20th Century Boys (2008)

This Japanese film is based off of a popular Manga and tells an epic story of a group of childhood friends that are forced to battle an evil organization years later that they may or may not have spawned.  The movie sort of revolves around a man named Kenji, who is the first to start to piece together that a strange cult is using the symbols of his childhood club.  This club was made up of Kenji and several of his friends, all of whom were sort of outcasts.  In addition to making their own secret symbol, they also made up a book of prophecies describing how an evil organization tries to take over the world.  But when he realizes that the cult is dangerous and is actually trying to make the prophecies come true then it is up to him to stop them.  Well with the help of his friends anyway. 

This is a really cool movie that grabbed my attention and never let go.  The story is told in the present day, with the occasional flashback as the adult characters begin to remember the past.  This could have been overly confusing, but the movie handles it very well, balancing the characters in both the present and the past.  Be warned though that this is a very long movie (142 minutes) but there is so much material that the movie never gets boring.  As far as the plot itself I really liked the idea that one of their child hood friends has lost his mind and decided to make their silly imaginative “prophecies” come true, including forcing them into trying to stop it.  The characters, both as children and adults, aren’t necessarily well developed but fit this sort of action adventure movie perfectly.  Basically this is trying to be a simple entertaining fantasy film and it succeeds. 

There is quite a bit of CGI used in the movie, especially in the airport attack and the final climatic battle at the end of the movie.  But the CGI doesn’t really bother me that much in a movie like this, which sort of has a cartoonish feel to it anyway.  Honestly this movie feels like a live action anime, especially with some of the over the top imagery used (a giant robot attacking Tokyo!).  So if you don’t like anime you might want to steer clear of 20th Century Boys.  The rest of the movie is solidly made, with the camera work, fight choreography (not much to it actually) and lighting all decent.  Though I must warn the uninitiated when it comes to Japanese culture their obsession with American hair metal bands is on display here in more than one scene. 

I spend most of my time digging thru horror films and their various subgenres so it is cool once in a while to check something different out.  This movie is definitely something different.  I can guarantee you that you will dig this movie if you are a fan of anime or Japanese movies at all.  To those who might not be into that sort of thing I’m not too sure.  Still with that warning I’m going to recommend 20th Century Boys because I had a blast watching it.  Though it does end rather abruptly as there is a sequel coming out in Japan this year!  20th Century Boys isn’t out on DVD yet, but if you are near Philadelphia during March 26th thru April 6th then you can check it out at the Danger After Dark @ Philadelphia Film Festival / Cinefest 09. Head on over to the festival’s website at http://www.phillycinefest.com/ for more information.

3 out of 4

reviewed by John Shatzer

© Copyright 2009 John Shatzer