BA_Harrison As a rule, any film that relies on a glut of special effects and noisy action set-pieces to try and detract from the fact that its plot is either non-existent or virtually indecipherable will receive a critical mauling from me. However, Cutie Honey is an exception to this rule for two reasons: firstly, it is so absolutely, unashamedly, ridiculously over-the-top that it's almost impossible not to enjoy (despite the increasingly difficult to understand story); and secondly, its star, Eriko Sato, is incredibly gorgeous—call me shallow, but the inclusion of a great looking Japanese babe in a series of sexy outfits really helps me forget about trifling details such as a decent narrative.In this hyper-stylised manga-based movie from director Hideaki Anno, the stunning Eriko plays a super-powered android (equipped with nano-technology), who is capable of transforming her appearance at will. Keen to have this technology for herself, Sister Jill, leader of the evil Panther Claw organisation, sends her minions to kidnap top scientists, but eventually sets her sights on trapping Cutie Honey herself, whom she hopes to assimilate.Opening with an insane action-packed sequence in which our sexy heroine battles the nasty Golden Glaw and umpteen black-clad henchmen, the film immediately establishes its cartoonish day-glo style; the next hour-and-a-half is a mind-boggling display of visual inventiveness and cheap titillation—perfect entertainment for those who like their action demented and their women seriously tasty.Sato is excellent as Cutie Honey, perfectly capturing the innocence of her character whilst simultaneously turning up the heat by wearing a variety of revealing get-ups which include her superhero outfit (pink spandex with a strategically placed heart shaped hole to reveal her ample cleavage), a halter-neck/mini skirt combo, and, once or twice, just her underwear.The action, which starts out crazy and gets sillier as the film progresses, includes the initial encounter with Golden Claw, who is equipped with prehensile hair, an encounter with a scuttling vampiric creature (Cobalt Claw), and a battle atop the giant drill-shaped Panther Claw HQ (which emerges from beneath the Tokyo Tower) against Scarlet Claw and Black Claw (who inexplicably performs an impromptu song-and-dance number mid-fight).The ending is a bit of a damp squib (some incomprehensible rubbish in which Cutie nearly turns into a plant and love, once again, saves the day), but with so much fun preceding it, this movie still gets a very reasonable 7.5/10 from me, rounded up to 8 for IMDb.

UberNoodle I remember seeing posters for this in the weeks leading to the cinema release, and well ... Cutey Honey's outfit is pretty darn cute .. I have a figurine on my window that I got with a box of fizzy candy - much to my girlfriend's ire.Next to ninja's, cute chic's in revealing armour highly rate with me, so I was instantly intrigued. I was familiar with the source material, and the the director (of Evangellion and Nadia fame) and I knew that this film had a very unique visual style, but I still wasn't prepared for what I witnessed when I finally put the disc in the slot and hit play.This film IS Live Action Anime to the Nth degree! It lives and breaths anime craziness, and over the top silliness. Honey's facial expressions are something straight out of an SD anime. From the opening scene this film is an anime joy - yet live action.It's a nutty film, and it had me chuckling constantly. I would love to show this to friends of mine, but I know they'd look at me strangely and try and lock me away. Cutey Honey won't be appreciated by everyone, but I think that anime fans, with an open mind will really dig this film.In the back of my mind a voice told me that I was not supposed to like this film, but try as it did, it couldn't pull me away. I was hooked .. right until the end.It's strange that .. on first look, and without proper perspective, this film look bad. Everyone over-acts, and there are more butt and cleavage shots than you can shake a stick at - very much an exploitative fan service vehicle. Many viewers I assume would get so many bad Power Ranger flash backs that it'd hard for them to keep watching.Watch it in the right context however and you will see genius! Well maybe that is taking it too far, but Hideaki Anno and the team that worked on this film should be praised for creating the closest live-action rendition of anime I have ever seen. It has all the ingredients, crazy over the top expressions, a VERY cute scantily clad girl, and ultra-surreal bad-guys, including bondage'ish outfits and an androgynous male villain.It's all there. Until I find out later down the track that the film contained subliminal hypnotising messages, I will say that I really liked this film, but that I still can't really work out why I did so much. Cutey Honey is for anime fans, and I think anyone else would struggle a little to accept this film's wild personality.Killion

dbborroughs I was never a Cutie Honey fan and the thought of a live action version did not thrill me at all. It wasn't until I had read a couple of reviews that I thought perhaps this was worth a look. Having seen the film I can honestly say that this film is absolutely worth a look or two or six.Cutie Honey is a cyborg super heroine that is out to stop the Panther Claw Gang which has kidnapped her uncle. A year earlier they had killed her father in order to get secret of her existence. Honey pops in and out of disguises as she is hounded by the bad guys, a reporter and a female cop.The film plays like Power Rangers on acid, mixed with comedy, drama, animation, J-Pop music videos and at least a dozen other things. Its a blast and a half. If you're not hooked in the first five minutes you'll never be, but odds are you will be, especially if you take it on its own terms. Its not really for small kids since there is death and ample bosoms but if you're knowing teen or adult you're the perfect audience for this gem.I want to give the movie a 10 on the fun scale but I have to refrain simply because the middle third is rather slow, especially when compared to the action that begins and end this movie. There is something about that slow part that it never recovers from.If you like comedy, action, spoofs, super heroes or any type of movies short of the heaviest of Bergman or other suicide inducing films give this one a shot, it will probably make you smile from ear to ear.

flipmonkey Not to degrade the movie, but if you can't get over a "Power Rangers" feel, then pass this title by. However, if you enjoy humor, weird costumes, crazy action, and insane levels of Cuteness, then this may be the movie for you. Based on an old anime (manga too?) by Go Nagai, this live action version is quite amazingly a live action anime. I was never a huge fan of the original animation, but this move almost makes me want to go back and recheck it out. The movie is fast-paced, and action-oriented. It has decent character development (but don't look for anything too deep) and best of all, it was just silly. If it weren't for that last factor, the movie would have completely sapped an hour an a half from my life. The cast was great, considering the roles, but the thing that stands out is the way they were able to combine the live action with a very cartoony style (watch as Honey dodges all those missiles in the beginning, it a whole new style on it's own.) It was very entertaining, and it was definitely an example of camp gone right.