You all know what to do.
Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: The Sacred Star of Milos
(Warning: Spoilers)
First off, I want to say that I went into this film with low expectations. I had heard that while it was an entertaining movie, but a bad instalment in the Fullmetal Alchemist[/i] franchise. However, I was curious (and a completionist. Once I get the Brotherhood OVAs, I'll own all the manga volumes, all of 2003 series, all of Brotherhood and both movies).
I do see what people meant by that though; although for me, it isn't so much due to the lack of main series characters appearing (I imagine this was done so that the movie could appeal to both those who had only seen the 2003 anime, or have only seen Brotherhood) but it was how the characters were portrayed - they seemed "out of character" (For example, Ed's lines sounded more like a typical protagonist's, as opposed to the Edward Elric we know). The only characters who seemed to be exactly like their series selves were Alphonse (although even his character seemed dilated) and Roy (and he did next to bugger all in the film). Armstrong and Breda only getting a single line each annoyed the hell out of me, while Riza and Winry both said little (although Riza had a fair amount of screen presence). The movie was essentially about Julia Crichton, although as she was a fairly strong character, I have no complaints there.
One thing I noticed instantly was the art style. I was a bit put off by it when I originally saw the trailers, but it does look really good in motion. The only thing that bugged me was one scene where Al's helmit was drawn a bit too high, but oh well. The animation was really good and the action scenes were incredible.
What I didn't like though was the almost soap opera they gave to Julia's brother, Ashley Crichton (such as him dying, then apparently being alive, but oh wait, the guy she thought was Ashley was actually Melvin Voyager wearing his face, then oh wait, Ashley IS alive and is a Colonel)...seriously, did anyone else find that annoying to follow? Also, as soon as we were introduced to the concept of Table City's pillars, I outright said it's a Transmutation Circle! and low and behold, it came true...do they think we're stupid? Also, at one point Al said that he and Ed came to Table City to look for other ways to get their bodies back...erm no, didn't they actually go there to track down who they thought was Ashley Crichton?
There is one thing I have to ask as well, that's a big spoiler for the end of the film: When Julia consumed the Philosopher's Stone, it took over her. So why then, didn't she become a homunculus? In fact, how come Ashley wasn't taken over by his stone? (one could argue that he was, but I think his madness was caused as a result of the trauma and how hard he worked to try and get revenge, not by the stone itself) or how come it never happened to Kimblee in the main series?.
I also noticed a few similarities to Conqueror of Shamballa:
- Church leading to abandoned underground city of the past.
- Character seeking assumed power from the other side of the gate to (re)gain land.
- Mustang being featured heavily, but ultimately doing next to f--- all.
- L'Arc~en~Ciel doing the main theme.
Overall, it was an entertaining film and visually amazing, but its connection to the Fullmetal Alchemist franchise was fairly weak.
7/10
