Transformers: Rise of the Beasts
2023
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Knights of the Zodiac Reviews. All Critics. Top Critics. All Audience. Verified Audience. Jayne Nelson Radio Times. Seiya's attempts at wisecracking fall flat and, as for the plot holes,...
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- Knights of the Zodiac Review
- Verdict
By Matt Donato
Posted: May 11, 2023 10:25 pm
Knights of the Zodiac opens in theaters on May 12, 2023
This year's manga-to-live-action adaptation of Knights of the Zodiac is as underwhelming a hopeful franchise-starter as you'll ever encounter. Japanese superstar performer Mackenyu will no doubt lure his fanbase into theaters, who will then be met with a long-winded fantasy adventure that isn't the dazzling visual feast they were probably hoping for thanks to such a cumbersome reliance on unspectacular digital effects. Everything about this modern tale of Olympic gods and supernatural powers teases an epic journey, but execution is quite the sluggish opposite.
For those unfamiliar with Masami Kurumada's Saint Seiya manga – which director Thomasz Baginski's film loosely picks and chooses from – Mackenyu's protagonist Seiya discovers his destiny as protector of Sienna (Madison Iseman), the reincarnation of goddess Athena. The screenplay seems to assume we know all of the manga’s background information when charting Seiya's rags-to-superhero arc, skipping over the details and following the most basic beginnings for young characters discovering extraordinary powers they need to harness.
There's a messiness to the collision of Greek mythology and samurai culture that reminds of something sloppily extravagant like Gods of Egypt, lost in world-building that never feels convincing. Instead, it's a smorgasbord of unimpressive digital effects as Baginski struggles to recreate the feel of anime in live action (think Netflix's Cowboy Bebop show), boiling down Kurumada's vivid source material into a bland, loud, voiceless gruel with no substance.
Black Panther (2018)
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Even the visual makeup of Knights of the Zodiac feels uninspired. Guraad's supersoldier army looks like rejected models of the 2014 Robocop remake's suit, while Seiya's battle costume armor loses its shine once the fight turns to computer-animated models from practical choreography. Everyone with Cosmo surging through their veins seems to harness a...
Knights of the Zodiac fails to inspire enough excitement to meet the prospect of future sequels with anything more than a shrug. It's not particularly successful at welcoming newcomers into Masami Kurumada's imagination because the film whiffs at echoing the manga creator's vision. Director Tomasz Baginski falls victim to the choppy and unnatural f...
- Matt Donato
May 12, 2023 · By Cezary Jan Strusiewicz May 12, 2023, 9:02am EDT. Photo: Stage 6/Toei Animation. The good news is that Knights of the Zodiac, the 2023 live-action adaptation of the manga and anime series...
- Cezary Jan Strusiewicz
May 13, 2023 · Knights of the Zodiac, despite its reasonably minor flaws, is fun. Unlike many mega-blockbusters that grace the big screen, this is a polished and competent movie with numerous fight scenes that we can actually see.
- Writer
By Tara McNamara, Common Sense Media Reviewer. age 11+. Strong role models in uneven, violent manga-based actioner. Movie PG-13 2023 112 minutes. Rate movie. Parents Say: age 10+ 4 reviews.
May 12, 2023 · Review. Knights of the Zodiac Is the Rare Great Hollywood Anime Adaptation. The Hollywood version of Saint Seiya is actually, unbelievably, pretty awesome. by Eric Francisco. May 12,...
