Mardock Scramble 2: To me this is everything a movie should not be. I'm trying to understand how people can like it. I can normally ignore a lot of flaws or weaknesses, but this one had too many. Everything it did was either in tasteless or bland, pun intended.
I watched it for Balot to see if she would grow up into something other than the standard "baddass chick with guns/superpowers." Maybe she could become a decent hero of sorts? Or pull herself out of the bad situation and rise above it?
I tend to like cliches; they're usually entertaining. I have simple needs when I watch a show. This however did not offer me anything worthwhile. I'd like to list what it did wrong and the few things I did like. Spoiler alert, if that means anything, because I do not suggest to watch the movie.
-My gay dolphin lover = Trying way too hard.
-Tasteless nudity: No relevance to the plot or anything. Not cute or silly like in ecchi anime, just pointless and unfitting. To go from carelessly nude to suddenly ashamed came off poorly done as well. One comment about "Eve became aware" seemed like it was just thrown in there to try and excuse it.
-Pointless gore: I'm not a fan of violence, but when it fits it fits. This was cheap and just for shock value. Worse yet, even the characters just sat and stared at it like it was normal rain and not blood and body parts. Make it purposeful or just leave it out. There's a limit to how low you can go before it's no longer entertainment.
-A punch hurts, but losing limbs is okay = Why even bother writing a scene like this?
-Boiled's character development was rushed: I'd like to see a little more motivation to become a cruel bastard than "The drugs will let you do your job without sleep."
-I am God, you are Eve and so forth: Instead of being "rich with symbolism" the writing came off as common teenager drivel. If you try too hard to sound important you cheapen it. Throwing around big words too often is a sign of a poor writer. Or being desperate to sell (same problem with nudity).
-Spent too much time on visuals: First half = "I love rainbows, do you love rainbows? We love rainbows!" I do love the colorful visuals and the casino looked great, but I need more than a sugar topping to eat.
-"Those are some nice gloves: And cut to credits!" Sorry, no. That was not enough for a movie.
-Overall the dub was rushed rather than good, like most of Sentai's efforts. Shame. Hilary seemed like the wrong choice to play silent little Balot. She's better with the loud or energetic types.
Good points:
-Casino battle of wits: Sort of good, dragged on, but at least it was sort of engaging. I Imagine if I understood more of it I would have been more entertained.
-Boiled having some background: He has potential, and the "I can't feel anything...! Good or bad" worked well. They just need to expand on it more.
-Cute little glowing gold mouse: He looks so out of place (so the contrast must be on purpose) but he's actually a reasonable/sane and therefore likable character. Balot kinda needs someone who's nice to her to bring out her own character. Otherwise she'd stay silent and be pointless.
I'd rather watch something boring than bad, and this irked me in so many ways. Such a shame. I gave it a chance and it did not deliver.
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