Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Erika Sato is a beauty... the film is... well... , September 22, 2005
This film is quite fantastic if you are a fan of ridiculous Asian cinema or any of the Power Rangers series. No matter how bad or good you think the film is, you will be sucked in by the uber-attractive Erika Sato, unless of course you are not attracted to women. She is beyond cute. But you want to know about the film...OK.
There isn't much of a story. Cutie Honey has to beat the bda guys and save the day because the police force is very inept. There are 5 ridiculous baddies she must fight off on her way to saving the world (some tougher than others). The effects are surprisingly good (mostly). You have to know what you are getting into when you pop it in just by looking at the cover, so if you don't find ridiculously stupid Asian films with ridiculously attractive Asian girls fun to watch, you are in the wrong place. Enjoy!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Very enjoyable live action adaptation (warning: MINOR SPOILER ALERT), January 10, 2007
As a fan of Go Nagai's Cutey Honey (spelled "Cutie Honey" in this film), I knew I had to see this. I was not disappointed. The film follows Honey's early life, taking its cues from the early manga and the original television series.
The movie takes a few liberties with the character, but it's got the essentials there, and Honey-chan is cute and sexy.
The details behind Honey's creation are among the most notable changes from canon, but the technology used to keep her alive is central to the film's plot and Sister Jill's quest for immortality. Honey eats a LOT in this film in order to fuel the immense power at her disposal and the scenes with her stuffing her face are very funny. I wish I could eat that much without gaining weight.
They did an excellent job on her hair and costume, and she makes good use of her sword and trademark boomerang during the fights (including one of the only times I've ever seen Honey use her boomerang UP CLOSE... and that thing does enough damage when thrown from a distance!). The movie's special effects are really pretty good, although they have a bit of a cartoony quality to them. I think this was intentional though, especially since some actual anime clips are very briefly seen during certain plot-advancing scenes; the filmmakers seem to be having fun with reminding us that this movie is based on a cartoon series. Almost all of the fights make heavy use of CGI and model effects and have a very anime-style feel to them, but they add to the fun rather than bring it down.
Honey's major nemesis in this film is Sister Jill, who is very chillingly realized through an icy performance and some damn creepy makeup. Before facing Sister Jill though, Honey has to go through her four major underlings in the Panther Claw: Gold Claw, Cobalt Claw, Scarlet Claw and Black Claw. The fight with Gold Claw is the first major battle in the movie, and though Gold Claw essentially loses, she's retained until shortly before the climax then suddenly disposed of, one of the few things in the film that really doesn't seem to work. The battle with Cobalt Claw is very intense and gives us a good look at the conflict Honey deals with throughout the film: her desire to do good versus her desire to take revenge for her father's murder. Honey's emotions get the better of her in the fight with Cobalt Claw and she's left with a lot to think about afterwards.
She doesn't face the other two until she's ready for her showdown in the Panther Claw complex, and Scarlet Claw is a joke. Black Claw, however, is the first villain to truly give Honey a run for her money; their battle is spectacular. I thought of David Bowie as the Goblin King (from the 1986 movie "Labyrinth") when Black Claw appeared, microphone in hand, singing to Honey before engaging her in battle. Black Claw's ensemble of musicians continues to play music as Black Claw and Honey duel. It just doesn't get better than that!
The friends Honey makes along the way join her in the Panther Claw complex and put their lives on the line willingly, though really more for their own reasons than Honey's. I liked the relationships Honey established with them, especially with the hard-nosed Natsuko; it added some nice weight to the story. The story is just as much an exploration of what it means to live life as it is a display of Honey kicking butt.
You don't really see much by the way of nudity, just so you know. Whenever Honey performs a Honey Flash her body is obscured by light, but there are a couple scenes in which she's dressed skimpily enough that we are not completely deprived of our cheesecake.
A word about the DVD: the subtitles are a little mistimed, so they sometimes don't tell you what's being said until the character is already done speaking. You get used to it though (especially if you're a fast reader) and it's not as bad as it could have been. There's no dub, either, so if you don't like subtitles you'll just have to deal.
It's really a pretty good live-action take on Honey and I definitely recommend it if you're a Honey fan.
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5.0 out of 5 stars
Awesome!!, December 10, 2008
I found this to be a really fun movie with a good story and great CGI. This movie was a great time!!
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