Director: Fumihiko Sori
Writer: Hiromu Arakawa (Screenplay)
Starring: Ryosuke Yamada, Tsubasa Honda, Dean Fujioka, Ryuta Sato, Misako Renbutsu
Plot: Two alchemist brothers go on a quest for the Philosopher’s Stone after an attempt to revive their dead mother goes horribly wrong.
Runtime: 2 Hours 15 Minutes
There may be spoilers the rest of the review
Verdict: Wonderful Fantasy Sci-fi
Story: Fullmetal Alchemist starts as two young brothers Ed and Al lose their mother, they are both alchemists in training, desperate to bring her back the perform an experiment which goes horribly wrong. Now Ed (Yamada) is trying to fix their mistake as Al is now a hollow robot, they are in search for the Philosopher’s stone, the one item which could reverse the mistake.
On the latest quest for the stone Ed is joined by Winry (Honda) one of the twos longest friends, a woman that has helped Ed become whole again after the incident. Ultimately Ed must make a decision for himself, work with the state of alchemists to follow the laws or go against them to fix the mistake with officer Roy (Fujioka) being the one showing the thin line between right and wrong in his ways.
Thoughts on Fullmetal Alchemist
Characters – Ed is the fullmetal alchemist, he lost limbs when he worked with his brother to bring their mother back, with his limbs now being robotic, he is still trying to find a way to fix the mistake to fix himself and most of all his brother, who is now a robot shell. He rides a thin line between the law while trying to follow laws in search of the one item he believes can solve the mistake. Al is his brother stuck in a robotic body after the accident, he is the back up and the motivation for Ed’s actions. Winry is the oldest friend of the brothers, she helps maintain the robotic parts for the two, to make them stronger and keep them united. Roy is the officer that follows the rules, he keeps Ed on the right tracks for the most part, while supporting from afar, he will not let people break the laws but will stand up for his team. We have plenty of supporting characters will different agendas through the film to help us keep guessing what will happen next.
Performances – Ryosuke Yamada is the leading role is great, he makes you root for his character and understand each emotion his character is feeling. Tsubasa Honda brings us the light-hearted moments in the film, she always smiles which makes her a cheering performer in this movie. Dean Fujioka is good as the neutral officers always trying to do the right thing through the film.
Story – The story here follows two brothers that make a mistake while using their alchemist knowledge, it has torn them apart both physically and mentally with them now needing to fix their mistake against fellow alchemists, some following the laws other bending them. The story has plenty of twists along the way as the brothers must learn who they can trust and the truth about the world they are taking on. This is clearly just the first chapter of what could be a fabulous series of movies, we now know out characters, just where will they go next.
Action/Fantasy/Sci-Fi – The action sequences are wonderful to see unfold, they are big and filled with fantasy elements. This has a fantasy element to everything going on, trying to move away from magic with science. Sci-fi moments are used to for the ideas behind everything going on, they make us see just where things could go in the battles and with the alchemist ideas.
Settings – Each settings offers us the next chapter of the story which shows how things can be going on within the places we can consider normal buildings.
Special Effects – The effects do work well for this movie, certain moments might look like CGI, but for the tone of the movie it seems to make it feel more enjoyable.
Scene of the Movie – I want to say the whole final third of the film.
That Moment That Annoyed Me – It is a little bit long at over 2 hours.
Final Thoughts – This is an enjoyable action fantasy that does follow the trends of the Harry Potter films, gives us a good group of goods guys to root for against villains who want to use their skills for evil, it works and you will enjoy this movie.
Overall: This is a Netflix success movie that will be enjoyed.
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