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Author Topic: Knights of the Zodiac reviews  (Read 914 times)

Offline patch

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Knights of the Zodiac reviews
« on: April 30, 2023, 01:26:29 AM »
Knights of the Zodiac
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8/10
 Unexpected surprise and visually stunning
Well this is a nice unexpected surprise! First, Hollywood has typically done a really bad job of translating Japanese anime to live action because they don't get it and make a mess that fans hate and non-fans don't understand. Director Baginski understands that the story can't be rushed and does a beautiful job of introducing Seiya while leaving the story with a satisfying ending that points to the next installment. Japanese American actor Mackenyu who plays the lead Seiya is an action superstar already in Japan and his mind blowing action sequences prove why. Baginski, VFX award winner, is the creative talent behind The Witcher that was also an unexpected surprise which indicates he has a big future ahead in Hollywood. The star powered cast is so cohesive and the chemistry is great; casting got it right. This is gonna be a sleeper hit. Get it while it's hot!


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9/10
 A good Adaptation, true to the essence of Saint Seiya
It is an incredible movie with a great story and plot, I know that many people think that it adapts to Netflix but it is not like that, Adapting is Taking all the good things from the Original material and other products and reinventing the story for a more modern audience, because seriously many "fans" want a claca as it is that the same story is told, but if they already know what the story is about then why go, also many other "fans" are crying because they are not given the 12 houses and it is that they They don't understand that this is a movie of Origin, that is to say that they must give the origin of how it began to continue with the story from there, I liked it, the armors are fine, they also evolve, there are scenes that are very emotional You also have to support this franchise because and I say this to the complainers if they don't support and instead complain, there won't be anything new, so stop crying and support the franchise.
Apart from that, the cast was perfect, all the actors gave their all, I recommend it 100%, also if this goes well we can see the beginning of a cinematographic universe, and they will work again on projects that were abandoned, such as TLC and Next Dimension
The only thing I have to tell you is, go now and burn your cosmos! 


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Saint Seiya if it was the Broken Telephone game
This movie fails to send me back to the anime, and I know it was supposed to be based on the newest properties that are coming out targeting the new generations, but I think it swings and misses at all target groups.

I guess Seiya works well and he kind of has a good chemistry with Saori. His training with Marin is done well and the first fights that don't have the armor are nicely choreographed but everything else is terrible.

I couldn't care more about Famke's character, her motivations are so shallow together with Ikki, who is there mainly so there's a final fight. We have Mitsumasa who isn't Mitsumasa. The VFX looks straight from a 2012 PS3 game. There are so many futuristic ships I didn't know if the movie was supposed to be an alternative world or 20 years in the future.

But the main thing for me is that the movie didn't feel like Saint Seiya, it was like someone who saw the anime 30 years ago tried to explain it to a Hollywood producer who didn't bother to watch the original content and stick to the description given to him. In the end it didn't have the sense of humanity against gods and the sense that even when Seiya lost all his senses he would never give up.
 
https://m.imdb.com/title/tt6528290/reviews?ref_=tt_urv


Review | Knights of the Zodiac (Saint Seiya: The Beginning)
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Sean Bean is the same usual, he knows how to play tormented characters.
VERDICT
 Knights of the Zodiac is an entertaining and action-packed film, but it is deeply flawed. Nevertheless, it does explore Seiya’s story with depth and emotion which is the best part of this film. Mackenyu is simply perfect as Seiya, he has put all his heart into this performance. The fight sequences are absolutely stunning with great choreography and Yoshihiro Ike delivers an epic score.
 
https://thefutureoftheforce.com/2023/04/28/review-knights-of-the-zodiac-saint-seiya-the-beginning/



« Last Edit: April 30, 2023, 01:46:34 AM by patch »

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Re: Knights of the Zodiac reviews
« Reply #1 on: May 08, 2023, 08:55:21 AM »
Knights Of The Zodiac Sets Up A Franchise… But Do We Want One?
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Knights of the Zodiac brings the popular manga and animated series to live action for the first time. With so much source material to use, this film is truly setting up for a long-lasting franchise. But is that something that we want after this one? Maybe not.

Don’t get me wrong, there are certainly some entertaining elements of the film, it just doesn’t quite hit the mark as the start of something epic. Still, the way it leaves off is very clear, the filmmakers have plans for several more movies. Perhaps they will get a bigger budget next time around so they can take what they see in their heads and bring it to the screen in a way that looks as good as it should.
https://wealthofgeeks.com/knights-of-the-zodiac-review/

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Re: Knights of the Zodiac reviews
« Reply #2 on: May 09, 2023, 08:51:30 AM »
‘Knights of the Zodiac’ Review: An Otherwise Potential Franchise Starter That Fizzles in Its First Live-Action Movie
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One thing that ‘Knights of the Zodiac’ gets it right is enlisting a Japanese actor (okay, more like a Japanese-American) to play the lead role of Seiya. But despite being the son of the late great Sonny Chiba, Mackenyu looks like a pretty boy cosplaying as Seiya instead of inhabiting his role. It doesn’t help that he has the personality of a piece of the wooden plank while the story fails to give him a substantial character arc from a nobody with a vague past to a hero destined for a larger purpose. Madison Iseman’s Sienna/Athena character feels like she was written for a typical CW fantasy series while Sean Bean shows up in a mere paycheck role and not even his mini-reunion with ‘GoldenEye’ co-star Famke Janssen made much of a difference. 
https://fictionhorizon.com/knights-of-the-zodiac-review/

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Re: Knights of the Zodiac reviews
« Reply #3 on: May 11, 2023, 12:45:10 PM »
REVIEW: Knights of the Zodiac Brings Super Sentai to High Fantasy
The Saint Seiya adaptation, Knights of the Zodiac, works best when it leans into slick action and lets its cast cut loose. Here's CBR's review.
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The classic manga story Saint Seiya, created by Masami Kurumada, is getting a lush, live-action adaptation on the big screen with the new movie Knights of the Zodiac. Led by an ensemble cast and blending everything from high fantasy to super sentai storytelling sensibilities, the film is sure to thrill fans of the manga/anime franchise and Power Rangers alike. While the uninitiated to the story and genre may be a harder sell on the movie overall, Knights of the Zodiac is packed with enough self-assuredly over-the-top fight sequences and earnest performances to make for an entertaining ride as long as one doesn’t think too hard about it.

Knights of the Zodiac comes in with a pronounced sense of swagger, and for the most part, that sense of self-confidence is earned thanks to its fight sequences and ensemble cast when they’re given the room to lean into their natural charisma. More super sentai than fantasy superhero, Knights of the Zodiac lays the groundwork for what will hopefully be a line of follow-ups that’ll capitalize on this film’s strengths. Moving briskly and with a sense of over-the-top fun, Knights of the Zodiac is solidly delivered and good popcorn entertainment.

Directed by Tomek Bagiński, Knights of the Zodiac opens in theaters on May 12.
https://www.cbr.com/knights-of-the-zodiac-review/

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Re: Knights of the Zodiac reviews
« Reply #4 on: May 16, 2023, 05:10:55 AM »
Knights of the Zodiac Is the Rare Great Hollywood Anime Adaptation
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The best animation adaptation by Hollywood has quietly arrived in theaters, and no one knows it exists. With a modest $60 million budget, approximately the cost of catering on a Spider-Man sequel, the studio has shown no faith in Tomasz Bagiński’s Knights of the Zodiac, a live-action version of Masami Kurumada’s Saint Seiya that somehow stars Sean Bean.

It’s a shame Knights of the Zodiac is almost DOA as it enters theaters, because it’s actually great. While it’s grading on a big curve, given the bumpy history of anime in the West, Knights of the Zodiac is the surprise of the summer as a rousing sci-fi superhero flick with unique Asian American zest.

 Based on the Saint Seiya franchise about a martial artist who protects the reincarnation of Greek goddess Athena, Knights of the Zodiac is secretly brilliant in its holistic understanding of what makes anime appealing as a medium. Melodramatic characters, impenetrable worldbuilding, and acrobatic choreography are all hallmarks to some of the best anime. Zodiac is faithful to these eccentricities,which most “real” Hollywood movies overlook in favor of verisimilitude.

Knights of the Zodiac is no Guardians of the Galaxy, arguably the benchmark by which movies like Knights will forever strive towards. After all, James Gunn’s Marvel hit successfully translated obscure comics into a heartfelt story with throwback sci-fi aesthetics. In an instance of “coulda, shoulda, woulda,” Knights coulda been another Guardians, a blockbuster with B-movie spirit that wins over audiences with an authentic portrayal of love in its many forms. Maybe because of a middling script, slapdash editing in anything but fight scenes, and absent romantic chemistry between Mackenyu and Iseman, Knights doesn’t amount to the same heights. But it nevertheless runs at such a propulsive pace it never stops being even just a little bit interesting, and it certainly never stops being fun.

As streamers like Netflix and Amazon dump the most maddeningly average content despite ridiculous price tags, the wildly sugary Knights of the Zodiac getting a theatrical release feels both brave and bittersweet. It isn’t auteur cinema by any reasonable definition. But it is a rare treat that packs a stronger punch than it looks, thanks in large part to actors like Bean, Famke Janssen, and the eternally underrated Mark Dacascos giving it the time of day. Knights of the Zodiac may be welcomed into theaters by the sound of crickets, but that doesn’t stop its star from shining bright.
https://www.inverse.com/entertainment/knights-of-the-zodiac-review?fbclid=IwAR0BEnRa2Tsz5FrZnnSx1e0NJyVcjky_zH3EWGqNI3SLwi--eXliz4wsCvo


‘Knights of the Zodiac’ review: A live-action anime MCU, but bad
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Knights of the Zodiac is an adaptation of the classic anime that wants to kick off a franchise but completely fails to take off.

In Knights of the Zodiac, a film somehow released in 2023, a character portrayed by Sean Bean says that the exposition he’s spouting is a bit much, and everyone should take the day off. No person will ever convince me that wasn’t exactly how the actual actor felt at the time of filming. Because Knights of the Zodiac is a pretty naked attempt to fit an icon of shonen manga into a western superhero mold, with the end result being a vapid and mangled mess.

To be fair, Masami Kurumada’s Saint Seiya (better known internationally as Knights of the Zodiac) is not the absolute worst choice of anime to get the live-action franchise treatment.The original series has a quantifiable power system, bold character design, and a heathy amount of lore. Unfortunately, little of any of that made its way into the co-production between Sony Pictures and Toei Animation, much less any of the classic anime’s charm. Instead, every piece of the source material has been hammered into a loose understanding of the structure of an introductory Marvel Cinematic Universe film without any understanding of why those films work.

Knights of the Zodiac is a shallow adaptation that shoots for the MCU but ends up closer to 1997’s Spawn, or even Dragonball Evolution. Toei probably isn’t getting its planned sequels unless Sony is even more desperate than I thought, though everyone involved has both done and will probably do better work after this debacle. The entire production is a phoned-in attempt to bank on an IP, yet can’t even deliver a half-decent depiction of the Pegasus Knight. Attempting to adapt battle anime into an action franchise certainly isn’t impossible. But doing so with this franchise is going to require some Cosmo.
https://inbetweendrafts.com/knights-of-the-zodiac-review/


« Last Edit: May 16, 2023, 01:53:51 PM by patch »

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« Last Edit: May 18, 2023, 08:27:31 AM by patch »