Synopsis
Teenagers Mai and Yu have just become girlfriend and boyfriend when Mai is killed in atraffic accident. Her distraught father uses her digitized physical characteristics and memoriesto create an AI resurrection. The new Mai gradually becomes more and more human and fullysentient (think a digital Pinocchio), and she winds up in the Yu’s laptop. A megalomaniacal CEOwants the technology in order to download his own consciousness into the Net and thereby rulethe world. His mini…ns pursue Yu and his friends.
We are clearly a long way from director Takashi Miike’s Audition and Gozuhere. This work has none of that extremity, and might almost be just the ticket for the SpyKids crowd were it not for some bone-crunching violence. Conceived as a vehicle for Speed(a girl band) and Da Pump (a boy band), Andromedia even takes time out for a songperformance halfway through. Simultaneously odd and extremely mainstream, this may not beMiike’s best work, but it is entertaining.
Audio
The soundtrack is in 2.0. The dialogue is undistorted, and the surround effects have a goodvolume. The environmental effect, particular in the beach scenes, is very good. This is hardly astellar audio track, but it gets the job done, and its shortcomings don’t distract.
Video
The transfer (1.85:1 anamorphic widescreen) is similarly workmanlike, but hardlyspectacular. The colours are decent (some of them are very pale, but this seems to be a deliberateeffect), but some of the blacks are iffy, there is some noticeable shimmer, and there is somegrain. The image is a touch soft, as well.
Special Features
There are bios for the director and cast here, as well as the trailer, a still gallery, and atypically smart text essay that is something of a Pathfinder specialty. The subtitles are sometimesgrammatically wonky, however. The menu’s main screen is scored.
Closing Thoughts
This is meant to be straightforward entertainment for young adult viewers rather than anexercise in extremity. As such, it works quite well.
Special Features List
- Essay
- Still Gallery
- Biographies
- Trailer
