What They Say:
Kei Kurono and his childhood friend Masaru Kato attempt to save a man who has fallen onto the train tracks but are run down by an oncoming train. However, rather than finding themselves dead, they are transported to a strange apartment in which they find a mysterious black orb known as “Gantz.” Along with others there, they are provided weaponry and sent on missions to battle alien beings. Is this world, which tests your will to survive, a game or reality?
The Review:
Audio:
The feature contains a 5.1 language tracks for both English and Japanese. For the purpose of the review the Japanese track was used and it was found to be without dropouts or distortions during the presentation. Of note though is that the mix is a bit off for my tastes with the louder and softer parts so far apart that the system has to be turned up to hear some of the quieter dialogue which then left it too high for the sounds of the explosions. Also when watching the film dubbed in English in the theater the impact of the score seemed far more prominent and it kind of takes a bit of a back seat here. The dialogue itself is primarily center speaker driven but the rest of the speakers are used for a little directionality with speech but mostly they are used to help set up the solid feel of the environment.
The English track was checked and while it has a balance closer to my liking in volume terms it isn’t without its own problems, most notably that the dub is at best slightly under average with lines that often feel stilted as if Word-Fit had no acceptable solutions in a good number of instances.
Video:
Originally released in early 2011 Gantz is presented here in its original 1.77:1 anamorphic widescreen. The film look is decent with some grain present that doesn’t completely cover the noise and some dot crawl also being present. The grain though presents a few issues as the colors tend to be rather deep but the grain does keep them from appearing completely solid from time to time, and it also plays a bit of havoc with the lighting on occasion as well. Other than that it pretty solid job and kept up with the action scenes nicely.
Packaging:
The release comes packaged in a standard two disc DVD case that includes a flipper insert so neither disc rests directly atop each other. The cover features the main cast in their Gantz outfits (minus two secondary characters that don’t have them) holding various weapons. The Gantz orb is present at the bottom with its weapons shelves displayed as a graphic with the title and lead stars is placed over it. The back contains a number of stills from the feature, the DVD copy, disc listings and copyright information. The first disc is a disc sized image of Gantz itself with the title on the left, Viz’s information on the right and the DVD logo at the bottom. The second disc features a close up of one of the suits from Gantz in a folded up fashion highlighted by a soft electric blue light source.
Menu:
The menu uses an image of Gantz that shows first a timer and then the pictures of some of the principles of the film while a dark audio track plays in the background. The set up screen uses a close up of one of the characters holding a gun and the suit itself folded up with the options available to the right while the scene select screen uses another character with weapon close up with stills for chapter stops laid on top of the image. The menus themselves are rather basic though they are quick to respond to changes in selection and implementing them, but the Gantz fading out like on an old TV screen when turned off and accompanying sound effect are a little annoying. The second disc uses a close up of a weapon and suit again and also sticks in the main two actors in full garb and they are tinted strongly in red.
Extras:
Present on this release is a collection of Japanese ads used to promote the film and a twenty eight minute featurette that is presented by the director of the film (in Japanese only). For this release Viz included the extras on a second disc which helps give the feature more space to breath.
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8IAq4enkN4&w=560&h=345]
Content: (please note that content portions of a review may contain spoilers)
Originally created by Hiroya Oku in 2000, Gantz has taken Japan and other parts of the world by storm. At present count the 29 manga volumes have sold over 13.5 million copies worldwide and it has been licensed for a number of countries-including in the US by Dark Horse comics. The manga inspired a 13 episode anime series as well as a second 13 episode series, a novel, a Playstation 2 game and now a pair of live action movies. Sometimes live action adaptations work and sometimes they fall short-will this attempt be one of the later or will Gantz be awarding points for a successful mission for this endeavor?
The film version of Gantz starts where as Kei Kurono is waiting on a subway platform for a train to arrive. He is reading book designed to help people with their interviews which makes him appear older than the anime and manga version by a couple years. He looks up and sees Masaru Kato, an old childhood friend Kei hasn’t seen in many years but Kei attempts to pretend that he didn’t see him. When a drunk falls onto the tracks Masaru jumps down to help him up when no one else acts. As the train bears down on Masaru, Kei finally tries to help after ignoring Masaru’s earlier pleas but instead of getting Masura up he is pulled onto the tracks himself just as the express train comes barreling through.
The two men wake to find themselves in a white room with empty white bookcases, a very large overhead light panel and a small collection of other people as well as a large black seamless sphere sitting almost impossibly on the floor on one side of the room. From the view they determine they are not too far from Tokyo Tower. The arrival of a young and naked woman (Kei Kishimoto) gives the story a chance to show Kei’s inaction while Masaru jumps forward to give her his coat and stare down an intimidating Yakuza member who has his eye on her.
With no time to adjust to this strange new event a morning radio song suddenly blares from the ball along with a message-their lives now belong to it and it has a mission for them. The seamless looking ball suddenly springs open as sections pop out containing weapons on the left and right side of it as well as a section containing a suitcase from the back from the room’s occupants’ perspective. People in the room find that the cases have their names on them with an odd suit in their size inside. Very shortly after this they find themselves transported to an innocent looking street while they are still trying to figure out what the suitcases mean and what these odd, almost alien in their futuristic design weapons are supposed to be.
The group is in a state of confusion when one of the people from the room claims that this is all an elaborate TV show that is a joint American and Japanese production and if they carry out the mission the ball assigned they will be richly rewarded. A few of the people find this offer irresistible and make off after the supposed alien while others-including Kei, Masaru and Kishimoto-are caught up less in avarice than bewilderment as to what is going on. Reality hits hard though as the small alien that was being chased is exterminated in a gory fashion, though the game doesn’t end as a much larger alien of the same species to appear with vengeance on its mind. Kei is pulled into the fight reluctantly and when given the chance to pull the trigger a bit later because of his actions after seeing just what the suits and weapons can do he blanches as he has not made the moral leap into Gantz world yet.
As the film progresses little else about Gantz (other than that it is the name of the ball) will be revealed other than that by fighting aliens Gantz will award points by its whim. When asked Gantz displays that at 100 points the person can choose either to have their memory erased and get their life back free of Gantz’s call or bring someone who had died in Gantz’s service back to life. The morality will play out as Kei and Masaru struggle to come to terms with their new life as well as try to handle the responsibilities of their old. Masaru is the only person around to take care of his younger brother and he worries about him.
Meanwhile Kei tries out the suit Gantz gave them to discover it greatly enhances his physical abilities to the point he thinks of becoming a superhero. How will each member face the aliens they are forced to confront and what happens when the biggest challenge may be to face who they really are as people- and what happens if the person they think they are able to mold themselves into shatters and proves that even in death life is more precious and fragile then they imagined?
Gantz is a fast paced, slickly designed film with spectacular effects whose attention to detail with the costumes, aliens and even transport beam effect is rather stunning. While a few of the aliens do occasionally look a little stop motion at times the various materials they are supposed to be made of along with their alien nature helps with the suspension of disbelief. While a few points look a bit off due to this the majority of the film feels very organic for the creatures as well as the characters when they are operating in their de facto super suits. There is plenty of action and the story doesn’t spend time getting bogged down in any given area.
This is both a plus and a bit of a minus as one of the strengths of Gantz in its other forms is watching the moral play as these people, each with their own psychological makeup, are thrust into a horrible and otherworldly situation where the ethics they have developed in their day-to-day life likely will just lead them to a second and more permanent demise. This trimming of the moral aspect has an effect on character development as by the end it seems the only characters the audience really gets a feel for are Masaru and Kei, though it doesn’t give time for the characters to wallow forever in those traits so that is also a positive. Rather than the moral play what we get seems more in line with an American comic/superhero film and while splashy the feature does lose a bit of its initial value in repeated viewings. Also of note for existing fans is that the language of the series is seriously toned down as well and it has a far less hopeless feeling than the world the anime and manga create.
In Summary:
While the moral aspects get stunted and character development are a bit on the lacking side the films pace, effects and story techniques combine to make a very entertaining film that should entertain non-Gantz fans as well as existing fans that are willing to look at the feature as an alternate take on the franchise. Those passionate about the series as it was created will likely find this interpretation to be on the shallow and a bit Hollywood-ized side of things however and may try to give this a rental before purchasing.
Features:
Japanese 5.1 Language, English 5.1 Language, English subtitles, Interviews, Trailers
Content Grade: B
Audio Grade: B
Video Grade: B+
Packaging Grade: B+
Menu Grade: B-
Extras Grade: A-
Released By: Viz Media
Release Date: August 30th, 2011
MSRP: $24.92
Running Time: 128 Minutes
Video Encoding: 480i/p MPEG-2
Aspect Ratio: 1.78:1 Anamorphic Widescreen
Review Equipment:
Samsung 50″ Plasma HDTV, Denon AVR-790 Receiver with 5.1 Sony Surround Sound Speakers, Sony PlayStation3 Blu-ray player via HDMI set to 1080.
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