Appleseed

The Younger Son narrowed our selection for tonight's movie to 3 DVDs, and I picked Appleseed. Appleseed is a 2004 Japanese anime film. We could see that the end was at hand, and we understood that the death of humankind was inevitable. We were afraid it was going to come by being talked to death. What is it with some of these anime films that think it's ok to have interminable scenes where nothing happens except info-dump through character chatter as long as they intersperse those scenes with ones where there are lots of explosions or gunfire?

dubbed in English:

The New York Times says it "has a plot that frolics in the no-man's land between fiendish complexity and utter incomprehensibility." Variety says,

Hard-to-follow storyline (which is about 15 minutes longer than the 1988 version) shares a bit too much information about the politics of Olympus to maintain interest for all but die-hard fans. Newbie viewers will be left twiddling their thumbs while waiting for Deunen's next bout of butt-kicking action sequences.

Moria calls it

a dazzling and truly remarkable giant mecha film. Indeed the success of Appleseed 2004 appears to have set a new benchmark for modern anime action and spectacle.