Review: Patlabor The Movie: 1
A secret, A virus, and a new beginning, that is what can describe Patlabor, The first movie in a series. In the Patlabor world, A new type of machinery has been created, Labors, and can be used to haul, build anything faster than previously thought. But what happens when Criminals get a hold of this technology? They destroy things, that's what! In this segment of that world, a man, Hobba, commits Suicide, but he has no apparent reason to do so. Suddenly more and more Labors are going beserk, and this one man programmed the OS that powers these mecha. The police force, each with their own past to deal with, are assigned to uncover the secrets of Hobba. Is this something he did intentionally, or a flaw of his own life?
To start off, I love this movie, it was made in 1989, but with the help of Mamoru Oshii's brilliant direction, the movie comes together well, blending fiction, the troubles of humanity and a wonderful mix of cultures into here. The animation is less than expected, but only because this isn't really as much as an action movie as one might expect. It really delves into the problems of the world. The plot has (spoiler alert), as usual, the biblical reference that made Oshii famous , also included in Ghost in the Shell. I saw the subbed version. You can really feel for each character and their little corner of reality. This movie would be Rated PG-13 for minor language, minimal violence and intense situations.
| Animation | 2.75 Stars |
| Character | 3.5 Stars |
| Plot | 3.75 Stars |
| Overall | 3.5 Stars |
| Genre | Action |
| Rating | PG-13 (violence language and intense situations) |
