Not Miyazaki's best by a long shot -- the oft-praised even-handedness is actually a hindrance, since it ends up flattening the drama. And that, combined with his most concerted effort (that I've seen) to present a straight-forward plot, what comes out is the most earthbound Miyazaki I've seen. It's strange -- I've seen this twice now (once during its original theatrical run), and images that should be burned into my brain (the thousands of dying forest sprites, the demon boar, the Night Walker), instead fade awfully quickly. It's no surprise at all that he decided to really let his freak flag fly with the next one, Spirited Away -- putting visuals first is when he's at his best. But those complaints aside, it's still Miyazaki, dammit, and that counts for a lot.
Where we saw it: tv | We deign to rate it: 79 outta 100The one thing that really struck me when watching this was how this is a far more adult film than anything else of his I've seen. Limps flying off, lots of killing, this is the only Miyazaki I wouldn't be showing to my kids.
Posted by: GDD at January 11, 2006 10:28 AMTrue dat (double true). I wanted to mention just how shocking the violence is in PM -- even though I knew it was coming, it happens so fast and so matter-of-factly that it *still* blew me away.
Posted by: Kza at January 11, 2006 11:38 AMI agree, with all the hype that surrounded it I expected more ( often compared to Star Wars.) It lacked the depth in the characters, the story and the visuals to truly hold my attention.
Posted by: MCN at January 11, 2006 05:08 PMHey Marc! Long time no see. Hope everything is i-ight in your part of the world.
Posted by: Kza at January 11, 2006 07:44 PM