DVD Synopsis: It is late in the 21st Century. After 50 years of devastating war between Europa and the Eastern Federation, the latter has emerged victorious, and the new federation of Eurasia is formed. There can be no glorious peace, however, as the planet has been ravaged by chemical, biological and even nuclear weapons and the the entire human race is dispirited and exhausted by half a century of war. The only hope for long term survival lies with geneticist Dr. Azuma and his breakthrough 'neo-cell' treatment that can rejuvenate the body and could regenerate humankind. But when his experiments go wrong, a race of mutant androids is unleashed and only Azuma's dead son, reincarnated as the legendary hero Casshern, has the power to lead the war against the super robots. (142 Mins)

 

Views: Based on the 1973 anime of the same name, Casshern is set after a fifty-year war between Europa and the Eastern Federation comes to a close; with the latter taking control of the continent of Eurasia. As the war was coming to an end, skilled geneticist Dr. Azuma saw success with his neo-cell experiments, creating a treatment that could regenerate the full body of any human. After bringing his son back from the brink of death, Dr. Azuma's experiments start taking a turn for the worst and see the rise of an army of mutant androids that are intent on wreaking havoc across the country. Only his son, who moonlights as the superhero known as Casshern, has the power to bring them down – along with the army of deadly super-robots that are destroying everything in their path! Based on the1973 anime of the same name, the stunning live-action adaptation of Casshern was only one of a few films of its time – along with Hollywood films Sky Captain & The World Of Tomorrow and Sin City – that was produced entirely on a green-screen set. Thankfully, it keeps the anime feel throughout with its camera techniques and comic-book angles, speed lines, slick direction, and visually stunning backgrounds!

 

The handsome Yusuke Iseya stars as the titular hero, and does a great job delivering some strong melodramatic moments as well as looking great while in action. After starting his career in 1998's After Life, Iseya starred in films such as Distance and Dead End Run before landing the role here in Casshern. Since then, he has went on to star in a host of great movies including Memories Of Matsuko, Sukiyaki Western Django, 13 Assassins, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Diamond Is Unbreakable Chapter 1, and a few of the Rurouni Kenshin films. Singer, musician and actor Akira Terao stars as hi father, Professor Kotaro Azuma, with Kanako Higuchi playing his unfortunate wife and mother to the hero. Interestingly enough, Kanako would also provide the voice of Tilda Swinton's character, The Ancient One, in the Japanese dub of both Doctor Strange and Avengers: Endgame. Prolific actor Toshiaki Karasawa leaves quite the impression as Burai, the leader of the reborn android army with the beautiful Kumiko Aso – who also starred in Ring 0, Red Shadow, Pulse, Samurai Resurrection, and Zebraman – starring as Casshern's love interest. The extremely handsome Jun Kaname, popular actor of the television and movie world, stars as the troublesome and determined Barashin – going on to star in director Kazuaki's follow up FX hit, Goemon in 2009. Having made quite the impression with his debut as the Kamen Rider in the 2001 television series and films, Jun went on to star in films such as Parallel, the live-action adaptation of Blood: The Last Vampire, and the epic historical action-fantasy Kingdom – which was yet another adaptation of a popular manga...

 

The film is directed by Kazuaki Kiriya, a photographer and designer-turned music video director, who made his feature film debut with Casshern – and what a hell of a debut it was! While the film does have it's flaws, there's no denying the massive under-taking of such a project with Kazuaki doing an amazing job for his first feature (also working as the director of photography), refusing to walk before he can run and going all-out. It would be a good five years though, before he would return with his second movie project – the gorgeous historical fantasy, Goemon. As with Casshern, this was also shot on a digital backlot and proved to be just as entertaining (if not more so) than this. To date, Kazuaki has still only made 3 features with his latest also being his Hollywood debut that saw him bag the legendary Morgan Freeman and Clive Owen for Last Knights. While the film received a limited release and very mixed reviews, Kazuaki's Westernised adaptation of the 47 ronin still has its moments. While there are really only 3 major action sequences in Casshern, courtesy of Shinji Higuchi and Yuta Morokaji, they are all incredibly spectacular and definitely one of the biggest draws of the movie. Working as the action director on hit films such as Red Shadow, When The Last Sword Is Drawn, Battle Royale 2, and Azumi, Yuta mixes blistering swordplay with fast hand-to-hand combat, with Casshern taking on armies of giant robots (in one of the greatest superhero sequences ever filmed), android soldiers with super-strength and more. Legendary anime director and the man behind the helm of films such as The Sinking Of Japan, The Last Princess, Shin Godzilla, and the two live-action adaptations of Attack On Titan, Shinji Higuchi, lends his talents as the 'action scenes supervisor' which were more than likely used for the more anime-inspired moments on show. While there certainly wasn't enough action going on in the grand scheme of things, viewers will still get a massive kick from what's on offer and no doubt be reaching for the rewind button once their eyes have managed to keep up.

 

I think it's safe to say that the epic sci-fi adventure of Casshern is not for everyone. With its sprawling and long-drawn story, heavy melodramatics, and lengthy running time, you really need to be a fan of the original source material, anime, or epic sci-fi movies to make it through this – although it does offer up many questions that would make the majority of the human race really step back and think about! With more melodrama and flashbacks than your average Japanese animated show, Casshern offers a gorgeously haunting score as well as a sumptuous collection of visuals which are delivered in many ways, blending heavy CGI with slick animations, with an array of bold colours that burst after minutes of black and white, and explosive action that is further enhanced by speed lines and fast edits. It can all be a bit much for the untrained eye, and while some scenes haven't aged too well (and come across like a late 90s computer game), the majority of Casshern still manages to impress to some degree and is definitely worth watching!

 

Overall: Long-winded at times but visually enthralling, Casshern is a hugely impressive film for many reasons and leaves an impression!

 

DVD Extras: Deleted Scenes with Optional (Subtitled) Directors Audio Commentary, 13 Minutes of Extra Footage with Optional (Subtitled) Directors Audio Commentary, Cast & Crew Interviews, Trailers