kluseba This is a quite entertaining movie adaption of a series of successful mangas and video games. You don't really need to know the originals to appreciate this mixture of a fantasy and a crime movie. The film has some suspenseful and mysterious moments but also humorous parts. The movie has several short side stories that are rather appealing and don't take too much space. They involve childhood memories and the sightings of a strange monster for example. In fact, the movie adds a lot of diversified genre elements into one big potpourri but none of the elements is really dominating or impressive which is maybe one of the movies biggest flaws. It's always entertaining but sometimes lacks depth.The story itself is divided into three parts that all lead to dramatic courtroom discussions. The three different cases are closely connected to each other and become in fact more and more interesting. A well done and short introduction, some outdoor investigations and a few flashbacks add some diversity and depth to the different characters. The story isn't hard to follow and only the first few minutes feel a little bit rushed. While the cases are all realistic and grounded, the movie has some fantasy elements in form of holographic elements in the courtroom that could come from a science-fiction movie and a few supernatural elements involving mediums and other appearances. I happened to find these supernatural elements rather distracting and useless. They don't add much to the story and make an otherwise solid plot feel a little bit fluffy.The most important thing that may be controversially discussed is the acting. Some fans of the games and mangas said that this movie was one of the best video game adaptions ever done, others said that this movie lacked the charm and genius of the originals. I neither know the games nor the mangas and that's probably the best thing for a neutral point of view. Each character has its unique traits which is great. Phoenix Wright is your chaotic, determined and nervous young attorney who fights for ideals such as friendship, justice and truth. His antagonist is the aged, bitter and self-possessed Manfred von Karma. His childhood friend and colleague Miles Edgeworth happens to be a rather arrogant, cold but very smart prosecutor who could come from a medieval court or a visual kei band. Another childhood friend called Larry Butz is a humorous, ingenious and tricky fellow. His assistant Maya Fey is a rather emotional, sometimes even hysterical but also intelligent woman with stylish looks. The judge is old, patient and wise. Even the secondary actors in form of different witnesses have their own unique characters such as the broken and isolated Yanni Yogi or the dark and mysterious Redd White.What I liked less about the acting was that many parts were simply overacted. I know that this is the case of many Japanese movies and this element seems to want to underline the manga style of the story but it feels quite redundant after a while. This element is used way too much in this film and fails at its initial attempt to put some emotions and humour in this film. Sometimes, the characters feel more like birds. Phoenix Wright is the nervous chicken who always gets upset, Maya Fey is the colourful but sometimes difficult turkey, Miles Edgeworth the proud rooster, Redd White the strange raven, the judge the wise owl who is always ready to attack when the chances are good and so on. The funniest thing is that at some point, a cockatoo comes into play as a witness and happens to play the most grounded part of the entire movie. This bird feels the most human among all characters. At some point, all this exaggerated acting may feel somewhat childish.In the end, it,s hard to rate this movie. If you just want to watch it because legendary Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike has directed it, better stay away from it because it doesn't have much to do with his most famous works. Those who like the games and mangas either hate or love this movie. Watch the movie and choose your camp. Anyone else might get very well entertained but you should know that this film is very Japanese. It's colourful, diversified and always over the top. Some might find this mixture dynamical, others rather annoying. Fans of Japanese cinema should definitely give this movie a try, those who prefer traditional courtroom dramas or thrillers should stay away from it.

pandarus First of all, I'm a huge fan of the series Phoenix Wright. It's really an awesome game and has some unique qualities that in my opinion were totally destroyed in this movie. I don't think the movie HAS to be exactly like the game, but what happened here is that the movie is just awful by itself. If you played the games you will think the movie is terrible, and if you have never played it you will have a generic movie with many plot holes.Speaking about the plot, it has so many problems that it's hard to decide where to begin from (and without spoilers). Let's just say that the game is very famous because of the plot, especially on the trials, they are awesome. What happens in the movie is that the trials are just lame (and the monitor effects are bullshit that don't add anything). In the first case the attorney will prove that the witness was in the scene of the crime (therefore, he MAY know more than he is telling, or maybe be the killer itself), and then the judge will give a non guilty verdict to the defendant. Hell, it doesn't make sense! It just give an amazing jump to conclude something that he could not (at least yet). And the key case has problems like this one (I will not pinpoint them, just to avoid major spoilers, but the trial scenes will be as terrible as the first case).Talking about the characters, the only one that I liked was Larry, Phoenix was OK and the others were just terrible. von Karma was the worst. They tried to give some humor to the film by using some Japanese expressions. Hell, why not use the games expressions? The only character that will do it is Phoenix (and it will add to the movie).The sound was lame too, most of the soundtrack sounded like a generic thriller movie. Near the end they will play one of the games songs on an violin version, and guess what, it sounds great! I just don't understand why not using more of this during the movie, at least it would be less generic. The sound try to create a darker atmosphere that don't match the movie at all, they just couldn't balance the humor parts and the serious parts. In my opinion, this movie is just a waste of your time. If you like the game, you will hate the film, and if you never played the game, you can find many movies better than this one.

kosmasp 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!)

DJ Koenig 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!