|
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
We Have Met the Extra-Terrestrials... and They are Us!, April 8, 2002
*
Taking the world's most universally recognized legend and putting a new twist on it, ''Gall Force: Eternal Story'' is an epic adventure that you don't soon forget and that you will want to watch again and again. The story opens in the midst of a full-scale battle raging in the depths of outer space between two persistently warring races: the somewhat indescribable cyborg ''Paranoids'' and the all-female humanoid race called ''Solnoids'' (which raises the intriguing question of how they reproduce... but let's suspend logic for the moment). The Paranoid/Solnoid wars have been waging for centuries, and diplomats on both sides have grown weary of the never-ending battle and have entered into a secret covenant where they have mutually devised a risky plan which they hope will act as a buffer between the two feuding races and hopefully bring both sides to the table to begin suing for peace. But in order for this mission to be successful, their joint activities must operate covertly and be kept a closely guarded secret from everyone on both sides -- especially from the military arms of the two warring factions, each of whom would stop at nothing and spare no effort to recover the ''experimental project'' for ''their'' side to exploit. The details of this ''Top Secret'' diplomatic gambit are entrusted to a single Solnoid who's been dispatched as a secret agent to infiltrate the ranks of a ship's crew to insure that the objective proceeds successfully without a hitch. Forced to make the leap into lightspeed out of its surrounding blazing deathtrap, a sole Solnoid spaceship, the ''Star Leaf,'' has been targeted for the for the infiltration of both the Solnoid/Paranoid agent and the secret ''experiment.'' The Star Leaf's escape course is to a distant star system: Their destination is a 'new home world' -- a terra-formed planet moon the Solnoid have given the name ''Chaos.'' Chaos is the satellite companion to the planet ''Terra,'' which the Solnoid refer to as ''the planet that lives on its own'' (which raises another question of logic ... ''Why not just inhabit Terra from the very beginning?'' -- but again, let's try to overlook this notable flaw in the story). In their hasty attempt at escape from all of the senseless slaughter taking place around them, the crew of the Star Leaf must constantly deal with numerous emerging deadly threats, from pursuing warships, equipment malfunctions, the real possibility of mutually assured destruction, and the presence of a sinister looking alien life form which stalks the remaining crew throughout their space vessel. The surviving members of the Star Leaf's crew must also try to understand the meaning and significance of a bizarre precognitive dream they all share involving a mysterious Solnoid-like alien creature which could either be a Paranoid brainwashing and mind-controlling ploy or the key to ending the hostilities between the Paranoid and Solnoid races. The moon Chaos becomes the final battleground in the Paranoid/Solnoid war as deception, treachery, and the lust for power and military advantage overtake reason, diplomacy and visions of unconditional peace. Much more enjoyable in the 'English dubbed' version (which is something of a rare experience in anime DVDs), ''Gall Force: Eternal Story'' often catches you off your guard with where you think the story is going to take you and, in a manner much like in the ''SCREAM'' movies, messes with your head as it relates to who lives, who dies, and who the ''bad guys'' are. A bit more attention to detail could (should) have been paid to the animation itself, in my opinion, and a few things about the story could have been smoothed out as well (but hey... this IS ''Japanese Animation,'' after all), but apart from this feature film's only real problem of the 'fingernails-on-chalkboard' screeching of the original Japanese voice actors, this movie does not fail to deliver: It hooks you right away and reels you all the way in from the opening scene to the emotionally charged climatic ending. Don't push past this one. * * *
|
DVD ~ Eriko Hara
DVD ~ Katsuhito Akiyama
DVD ~ Katsuhito Akiyama
DVD ~ Toshio Furukawa
![X-Men, Volume 2 (Marvel DVD Comic Book Collection) [2-Disc]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/61FlIcOK1zL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
DVD ~ Iona Morris
