FullMetal Alchemist aka FMA is an extremely popular manga made by Hiromu Arakawa that has two anime adaptations, one movie and a couple of video games, nonetheless to say it is quite a popular and well known one, but also one that has been one of my favourite for many years.
Back in 2016 a Live Action adaptation of FMA was announced, the reception was less than favourable, and the more cast members were announced the more it felt like this movie was going to be a hot mess.
Well it came out in December 2017 in Japan and just 2 months later the movie is now available on netflix and I decided to give it a try.
Making a live Action Adaptation whether it's based on a video or a manga/anime always seems like a tedious challenge often ending in a complete misfire. The only good example I can think of goes back to 2005 with NaNa, a faithful and enjoyable adaptation of the popular manga of the same name.
Ever since whether it is in Japan (*coughs* Attack on Titans movies,anyone ?) or Hollywood versions (Ghost in the Shell and the great story of whitewashing Asian main characters!) not everything since 2005 has been a peaceful walk when it comes to live action adaptations.
And I went into FullMetal Alchemist fearing a hot mess, but I came out almost relieved.
However the movie has a lot of issues. Like, a lot. First of all, being the passionate FMA fan that I am, I am glad to say I connected every dots in this movie quite easily ,got all the references and most of the storyline(s) made sense. But what if I had never read/seen FMA ? Well this movie would have felt like a heavy convoluted 2 hours and 14 minutes of barely any established mythology of what it's based on and any character would appear as non important, which is a problem considering we are supposed to care about them.
Edward and Alphonse Elric are two brothers who practice Alchemy, what is Alchemy you ask ? Well don't expect the movie to expand too much on it outside of a 5 minutes explanatory exposition by Alphonse after a good 30 minutes already in because the movie itself counts on you to understand it all like a champ'. As if you already knew it all .
And that's my biggest complaint, instead of being a nod to the fans, the movie should have tried harder to convert new people to its rich universe. But instead it simply expects you to get it all on one try and that is truly a shame. The movie tries so hard on spectacle at times that it forgets to have a soul.The Elric brothers are the soul of FMA and yet the movie spends an incredible amount of time separating them for no reason, sent on random quests that try to add +10 characters for both references to the original material and try to make sense but fails on both levels quite hard.
Acting wise I have to give props for most of the cast because they do try their best to represent those beloved characters as best as they can for the short amount of time they get on screen . Even Ryosuke Yamada who had the burden of portraying a tough and emotional character like Edward , manages to represent the character the best way he can . His outburst and emotions always felt as a reflection of the original character and I can only salute him for doing his very best . (even with a horrendous wig on.) It is hard to develop more on any characters as they barely have time to appear on screen for you to establish a bond with them and I only did so because of all my fond memories . (but I wouldn't blame anyone who is an outsider of this universe to barely care about any of them as they just don't matter as much as in the original material.)
Many questions are left pending and the movie ends on the hope of a sequel, maybe that is why it is now on Netflix worldwide trying to get the money for it. I weirdly wouldn't be against it if only the sequel manages to focus up.
FullMetal Alchemist is a movie that feels like it had 10 different storylines all happening at once and expects you to follow it all as if it was that simple. The movie does try to honor the original material but also makes some questionable changes and tries to woo audiences like a blockbuster when it should have been a story about two brothers trying to deal with the pain they went through and explore what Alchemy really is . One simple thread with the Philosopher's Stone at its core would have worked wonders but instead you spend over 2 hours wondering when the movie is going to end and why you should care about any of the characters, even the beloved brothers.
Acting wise I have to give props for most of the cast because they do try their best to represent those beloved characters as best as they can for the short amount of time they get on screen . Even Ryosuke Yamada who had the burden of portraying a tough and emotional character like Edward , manages to represent the character the best way he can . His outburst and emotions always felt as a reflection of the original character and I can only salute him for doing his very best . (even with a horrendous wig on.) It is hard to develop more on any characters as they barely have time to appear on screen for you to establish a bond with them and I only did so because of all my fond memories . (but I wouldn't blame anyone who is an outsider of this universe to barely care about any of them as they just don't matter as much as in the original material.)
Many questions are left pending and the movie ends on the hope of a sequel, maybe that is why it is now on Netflix worldwide trying to get the money for it. I weirdly wouldn't be against it if only the sequel manages to focus up.
FullMetal Alchemist is a movie that feels like it had 10 different storylines all happening at once and expects you to follow it all as if it was that simple. The movie does try to honor the original material but also makes some questionable changes and tries to woo audiences like a blockbuster when it should have been a story about two brothers trying to deal with the pain they went through and explore what Alchemy really is . One simple thread with the Philosopher's Stone at its core would have worked wonders but instead you spend over 2 hours wondering when the movie is going to end and why you should care about any of the characters, even the beloved brothers.
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