy was I suprised! The story is completely absorbing and not at all what I expected. It's actually one of the best movies I've ever seen. ... Read more

Reviews (255)

Not Quite Titanic
Titan A.E. has a lot of to live up to. Recent Disney films, though very cliched, have followed a very straight forward, good conquers all storyline. As a result, these have grossed up and beyond the 100 million mark. So, coming up with a new idea is indeed very risky, especially when you spend 90 million dollars on it, like the makers of Titan A.E. did. The film takes place in the 31st century, the earth has been blown up by an alien race, and humans are now restricted to doing slave work in space and are dying of at a rapid pace. A drifter named Cal, whose father was lead designer of "the titan project", a craft which has the ability to reproduce earth as we know it. Cal (voiced by Matt Damon) soon finds out his destiny and goes on a quest to find the ship. The storyline is a mix of Star Wars and the recent flop Battlefield Earth. Its a shame the movie used cliches of both films, and could never develop the charcters into a group the people would care about. There are certain twists in the movie, but nothing that actually throws you. The animation is probably the only real reason to see this movie. The mix of CGI backgrounds and animation make the movie look outstanding. The developers had the unfortunate privilage of coming off the horrid Battlefield Earth and Dinosaur. If the story was a little more grounded, and the charcters were a little more developed, this could have been a blockbuster film. Unless you are looking for great animation, but shallow plot, stay away from this film.

A Steal From the Budget Bin
I'm always astounded when I see this dvd offered so cheap. It's usually thrown in the same budget bin with really bad movies.

To cut to the chase, the story is ok; not great, but not bad either. What really separates this one into the pile of DVD's that I like to watch are the stunning visuals and the even more stunning (DTS) sound. If you have a home theater, then this dvd will pay for itself in the first few minutes of the movie.

An indicator of the excellent sound on this dvd is that when I finally added a subwoofer to my home theater, the first dvd I put in to try out was Titan AE (and it left my whole family with mouths agape).

The story itself is fine, though it would have been better if it were developed more. There is a good story there, it's just not fully presented. Some of the secondary characters are very forgettable. In other words, it's pretty much on par with most SciFi movies. I could have written this same paragraph about any Star Wars or Star Trek movie. That may not be high praise, but it's no indictment either. It's SciFi; enjoy what it gives you and don't be overly critical.

Not exactly "Titan"-ic...
Although I'm a fan of both "space opera" sci-fi and 'toons geared more towards the older crowd, I didn't find "Titan A.E." to be a particularly interesting or original melding of these two elements. On the story side, I found the whole "boy-man-destined-to-save-humanity" angle that the central character plays a bit derivative of, and not played out quite as well as such previous sci-fi messiahs as the 'Star Wars' trilogy's Luke Skywalker and 'Dune's' Paul Atreides/Muad'Dib. I also would've preferred they put a little more exposition into-- and explained with a bit more detail-- the period between the Earth's destruction and the commencing of the hero's search for the Titan. On the technical end of things: although the folks who put this together made an admirable effort to meld both 3-D computer animation and traditional cel animation together as seamlessly as possible, It rarely ever looked quite right. This lack of cohesion is especially noticeable in one scene where a cel-drawn character is walking down a CGI spiral staircase. Or was he walking UP it? See, the thing looks so odd I couldn't even tell which direction the guy was goin' on the staircase! How's THAT for a case in point, eh? Otherwise, the 'toonage was some of the most detailed and painstakingly-rendered I've ever seen in a non-anime feature.

But even though I found the story and animation less than stellar, I thought some of the deleted scenes in the bonus features section were moderately interesting. A few parts of these scenes were rough-drawn, giving the viewer a little window into the animation process and what the film's producers worked with before adding the finishing touches to the 'toonage. The feature-length commentary track featuring co-directors Don Bluth and Gary Goldman also lets the viewer in on the more technical aspects of producing animated features in general and 'Titan A.E.' in particular. Sadly, I found their commentary so dry that I bailed out on them about twenty minutes into the feature. It also didn't help that they spoke in an almost hushed tone half the time, prompting me to turn the volume up just so I could understand them.

Also included among the special features were the usual trailers and TV spots for the movie, and a behind-the-scenes special on the making of the feature. My viewing of the BTS special made me come to the realization that I've become rather tired of most of these "making-of" featurettes that they throw onto most "special-edition" DVDs nowadays. About halfway through the show I realized I really didn't give two doots about how the animation was done, or the voice actors talking about the complexities of their characters. Immediately after making this realization, I bailed on the special and decided to go do something a little more productive-- like writing this review about the DVD.

And people say I'm a slacker...

'Late

Visuals!
Some of the most beautiful visuals of any movie to grace the screen. Should appeal to fans of Star Wars style action. Too intense for the wee ones though.

Wasted potential
This is what happens when the guy who did "Pebble and the Penguin" ventures into "Heavy Metal 2000" territory.

In the beginning I actually liked this movie. Visuals were nice, and storyline seemed promising: earth has been destroyed and humanity has spread out among the stars while being persecuted by the Drej, a race of pure energy, because they fear what we might become and also the construction of the Titan AE. Yet there were some problems I noticed that put the film on thin ice: cliche, archetype characters. For example: the brave, handsome hero and the tough, independant woman. And of course they hate each other, because after all two people can't fall in love unless they hate each other's guts first.

Things start to go downhill in the storyline though. For example, the Drej are not scary at all, nor are they dangerous. Characters are continually saying through out the film, "You can't defeat them!" Yet through out the film their fighters and ground troops are killed with one shot. And this includes one shot with a PISTOL! I don't care if its a laser pistol, its still a freggin' pistol versus a giant fightercraft.

The plotholes get bigger in the next thirty minutes. Some examples:
1) How did the hero know what the Drej lord was saying? Did he read the subtitles?
2) Do you know the hero breaks out of prison by going through the electric shield door? You're telling me one of the most advanced civilizations in the universe can't come up with a better way to imprison people?
3) Why could the hero fly the Drej plane? Where did he learn to fly it? Did he read a "Drej Plane for Dummies" in a cut scene?
4) The hero and heroine find out the captain is in league with the Drej by peeking through the door. OK...why the hell did he leave his door open if he's talking with his race's archenemy?! Didn't he think that a little bit of secrecy was in order? And then he gets mad at they heard him...he should be mad at himself!
5) So our two main characters just convinced an entire colony of people they didn't know to help build a busted spaceship, make it work, and cheer them on as they left? And how long did it take them to do this because they make it seem like it was less than a few days.
6) They didn't really flesh out why the Drej hated us so much. They keep saying "It's because of what we may become." Well all right, but isn't every race capable of being great? Why doesn't the Drej just kill every one? The Drej's despise of Titan AE seems to hold the answer until it's revealed at the end that Titan AE is meant to rebuild earth after it's destroyed. OK that explains why the Drej want to destroy it...but it doesn't explain why they hate us so much.
7) How did the little annoying green guy survive an explosion point blank?

The turncoating of the captain through out the film was totally unconvincing. He's suddenly gone from the nice, father-like figure to "I AM GOING TO KILL THEM ALL" villain stereotype. Then near the end he suddenly sacrifices his life to let the hero and heroine go, saying, "No! It's better this way!" I seriously doubt they thought that character out, instead going for every side-character cliche in the book.

The voice acting in this wasn't too great either. I wonder why? I wonder who came up with the idea that Drew Barrymore would be a great choice to play an Asian chick. And Jeanine Gerafelo's voice couldn't be any more monotone. I'll admit Nathan Lane's character had some class, although it seemed to add needless humor to a character that becomes serious in the second act, adding yet again more bad character continuity in the film.

This film had a lot of potential considering the basic storyline and the budget/artists involved. Unfortunately, it's marred by the poor script that doesn't take itself seriously at all. It's pretty much over by the end when the hero calls the new Earth "Bob." Wow what a great way to end a movie. I'm surprised Stanley Kubrick didn't have a clown instead of superhuman baby at the end of "2001."

Wait a minute...the writer of the "Buffy the Vamprie Slayer" TV series wrote this? THAT'S YOUR PROBLEM! ... Read more

Reviews (128)

Treasure Planet is sure to be a hit!
Treasure Planet is the latest animated feature film from Walt Disney. It is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island", but is set way on the future.

The story is about fifteen-year-old Jim Hawkins, who comes across a map to the greatest pirate trove in the universe. The tale follows Jim's fantastic journey across a parallel universe as a cabin boy aboard a glittering space galleon. Befriended by the ship's charismatic cyborg (part man, cook John Silver, Jim blossoms under his guidance, and shows the makings of a fine spacer as he and the alien crew battle supernovas, black holes and ferocious space storms. But even greater dangers lie ahead when Jim discovers that his trusted friend Sliver is actually a scheming pirate with mutiny in mind.

Although it does look a lot like "Atlantis - The Lost Empire", Treasure Planet is much different than it, because I feel that Atlantis was way too complicated for children to understand the concept and the storyline of the movie, whereas Treasure Planet is based on Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island, a famous classic with a simple storyline. With amazing special effects and cgi technology, this movie is sure to put the audience in awe. The voices provided for this movie are from some famous celebrities like Roscoe Lee Browne, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and David Hyde Pierce which itself is worth watching for.

All in all, I think Treasure Planet will become a sure hit because of all the reasons above. A must watch!!

I've seen it 13 times!!!
Action, adveture, the perfect movie. Disney's Treasure Planet is a Wonderful film, one of my top ten, but maybe I'll tell you about that when I review Snow White, if at all. The movie is based on Robert Louis Stevenston's classic novel, I'm sure we've all read it, I have. Jim Hawkins live with his mother while running the Admiral Benbow Inn. Although his sort-of aligned on the wrong tracks, he know how to handle a solar-surfer. One day while coming back from surfing, a ship crash-lands on the dock near the Inn. An ugly turtle-like alien steps out, along with a chest. Being a kind hearted soul, Jim helps him into the Inn. They find out thai his name is Billy Bones, and is trying to hide from pirates. Knowing that he was dying, he gave Jim two things. A treasure map, and a warning to "beware the cyborg". Grabbing the map and his mother, they ran to the back door to escape, not a second too soon, because pirates then raided the Inn, looking for Bones' map. Jim and his mother escaped to they're good friend's house, named Dr. Doppler. (The friend, not the house). After Jim opened the map, they discovered that it led to treasure, the loot of 1,000 Worlds. Eager to see find it, Dr. Doppler & Jim hire a crew, and they set sail. Jim was to give the captain, Captain Amelia, the map for safe keeping. After that, Jim was named Cabin Boy, and was assigned to work with the ship's cook, John Silver. But Jim was terrified to see that he was a cyborg!! But after getting to know him, Jim decided that this couldn't possibly be the one he was told to look out for. They became fast friends, and became very attached to one another. But after accedentally stumbling onto his plot, Jim runs to the captain to warn her. But it was too late. The mutiny had begun. Trying desperately to get to a life boat, Jim loses the map, only to find that Morph, Silver's pet, had changed it's shape to look like it. But fortunately, none of the pirates knew. Knowing that that disaster had taken place, they were now on Treasure Planet, and Jim was to go and find shelter. On the way, they meet up with B.E.N. (Bio-Electronic Navigator) and he offers them his home. He was marooned by the same pirates, with the most famous, Captain Nathaniel Flint. In the middle of the night, Jim, B.E.N., & Morph set out to go back to the ship, dis-arm the laser-cannons, and get the map. Since all but one sly pirate, Scroop, had been left on the ship, they climbed the anchor's chain up to the top. B.E.N. was given the job of dis-connecting the laser-cannons, Morph to distract Scroop, & Jim would go and get the map. But eventually, Morph and Jim ran into each other, so now that Jim has the map, now he has to get rid of Scroop. Fortunately, B.E.N. while trying to find the right plug to puul, pulled the plug on the artificial gravity, so as jim just bearly grabbed the ship's flag as he was floating upward, Scroop passed him, flinging him into space forever. After B.E.N. finally put the gravity plug in, and the laser-cannon plug out, tthey headed back to camp, only to find that Silver had taken Dr. Doppler & Captain Amelia hostage. Forcing Jim to lead them to the treasure, they set off. They finally found it though, and Silver was filling a life boat of treasure. B.E.N. and Jim found something quite interesting, too. Jim found Captain Flint's skelliton, and B.E.N. found his missing memory chip, which Captain Flint had taken away from him, so long ago.When Jim inserted it, B.E.N. remembered about the booby trap, and the whole planet was going to blow!! ... But Jim will always remember his wonderful adventure on Treasure Planet. Well, that's it. I hope this review has helped you and encourages you to get this DVD. P.S. If you like the movie, buy the games.

In the top 2 of modern Disney films!
This is up with The Lion King in quality and is modern Disney animation at it's best, unlike the shockingly bad 'Brother Bear'.
Treasure Planet also has real touches from old Disney like Peter Pan, you could see the characters in a line-up with these classic icons.
I went with a group of adults and we ALL found it very funny and yes, I was on the edge of my seat at one point!
I don't understand any criticsm for this - and I' not one of those Disneyoids who likes any Disney film either.

A Movie That Makes You Dream
Even if it isn't exactly after the rules of the book, nor gravity, I greatly appreciated this animation movie. The characters were alive and the relationship between old pirate Long John Silver and young lad Jim Hawkins showed what true friendship looks like and that people can change for the better of ways. The soundtrack is also one of the best, the music and the lyrics make you fly off and enter the wonderful world that Disney created to let people dream.

What's up with Disney?
Once again Disney disappionts me by making yet another action film to target young boys. And in the proccess making a movie with no heart I could care less about the relationship between that 17 year old and Captian Long John Silver or whatever they called him. Why can't Disney come up with more orginal stuff like Lilo and Stich that movie was halrious! The future for tradional animation is looking darker and darker. Hopefully Home On The Range will brighten things up but not likely. ... Read more

Reviews (187)

Welcome to... METROPOLIS
I waited for what seemed like years to see this movie but when I finally did see it, it lived up to all expectations. It's about a 20's version of the future where robots are just as smart as humans but they are treated differently. The story goes much much deeper than that but i don't want to explain it.
ANIMATION:10/10: It's a mix between anime a fifties cartoon and computer graphics. I personally thought they blended very well. Although the CG wasn't superb it WAS passable and there was a whole lot of it.
SOUND:9/10: In the theatrical release there was no english dubbing, it was left in it's original japanese form with subtitles. However the DVD has the english language and the original japanese language. The dubbing is actually quite good. The music was EXCELLENT! However if your not into jazz you should probably turn the sound off and just read the subtitles. At the end when they played "i can't stop loving you" it had a really weird effect on you but it was cool.
CHARACTERS:9/10: Metropolis has realistic lovable characters that wear cool clothes. (Rock's boots are tight!!!)
OVERALL:10/10. Metropolis is a must see and a must own. Buy the DVD.

Style extravaganza... but falls short of it's potential
As an anime fan, I felt compelled to watch this movie. After all, it's a must see, according to everyone and their mothers. Sadly, this movie doesn't hold to the hype.

It's undeniable that it gets brownie points for style: The graphics are crisp and clear, and the jazzy music worked it's way into my soundtrack favorites list. However, I felt the use of 3D Computer Images was overdone, and contrasted too much with the normal 2D animation.

So far, so good. However, when it comes to the story, it falls flat. Metropolis sure gave it a shot: It attempts to be deep, it attempts to create a living, breathing environment, it attempts to use great characters... and that's it's problem: It attempts. but it never quite meshes out correctly. It never achieves the potential it holds to reach the state of greatness it was intended to.

Still, it's not something to keep it out of your collection. A reccomendable movie for most people, worth the money. Just don't expect a Grave of the Fireflies quality movie.

Work Smart Not Hard
* METROPOLIS, a Japanese animation film by Katsuhiro Otomo (of AKIRA
fame) and colleagues, is an adaptation of a late-1940s manga (Japanese
comic) series by Osamu Tezuka, the godfather of Japanese animation
and comics. The manga was in turn inspired by Fritz Lang's silent-film
sci-fi classic, METROPOLIS.

METROPOLIS takes place in a city of breathtaking skyscrapers sitting on
top of underground complexes populated by humans and robots. The
society of Metropolis is caste-oriented, with an elite at the top of
the skyscrapers and a downtrodden, restless underclass at the lowest
level of the underground, with armed fascist gangs maintaining their
idea of order while a revolutionary underground arms for an uprising.

The story begins with the opening of the "Ziggarut", which despite its
name is a skyscraper, not a step pyramid. It is the creation of the
aristocratic Duke Red, an ambitious man with an obscure agenda. His
adopted son, Rock, leader of the fascist gangs, idolizes the Duke but
has an agenda of his own, which he carries out by indifferently
shooting anything in his way. A lad from Japan named Kenichi arrives
with his uncle, a detective in pursuit of a fugitive, and the two
become involved in the intrigues, which revolve around a pretty
android named Tima.

METROPOLIS is, particularly by anime standards, an impressive
production job, mixing elaborate computer-generated visuals with
excellent character artwork in Tezuka's style (though they made the
legs longer). It takes an interesting "retro" approach, with airships
flying over the city and a soundtrack mostly focused on old-time pop
tunes and New Orleans jazz -- SAINT JAMES INFIRMARY in an anime, what
a surprise -- and also makes good use of a Ray Charles number.

The end result is a movie that is visually dazzling and technically
impressive but fails to be memorable, not in spite of these things
but because of them. There is a fundamental clash between the
computer graphics and Tezuka's artwork style, and more to the point
the characters end up being lost in the scenery -- sort of like a
theatrical stage that is so elaborate it's hard to spot the actors.
Somehow I ended up thinking of the kind of web pages that are full
of bells and whistles but don't have any content.

The story actually seems basically sound, and the irony is that
METROPOLIS seems like it could have been a very good movie if
substantially less effort had been spent on the computer graphics and
more on getting up-close with the characters. In practice, METROPOLIS
never really picks up much momentum. It's interesting to watch, but
doesn't have much impact. Fritz Lang's METROPOLIS, though very dated,
has a lot more staying power and will be around for much longer.

Incredible backgrounds
I admit, I watch most videos with only half my attention while doing something else. This time, I just had to see every detail. The backgrounds in this animation rich and varied. Some, with meshes of building-sized gears, catch the early-industrial mood of Lang's "Metropolis". Others have an art-deco esthetic with monumental symmetries, or tech-noir grunge. They create unique moods for each passage, and are the distinctive strength of this movie.

That said, the script and action are ordinary. The characters came from central casting: boy-hero, grasping industrial mogul, bounty hunter, and central character with identity angst. The action is well paced and the script follows its own rules. Earth is saved in the end, as usual.

The one real disappointment came from the title "Metropolis," staked out almost 80 years ago by Fritz Lang. That title creates a very high standard to live up to, and this movie falls short. I have tried and failed to imagine any reason for this self-inflicted injury. A few of the choices for background music border on the bad, as well. At worst, though, they came across as 'trying too hard.'

It's good. I'll watch it again, if only for the backgrounds. I just wish it could have given the greatness that it wanted to.

Tima's last scene
It'd been a long time since I hadn't seen a 'one scene' capable of rescuing a whole anime movie. (I wished for a scene like this one all along Akira for instance, and ... nope, it never happened, not one scene saved it, it sucked until the very end.) Other anime don't need such scenes because they are entertaining or decidedly good; not quite the case with Metropolis.

The design of the characters is quite dull, which contrasts distastefully with the (for the most part) great scenery of the picture. I'd say though that the major achievement of the designers was to portray the robot girl so beautifully, which was essential for the movie itself.

On the whole, the plot seems week, as does the script; but we'll always have that last scene between Kenichi and Tima ... which would have been the only reason for a third star, but it does not pay off for a rather mild film. ... Read more

Amazon.com

This final sequence of Farscape episodes is as effective and powerful a climax as those of earlier seasons. The three-parter "We're So Screwed" starts with "Fetal Attraction," in which the crew of Moya attempt to rescue the pregnant Aeryn Sun from her Scarren captors and end up starting a dangerous epidemic on a space station. They get Aeryn back and lose Scorpius; in "Hot to Katratzi," the necessity of saving his worst enemy--who just knows too much to be left a captive--forces John Crichton to gate-crash the Sebacean-Scarren peace conference and bluff his way to success. Seemingly betrayed by Scorpius, John snatches victory in "La Bomba," striking another deadly blow against the Scarren empire. The title of the last episode, "Bad Timing," refers both to the show's cancellation--the cast and crew felt real bitterness towards the SciFi Channel over this--and to the cliffhanger ending; the crew of Moya have to prevent a Scarren ship finding its way through the wormhole to Earth. Farscape was perhaps the best-ever television space opera and certainly the most sexy, stylish, funny, and dramatic. It will be greatly missed. --Roz Kaveney ... Read more

Reviews (7)

Farscape Season 1 - 4 dvd
How to star my review. Well lets get AdvFilms release of the dvds out of the way. While there releases have been great the only reason they get five stars is because of the show. Advs dvds for farscape have been lacking, while you get the episodes uncut and with a little added footage the extras are laughable, but at least a little is better than none.
Season 1 - Well season 1 is the start of something great. We get character developement story lines that confound the imagination. The main storyline of season 1 is that Captain Crais is desperatly hunting the Moya crew to get at John. At the conclusion of the season Crais becomes that which he has been hunting, a fugitive from the new Peacekeeper villian Scorpious.
Season 2 - This season we get more into relationships between crew members. John & Aeryn as well as Dargo & Chiana. Scorpious is after John now for a diffrent reason than Crais was, he wants him for th wormhole tech in Johns head. At the end of the season is were John risks it all in order to save Aeryn.
Season 3 - Starts off great, but in my opinion the two Johns and splitting the crew between Moya and Talan made this season a little less perfect than the rest. Although it had some really great episodes this season.
Season 4 - The greatest season of farscape. This season John returns to earth, He has greater control of wormhole tech, Aeryn is pregnant, John & Aeryn get engadged to be wed. The only bad thing that came out of this season was its cancellation after filming of the season concluded.
Farscape Peacekeeper Wars - The savefarscape campain has worked. With the help of loyal fans there will be a continuing story. From what I have read this miniseries will tie up alot of the current loose ends but leave new loose ends. Hopefully if the fans of the show can get it good enuff ratings then maybe scifi channell will either order a new complete season like they did for that crappy show Battlestar Gallactica. If not a new complete season maybe a half season or even more miniseries. LETS HOPE FOR BIG RATINGS SO THE FARSCAPE STORY CAN CONTINUE ON!!!
Well this concludes my first an to this date only review. I am sorry I couldn't be more discriptive on the seasons but there is just to much to cover and I am only aloud 1000 words. Tune in October 17, 2004 for the miniseries.

Best Sci-Fi show ever cancelled prematurely
Season 4 of Farscape has some of the best episodes of the entire 4 season run. One of the greatest SciFi shows of my time, and it was cancelled. The SciFi Channel cancelled Farscape because of its inability to grow outside its fanbase and that the show was becoming to expensive. I believe it was that latter that heralded the downfall of Farscape, because as Internet sites proclaim Farscapes fanbase has grow and continues to grow.

The episodes of this collection are the final 4 of the series. Like all the season before it, Farscape leaves you with a cliffhanger ending to end all.

With great dialogue, excellent actors, superb writting, and a take on outerspace that was unique to itself, its a wonder why the show was cancelled.

If you like Andromeda, or Star Trek, you should check out this show. You will love it.

And watch for the 4 part Farscape mini-series coming later this year. Hopefully that will not be the final ending, but the begining of a whole new chapter in Farscape.

Farscape was the bomb (or La Bomba!)
As fans and even casual TV views have asked, how could the SciFi network keep Stargate SG-1 and dump this gem of a show? It was only 12 episodes away from achieving syndicated status when it was cancelled in 2003. These last 4 episodes certainly are memorable. In the 'Were so Screwed' trilogy, John Crichton builds a tiny atom bomb and goes to a secret Scarren base to rescue Aeryn Sun. The acting, writing, cinematography, and SFX are all top-notch in what is arguably the best 3-part story in the series. The show's humor is what made it so appealing and entertaining. With subtle nods to Blake's 7, Star Trek, and Star Wars, Farscape still became an original and innovative sci-fi adventure. This set completes the release of all 88 original episodes on DVD. Despite some horrible packaging decisions for seasons 1-3, the 5 DVD sets for Seasons 3 & 4 have all been winners for ADV Video. I can't recommend this enough to anyone who enjoyed this show.

Farscape Rocks!!!
Not only was it the best sci-fi show on television,but also gives the movies a run for their money!! The final 4 shows of this season was not only the best of the whole show,but puts the other sci-fi shows to shame..What other sci-fi show or any kind of show for that matter would end their series like the way Farscape did??? This show deserves not only rave reviews and rewards,but deserves a bigger fanbase,too!! Great writing,sets,acting;etc...it has it all!! I've always thought that Farcape were like little movies on the small screen and these final 4 eps could easily play on the big screen and make a bigger impact than any of the Star Trek movies ever had!!...HIGHLY RECOMMENDED....BUY THIS FOR YOUR FRIENDS....

Raised the bar for riveting scifi...
I rarely write reviews, however this series has a place in my heart. There are noticible writing styles throughout the series and you can tell that the cast and crew really loved this epic. Even with the way that it was forced to end it is my hands down my favorite TV series. With the upcoming miniseries we can all hope that this has an ending that follows the original vision.

This series is the epitome of scifi perfection. ... Read more

Reviews (44)

A Loving Homage to Comic Books of My Youth
One of life's questions yet to be answered is "Who is better, Batman or Superman?" Well, the response sought for is not revealed in this well-made and tremendously entertaining film.

The story involves the uneasy first meeting between the two superheroes and a shared interest in one Lois Lane. Thus, the pair forms a strained alliance when forced to combat the team composed of their respective nemeses Lex Luthor and The Joker. Such a real-life quality adds realism to the highly fictional world of comic book endeavors.

Hey, superheroes have problems, too!

As far as the actors providing the exemplary voice work, each is superb in their roles. Tim Daly and Kevin Conroy give just the right balance for their animated counterparts' dual personalities. Clancy Brown's deep resonance has an aristocratic and arrogant air about it that makes him the perfect Lex Luthor. Dana Delaney as the very independent Lois Lane is quite good. Arleen Sorkin shines in her role as Harley Quinn, Joker's sidekick who is as "far off the deep end" as is The Clown Prince of Crime.

But it is Mark Hamill who really rises to the occasion in a truly over-the-top performance as the Joker. Forget Nicholson or even TV's Caesar Romero! Hamill is the Joker. His utterances and nuances in every line delivered are brilliant.

I can remember Tim Curry winning an Emmy several years ago for his work on the animated Peter Pan series.

Hamill has done no less. His mantle deserves some tangible reward.

Maybe, it will be our appreciation for his masterful performance in this film that will be recognition enough.

No Love Lost at First Meeting
Worthwhile use of the "World's Finest" title for this first animated meeting between the Bat and the Big Blue Cheese. (For many years, the comic titled "World's Finest"'s lead story every month was a Batman/Superman team-up, in an era when hero's team-ups were not common)

Batman and Superman's first meeting, herein portrayed, is rather nice, especially because they really just don't like each other a heck of a lot. Especially because Lois Lane falls hard for Bruce Wayne.

Their mutual discovery of secret identities plays nicely on the two characters' strong points, with Superman using his superpowers and Batman demonstrating why he's the world's greatest detective.

Harley Quinn's running feud with Luthor's female bodyguard/chauffeur, Mercy, is one of the high points.

The Joker's "Dance of Death" over the fallen Superman, adding shocks from his super-charged handbuzzer to Big Blue's suffering in his kryptonite death trap is rather chilling; in this and a few elements of violence this production (originally aired in prime-time, and then as three episodes of the television series) goes a bit beyond what the afternoon TV series can usually portray, and the Mark Hamill-voiced Joker is truly scary. The Joker's raving laughter as he (apparently) goes to his death as a result of one of his own traps gone wrong is both chilling and in character. (Harley Quinn, on the other hand, is just a *bit* too broadly portrayed.)

(There is, by the way a comicbook/"graphic novel" adaptation of this material -- now sadly out of print. While it doesn't bring much new, it's a good counterpoint to this film, as it gives alternate, slightly more "adult" views on some things -- if you have one, you really need the other.)

One question -- does Lois Lane have a trust fund or something? Otherwise, how does she afford that Simply Incredible apartment on a mere reporter's salary?

Also -- a couple of scenes, notably the lab where the robots are kept and where Superman fights them, and Superman straining to (just barely) prevent a huge aircraft from crashing into buildings strongly suggest deliberate homages to the old Fleischer Bros "Superman" cartoons, specifically to "Metal Monsters" and "Japoteurs".

Superman is the better hero....
I think over the years, Superman has become the better hero. he's the one who has a life outside of the cape. He's a good man with a big heart and you know you can trust him when he appears on the scene. I can not say that about the current take on Batman, after the over-rated Frank Miller got his hands on him. The one who appears in this movie, is basically a lunatic running around in a Bat costume, has nothing to do with the Bob Caine Batman that was created in 1939. Not at all. They have done tons of Batman live action/animation movies, and only one was ever any good. He is now the most over-rated comic book hero.

Nick's Review
I have been a huge Batman animated adventure fan for as long as I can remember. When the Superman series came out, it was just as fantastic. When you put the two greatest heros together, you get perfect. The greatest hero this universe has ever known, teamed up with the worlds greatest detective, you know its gonna be an awesome adventure. It is. Nick.

Bats And Blue...
The Joker has gotten a hold of 20 lbs. of kryptonite! He abducts Lex Luthor in Metropolis and offers to kill Superman for one billion dollars. Bruce Wayne is also in Metropolis for a business meeting with Luthor. Luthor has secretly made a deal with the Pentagon to use planetary exploration robots for military purposes. This ticks Bruce off, who nixes the whole thing. Meanwhile, Joker kidnaps Lois Lane, using her as bait for Big Blue, who flies to her rescue in an anti-kryptonite suit (Batman warned him of the Joker's scheme). Joker weakens Supes with the kryptonite, after destroying his protective suit with hydrochloric acid. Enter a gaggle of Luthor's giant killer robots sent to terminate both Bats and Blue! Can the Caped Crusader and the Man Of Steel overcome this metallic army of doom? Can they defeat the combined forces of The Joker, Harley Quinn, Lex Luthor and Mercy? Can they put aside their own personal differences as well as their rivalry over Lois Lane? I'm not tellin'! Tons of action! Great wisecracks! Romance! My son and I loved every second! Highly recommended... ... Read more

Amazon.com

The fourth volume of Farscape's fourth (and final) season does all those things that the later stages of any season should do: individual episodes play interesting games with how we think television works, while the tension of the overall story arc builds and builds. Of the individual episodes here, "Mental as Anything" is an ensemble piece for the male members of Moya's crew: D'Argo's back-story gets some sort of resolution and Scorpius puts John Crichton through hell for the best of reasons. "Bringing Home the Beacon" is rather more fun--the women of Moya frustrate a Sebacean/Scarren peace treaty--but ends in stark tragedy. In "Constellation of Doubt," Moya picks up, and the crew obsessively watches, a documentary from American television about their recent visit to Earth: Crichton gets to see human paranoia and wishful thinking through cold, intelligent alien eyes. Finally, in "Prayer," Aeryn suffers terribly at the hands of her Scarren captors and Crichton makes a devil's bargain with Scorpius to save her. By this point the season is building to the surprises of its last episodes: Farscape was about to be canceled, but it never lost its edge. --Roz Kaveney ... Read more

Description

Andromeda chronicles the adventures of Captain Dylan Hunt (Kevin Sorbo) and his crew on the starship Andromeda Ascendant as they search the galaxies in an effort to rebuild the Systems Commonwealth, a community of worlds strewn across the universe working together for peace. ... Read more