Golden Kamuy

You first have to understand that this is an adaptation of a manga that's easily long enough to make 3-5 movies and which already has an anime adaptation that no doubt influenced the movie. So, yes, it's a bit of a live-action cartoon. Also, it's Japanese so don't expect Hollywood-level special effects but, even still, they did a pretty good job with the bears, Retarr, etc. Most of the casting is great, costumes are on point, scenery is excellent. The scenes inside Abashiri prison look like they were probably shot on-location. It's a museum now, you can go there next time you're in Hokkaido (pick up a few bottles of Abashiri Prison Stout from the gift shop and thank me later). I was worried that they'd try to condense the whole long story down to fit into movie length which would really ruin it. I'm very glad to see they haven't done that which means they're hoping to film a series of these. Hopefully they will but, if not, there's still the excellent anime series.

This is strikingly better than the majority of Chinese movie productions. The reasons for this seem to be: It started with a graphic novel or manga. This means a lot of Western narrative logic and story beats are already in place and worked out in the script, Unusually good cast and acting. This has a number of tired Chinese acting tropes from before the influence of Western filmakers starting in the 2000s. However, here they are artfully moderated and far less distracting and immersion-breaking, 100%, pitch perfect CGI. Again Chine VFX astonishes with many completely invisible effects including a giant white wolf and two big bear fights, Striking and interesting heroes, heroines, and villains, Apparently based on a true story to some degree, Considerable action. This is apparently part one of a two-part(?) series of full length films. Part one's third act and ending are artful and satisfying in themselves. Congratuatlions to all involved making this happen.

I don't know why the rating is so low. This movie was absolutely lit. The lead : Immortal Sugimoto is cool (the actor has done a marvelous job: solid acting) . There were funny moments too. Tbh this movie has potential to compete against high budget hollywood action movies. The storyline is nicely executed, direction is great and soundtrack is good. I loved the blue eyed girl, she was sweet and fought well ( great at archery). Basically, there is a hidden treasure and the map is drawn on bodies of convicts who escaped. Everyone wants to get the gold. There are emotional scenes too, making the whole movie a wholesome experience. I would love to watch the 2nd part in cinemas ( it would be epic)

Hope everyone stuck around after the credits for the cut scene. The scenery, costumes, and acting was on point. It kept the humor I loved from the anime. Anime fans would be delighted. No fan service so far lol but still a solid live adaptation. The actress was a bit older than I imagined but I can understand why they chosed a older actress for the main female. I look forward to the next installment and hope Golden Kamuy fans support this so we can see it to the end. Awesome job! Up there as one of my favorite live adaptations. The screenplay writer did a excellent job bringing it alive. GOLDEN KAMUY.

So, when a "movie" (notice the quotes) is introducing brand new characters with 30, 20, even 5 minutes left in the run-time, you know they never had any intention of telling a story. This was one big extended trailer for a future series of movies. Nothing ever gets accomplished. No injustice is rectified. No secret is revealed. Nothing. It is simply a series of scenes where the two leads gather more and more acquaintances along the way. This "movie" is like the team selection phase of a middle school gym class dodgeball game. All the hype and monologuing, with none of the actual gameplay. Total false advertising calling this a "movie".

2024film-002(1/30/2024) Having read only the early parts of the original manga series, I watched this adaptation already familiar with the storyline. It became the first movie I saw in theater in 2024. I've come across comments suggesting that Anna Yamada, who portrayed Asirpa, looks too mature, compared to the original manga, and while I understand the sentiment, I actually liked her portrayal. Anna Yamada's performance was charming, and Hiroshi Tamaki's acting was disturbingly (in a good way) spot-on. Fantastic! I earnestly hope for more careful and successful live-action adaptations of manga-based works like this movie.