Notes. The film is available in "subtitled" (Japanese with English subtitles) and "dubbed" (spoken English without subtitles) versions. This review is based on the Subbed version.
Last weekend was slow and clumsy at the domestic box office. With the hit Black Panther: Wakanda Forever coming out next weekend, many new releases are reluctant to move forward and have just one weekend of success before fading away. Black Adam still holds the top spot and horror movies drop like a rock in Charlie Brown's bag as Halloween rolls around. Things got so bad that anime special One Piece Film: Red managed a relatively solid second place. Unlike Dragon Ball a few months ago, I had never heard of the franchise until I found out the movie was in wide release. And unlike the Jujutsu Kaisen movie that came out earlier this year, I wasn't lucky enough to get to know it.
The film takes place in a world overrun by pirates. The government and the military promised to suppress the pirates, but did nothing to help the affected civilians. Pop star Uta hears the crowd's demands and agrees to give a free concert to free everyone from pirates and misery. The good pirate Luffy and his crew attend the concert, and it is revealed that Uta and Luffy grew up together on the advice of the wise pirate "Redhead" Shanks. Uta is happy to see Luffy again after so many years, but she's not happy that he's still a pirate, good or not. Plus, he has a plan for everyone to enjoy concerts forever and never have to worry about pirates, corruption, work, school, or heartache again. Certainly, anyone who wanted to save the world from such a life would become a criminal.
Uta's plan is basically to trap the inhabitants into some kind of dream world while their subconscious bodies wither and die. Luffy and his team, and later Shakes, must stop him. The government could step in and shut down the whole concert, but hopefully it won't come to that. Perhaps Uta will want to give up his illusions as we learn more about his motives and tragic past. One thing's for sure, no matter what, we're going to get a lot of anime-style fights where effects and damage seem to be distributed randomly.
There are things I like about One Piece Film: Red. Uta is a sweet character and her songs are beautiful. Villain songs are usually my favorite in Disney musicals, and here we have at least two, if you count, before Utah's turn is official. And some comedies work in this manic-anime-energetic current.
But there is also the film's biggest flaw, which is very disconcerting. The cast of characters is extraordinary, Uta's plans are complicated, and the action is almost impossible to follow. After all, I don't even know if this or that character is alive or dead. I don't know why the movie is called "One Piece Film: Red". I'm assuming the "red" refers to Shanks and his hair, and it's supposed to be a movie, but other than that I'm not clear on anything. Yes, I started this movie without knowing anything about the history of One Piece Films, and established fans will probably get a lot more out of this movie than I did, but I can't say that I found it to be a decent entry point into the world. . series. An attempt was made here, but for non-fans like myself, there's a giddy quality that the film can never quite dispel.
Grade: C
One Piece: Red is rated PG-13 for violence, profanity and language. Its duration is 115 minutes.
Contact Bob Garver at [email protected].
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