In this anime film, two government detectives investigate a group of bloody murders in the vicinity of Tokyo Bay. Hata -- young and handsome -- has an edge over his older, fading partner, Kusumi. But later, each man's competence, and their allegiance to each other, is tested. A visually absorbing futuristic fantasy that evokes a paranoid world choking on its own technology.
This above-average anime puts character development before action, although there are still enough fisticuffs, robots and monsters to hold the interest of the genre's core otaku (fan boy) audience.
The trouble is that it's impossible to say with any certainty what's going on from one moment to the next -- and that at the end it becomes clear it has been a great deal more inaccessible than necessary.
While sci-fi conceits still permeate the plot (alien DNA, rogue scientists), attention to personal detail float world-weary, superbly-drawn protagonists in a rare movie -- a character-driven animated film.
As animation, Patlabor WXIII The Movie is above-average anime -- there are undeniably impressive and imaginative flourishes to the artwork. Unfortunately, it's in the service of a story that simply doesn't amount to much.
[T]wo encounters with the beast WXIII - first in a darkened factory, and later in an empty stadium, to the strains of Beethoven's Piano Sonata in G Minor (Pathétique) - elevate the disappointingly flat animation into a vivid fable of monster and morality
The backgrounds are handsome and moody, and the character animation is less distractingly cartoonish than that of films like the otherwise breathtaking Metropolis.
At times haunting, and the animation is beautiful, but the inclusion of the SV-2 team seems rather tacked on (and they are sorely missed through much of the film), and the film simply doesn't have the Mamoru Oshii touch that made the first two films excellent. The weakest of the film trilogy, but still quite good in
it's own regard.
A side sequel to a great series , with new spin , the main cast takes a back seat , as two detectives uncover the secrets of code "wasted 13 " the design and anmation are top notch , beautiful score to top that . the story and the characters are just shy of the punch that Mamoru oshii -Director of the first two
patlabor films had delivered . Still a great bruting film .
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