Terra Formars

Initially when I sat down to watch the 2016 movie "Terra Formars" from director Takashi Miike, I must admit that I was expecting a bit more than what the movie turned out to be. Why? Well, because this was directed by the legendary Japanese director Takashi Miike, of course. Sure, "Terra Formars" was a watchable movie, but it was hardly among Takashi Miike's best work, not even by a long shot. It was the storyline told in "Terra Formars", as written by Kazuki Nakashima, that didn't really sit well with me. Sure, the concept of colonizing Mars was interesting, but the whole bug vs. Bug concept was one that just was a bit too far out there. Visually then "Terra Formars" was actually rather interesting. The CGI was good and the visual effects for the transformed hybrids of human/insect was actually interesting to look at, and it had a lot of nice details to it. However, again, the concept was just one that didn't really find a base of approval in my liking. And having great visuals can only do so much when you don't have a fully working storyline and script. The acting in the movie was adequate, though I can't really point out any particular performances to be memorable or outstanding though. All in all, then "Terra Formars" was a watchable, albeit somewhat quite far out there action sci-fi movie from Takashi Miike. The movie is also listed as horror here on IMDb. Well, there weren't actually much of anything horror about "Terra Formars". My rating of "Terra Formars" lands on a mediocre five out of ten stars. This was, however, hardly a movie that I will be watching a second time.

This madcap movie is a fireworks of CGI effects and action, but the many twists in its narrative (and in logic) are devoid of any credulity and thus have no impact; it may all be tongue-in-cheek, but you'd never notice it.

This is adapted from the manga of the same name. The story in the manga continues well past where this movie stops. That means that there are a lot of things that are set up here but not resolved. The main storyline is not revolved. I get that it is part of a longer story but a movie needs to have a beginning, a middle and an end. It needs to be able to stand on its own. The effects for this are a real mixed bag. The sci-fi spaceship sets look really good. The CGI for the monsters looks really dated and poor. The costumes for the bug transformations mostly look terrible. There are a lot of characters but most of them are only there to get killed and get no development. The movie doesn't have much of a story. It's not one of those movies where nothing happens. Something is happening all of the time. There just isn't much of a through line. There's a not a lot of rhyme or reason to some of it. It really feels like it's condensed from a longer story and sometimes coherence suffers as a result. As for the ending, it doesn't have one as I mentioned before. It just sequel baits and then stops. This one flopped at the box office so that sequel is probably not coming.

This has to be the worst project that Takeshi Miike has been part of. This is cringe on another level! I felt like i was watching a pantomime with really bad cgi. The acting is one dimensional, the effects are really low budget and it was simply painful to watch. I did see the anime and loved it, it had a simple premise, not that original, but it pulled it off really well. The cockroaches were truly menacing and the humans were completely overpowered. It added a feeling of terror and abandonment that the film completely fails at. The characters are just thrown in our faces with such poorly structured personalities, so how can anyone relate to them at all? A very lazy effort overall and a massive flop for me.

It's a really silly,funy movie. Special effects are great and story line is typical manga style. This is one of those movies where you disengage your brain and grab a case of beer.

In the crowded 21st century it was decided to green (terraform) Mars so human life can inhabit it. We gave it moss and cockroaches. A crew of selected criminals and others go to Mars in 2599 to eliminate the roach problem. When they get there, they discover the roaches are large, humanoid, and aggressive. Rather than just kill them with conventional weapons, the crew resorts to injecting themselves with the DNA of various insects to give themselves a superpower as told by the narrator in order to make their superpower seem feasible and create Comic-Con outfits. No Caspar Van Diem with a machine gun...which at some point would have been welcomed. When they were not engaged in fighting, they were engaged in boring dialogue. The character building was awful. No explanation of gravity in the ship, no delay in transmission to Mars...which varies between 4 and 24 minutes. This was more science fantasy than science fiction. A lot of heads being whacked off. Guide: 1 F-word or so. No sex or nudity.

I'll admit up front that I am a fan of Takashi Miike. That's not to say he hasn't made a movie that I wasn't a huge fan of but for the most part I've been satisfied with the films I've seen that he's made. Add TERRA FORMERS to that list. Based on the Manga of the same name the story takes place in the future where the population of Earth is so large that scientists are looking at colonizing Mars. In an effort to alter the makeup of the planet they send out a form of cockroach that will change the planet to make it hospitable to humans, altering the air and land on the planet. 500 years later in 2599 a new project is set in motion. A team is selected to rid the planet of these cockroaches in order for humans to take it for themselves. The team is formed of various criminals, individuals who if killed will not be missed by anyone. In addition to that each one has been genetically transformed to align with different species of insects to help in their conquering Mars. When they arrive they discover that the cockroaches are not what they expect, no tiny bugs crawling along waiting to be stepped on. Instead the roaches have grown and morphed into humanoid form, stand about 8 feet tall and aren't going to go without a fight. Members change, members fight, members die and in the end...well you'll have to watch to discover the ending. Along the way the effects reign supreme here with some amazing visuals showing that the US is not the only group of film makers that can do this sort of thing and do it right. Miike combines a solid science fiction story with the effects to make it not only an interesting film but an action packed one as well. The depth of story is amazing and worth noting here. This isn't as simple at it seems at the start with government plots going on beneath the surface, characters who aren't who or what they seem to be and the roaches not being what is expected either. All of this combines to make a story well worth enjoying. Arrow is releasing this film and as is always the case with them they've done an amazing job. The film is offered in 1080p hi def and looks great. The extras include a making of feature length documentary, extended cast interviews, footage from the 2016 Japanese premiere, outtakes, an image gallery, the theatrical and teaser trailers, a reversible sleeve and for the first pressing only a fully illustrated collector's booklet with new writing on the film by Tom Mes. If you're a fan of Miike then you'll find this an absolute must for your collection. If you enjoy science fiction then this is one to add to your collection as well. In any event this is a movie to be enjoyed with repeat viewings. I know I'll be doing so.

Some reviewers have taken this movie far too seriously and read far too much into the it. So imagine an 80's kids cartoon does The Breakfast Club with the plot of Aliens, all with a modern take. That's basically it. Plus being as it's Japanese you get crazy fight scenes with insects, bonkers daft and nothing to trouble the brain.

If you guys read all my reviews before regarding a japanese movie based on manga. I always make comparison & not happy with the adaptation (except one, Ore Monogatari). But this one, because I never read the original source, I guess its a good interesting sci-fi movie! About a group of human with added superpower versus humanoid super strength cockroaches! (Really?) . I think its really good, with all the cool suit. Fighting scene whatsoever. Its quite enjoyable. Its like watching an anime in live action version. Its so japanese like all japanese movie you ever watch. They have their own style, no one can copy them.

It's very good emoji movie Very good emotional well-being