Customer Reviews

Negadon - The Monster From Mars

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

For those who are not aware. This film is about a half hour long. A great half hour at that.
It is a fully computer animated Kaiju (giant monster) film. It is a nod to the films of this kind from yesteryear. The animation is great! It even is made to look grainy and fuzzy.
It is over before you know it, but it is still great. In the vain of Blood: the Last Vampire and Kakurenbo.
I highly reccomend it.

I was initially concerned that Negadon was only a half hour long. In spite of this, I attended the theatrical screening at the ImaginAsian Theater in New York (which was standing room only!)and was astounded to see what a great film Negadon is. The crowd went wild. A thoughtful and very sincere homage to the great kaiju (monster) films of the 50's and 60's, Negadon is an amazingly well-designed and crafted CGI masterpiece, even going so far as to recreate the look of old, faded film. I got the DVD to see the extras, including two short films which were sort of like the inspiration for the final film, and a complete "making-of" documentary feature. My "normal" friends (ie, not Godzilla or sci fi fans)loved Negadon, and I've already screened it many, many times. Short film, yes - but a very big value: The short length actually lets you show it to your friends without killing the evening, and without you getting bored seeing it again. Here is a case where "Size Might Not Matter After All!" (with a wink to Sony's Godzilla!)

Anyone thinking of buying this dvd should know that the main feature is only about 30 minutes long. The rest of the 70 minutes is filler. I was disappointed in the product. The short film is ok, but definitely NOT WORTH THE PRICE.

Anyone thinking of buying this dvd should know that the main feature is only about 30 minutes long. The rest of the 70 minutes is filler. I was disappointed in the product. The short film is ok, but definitely NOT WORTH THE PRICE. (yes, i copied someone else's review; this thing wasn't worth my thinking about.)

This is one very cool mini movie, the computer annimation is excellent,the story is great, and the battle at the end is fantastic, the only problem, it's to short,it leaves you wanting more.

Seeing the trend of movies like this and some animation you get what you pay for. With Negadon, mind you you get a great CGI story, but you are mislead as to its total entirity. The Story is 25 minutes, but the label states 70 minutes, the remainder of the 70 minutes consists of background and trailers. I spent $15.00 hoping that it (the main story) would be longer, but it still worth getting anyway.

In case you don't know, this short film was created entirely on computers kinda like the short that eventually became "Sky Captain...". So that said, the creator does an awesome job of making this film look like it came from the golden age of Godzilla films. From the design of the space ships and monsters to the scratches and color of the "film". My inner child was jumping for joy. Not only that but he has composed some beautiful shots, cool perspective angles and dramatic slow motion.
The problem with it is he tries to tell too much story in too little time. I didn't care about all that, maybe in a full length feature it would be relevant. But in this case, i wanted to see more destruction and the monster vs robot battle.
All in all, it's very cool and worth the money.

When Jun Awazu was watching daikaiju movies back in the Showa era, he was paying attention. If it weren't for the dead giveaway CG humans are, one would be hard-pressed to determine whether this was an entirely computer generated film or something released to DVD from the Showa era. Everything from the model-like ships to the man-in-a-suit feel of the robot to the "film wear" filter created by Awazu, shows the love, respect and attention to detail the director has cultivated over the years. He's truly talented and one of the best daikaiju directors I've seen in years. Though, at 25 minutes, it's disappointingly short, it only makes one hopeful for more.

I see this as a test-reel or a pilot for what could be done on a big budget. This is really a fan film paying homage to the great Kaiju-Eiga of the 60's and 70's. It makes you wonder what the Awazu could do with a Hollywood budget and a good script. It's only 1/2 hour, but savor the visuals and dream of what might be. Buy the film to support the cause and in 20 years when this is the norm in Kaiju, you'll remember what started it all.

Some people have made a stink about this movie, and most of the reasons were that it was too short. But, this movie isn't supposed to be long like Godzilla Final Wars. Also, the movie is very fast paced. The story moves along at a quick speed, and even though the battle is short, Negadon also faces against the military. The animation is slick, and the voice acting is amazing.