Ace Attorney live action review
It's live action, you say. It's bound to be bad, you say. It's not going to be faithful to the game, you say.
Well, to that I respond with:
Basically, Miguel Douglas's fantastic review on iSugoi articulates everything I want to say about the movie, so because I'm lazy and awful with this thing called 'words', GO READ. For those who think the review is tl;dr, here's the most important bit from the last paragraph:
"...the film’s greatest strength is its characters, both in their appearance and mannerisms, with Hiroki Narimiya presenting a Phoenix Wright that is a humorous and cunning as his video game counterpart. In fact, all the characters within the film are greatly reflective upon their video game characters, which is an approach that practically anyone can appreciate given what the film is based upon. Takashi certainly understands the source material, which is always great to see when adapting popular culture into film. In the end though, Ace Attorney is a film that is a pleasure to watch mainly because it remains faithful to its source material, enveloping the viewer into a world only once visualized through a tiny, video game screen, which not too many other films other than this have done quite as successfully."
Plot!
There really isn't much for me to spoil for Ace Attorney gamers - that's how faithful this adaptation is - but to put it in terms of the game, the movie very briefly touches on Cases 1 and 3 in order to set up the world and its characters, while making Cases 2 and 4 its main focus. Some minor characters were removed for the sake of time (*cough* April May & random bellhop *cough*), but it didn't affect the flow of the movie at all.
Key Characters!
PHOENIX WRIGHT
I squealed like an idiot when Narumiya came up as Phoenix. That hair! That dry, sarcastic sense of humour! That floundering in court! "Hold it!" "Take that!" In particular, I love that Takashi-sensei has evidence presented in the form of holograms (that blueish thing up there? yeah. that's a hologram), so Phoenix can a) slam his hands on the desk for the actual purpose of bringing up a hologram screen, b) literally fling a whole hologram screen at the witness while screaming "TAKE THAT!" at the top of his voice.
MILES EDGEWORTH
Saito Takumi is a god. No srsly. I've loved this man ever since he played Oshitari in Tenimyu, but here he is, playing my favourite purple-loving, cravat-fluttering prosecutor. Admittedly, Edgeworth could be a little more broad-shouldered, but hey, Takumi makes a hot enough Edgeworth for me. Also, CRAVAT. Bonus: Steel Samurai ftw.
MIA FEY / MAYA FEY
Ah, the Fey sisters. ♥ Just like Phoenix's hair, they could probably stab someone's eyes out with all that hardened gel in their wigs, but I do so love the stylish over-the-top cosplay look all the characters have. My only complaint is that Maya isn't quite as adorably perky as she usually is in the games. I guess Takashi-sensei wanted Maya to fit the overall grave atmosphere of the movie, but she came off a little off to me.
DETECTIVE GUMSHOE
Like Edgeworth, I expected Detective Gumshoe to look a little older and wider at the shoulders, but Daito Shunsuke pulls off a very cute Gumshoe (complete with fawning adoration of Edgeworth as per the game) so I think it works!
LARRY BUTZ
Akiyoshi Nakao as Larry is perfect; in other words, he makes me want to repeatedly slap a palm across my forehead. Gamers, you know I mean that in a completely positive way lol.
MANFRED VON KARMA
Ishibashi Ryo looks like a kindly old grandpa who's just having a somewhat uncomfortable bout of constipation. xD; But he does make an intimidating presence when he actually stands in the courtroom, so very much yes.
LOTTA HART / JUDGE
HAIR. BEARD. NO OTHER WORDS NECESSARY.
FAVE SCENES in no particular order...
1) Channeling:
Interestingly, Takashi-sensei chose to make channeling a little different from the games. In the games, a spirit that has been channeled will talk and act as though he/she were alive again, so the spirit medium is literally a body for the spirit to fill, before the spirit takes over completely. In the movie, spirit channeling seems to be a little more similar to a possession, wherein the spirit shows up in form, but only utters scant phrases and vanishes right away. I guess one could argue that Takashi-sensei wanted to show us Maya's insufficient training as a spirit medium, though I would have liked to see the game's version of channeling.
2) Verdict: NOT GUILTY
The huge holographic kanji plus confetti and audience cheering. FAITHFUL Y/Y.
3) KIDS:
My white van is ready-- I mean.
4) Phoenix asks a dumbass question and the aftermath of everyone collapsing in shock:
It kills me that Edgeworth collapsed too, before he slowly pulled himself up with that brilliant 'wtf' expression. Only Phoenix can get such a violent reaction out of him. /adjusts tin-hat
5) OTP forever stfu:
Childhood friends. Phoenix becomes a defense attorney because Edgeworth saves him with his l33t lawyer skillz, they meet again as opponents in court, then it's Phoenix's turn to save Edgeworth - literally and figuratively and physically and emotionally and-- er, you get the picture. Just look at the way Edgeworth smiles at him, all happy and proud. And that "give it to me" smirk in court, which Phoenix gayly returns in kind. Yes, I totally meant that one, and I don't regret it one bit.
6) Just because:
Taking out the guitar is not enough. No.
Miles Edgeworth STRUMS it.
Something about that makes me spit-take in the best way possible.
7) After Phoenix, Edgeworth and Maya find out who stole the class money:
Face reactions omg crying
MAYA: （ー△ー；）
PHOENIX: (ﾉД`)ヽ(ﾟДﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)/(Дヾ)
EDGEWORTH: (￣ ￣)………
There are so many more game references that I'll leave you to discover for yourself - and probably more that I haven't caught - so clearly it's time for me to re-watch the movie five more times.
What are you waiting for?
PLAY THE GAME. WATCH THE MOVIE. THEN PLAY THE GAME AGAIN.
[edit]
Great article on the justice system in Japan, related to Ace Attorney games.
Well, to that I respond with:
Basically, Miguel Douglas's fantastic review on iSugoi articulates everything I want to say about the movie, so because I'm lazy and awful with this thing called 'words', GO READ. For those who think the review is tl;dr, here's the most important bit from the last paragraph:
"...the film’s greatest strength is its characters, both in their appearance and mannerisms, with Hiroki Narimiya presenting a Phoenix Wright that is a humorous and cunning as his video game counterpart. In fact, all the characters within the film are greatly reflective upon their video game characters, which is an approach that practically anyone can appreciate given what the film is based upon. Takashi certainly understands the source material, which is always great to see when adapting popular culture into film. In the end though, Ace Attorney is a film that is a pleasure to watch mainly because it remains faithful to its source material, enveloping the viewer into a world only once visualized through a tiny, video game screen, which not too many other films other than this have done quite as successfully."
Plot!
There really isn't much for me to spoil for Ace Attorney gamers - that's how faithful this adaptation is - but to put it in terms of the game, the movie very briefly touches on Cases 1 and 3 in order to set up the world and its characters, while making Cases 2 and 4 its main focus. Some minor characters were removed for the sake of time (*cough* April May & random bellhop *cough*), but it didn't affect the flow of the movie at all.
Key Characters!
PHOENIX WRIGHT
I squealed like an idiot when Narumiya came up as Phoenix. That hair! That dry, sarcastic sense of humour! That floundering in court! "Hold it!" "Take that!" In particular, I love that Takashi-sensei has evidence presented in the form of holograms (that blueish thing up there? yeah. that's a hologram), so Phoenix can a) slam his hands on the desk for the actual purpose of bringing up a hologram screen, b) literally fling a whole hologram screen at the witness while screaming "TAKE THAT!" at the top of his voice.
MILES EDGEWORTH
Saito Takumi is a god. No srsly. I've loved this man ever since he played Oshitari in Tenimyu, but here he is, playing my favourite purple-loving, cravat-fluttering prosecutor. Admittedly, Edgeworth could be a little more broad-shouldered, but hey, Takumi makes a hot enough Edgeworth for me. Also, CRAVAT. Bonus: Steel Samurai ftw.
MIA FEY / MAYA FEY
Ah, the Fey sisters. ♥ Just like Phoenix's hair, they could probably stab someone's eyes out with all that hardened gel in their wigs, but I do so love the stylish over-the-top cosplay look all the characters have. My only complaint is that Maya isn't quite as adorably perky as she usually is in the games. I guess Takashi-sensei wanted Maya to fit the overall grave atmosphere of the movie, but she came off a little off to me.
DETECTIVE GUMSHOE
Like Edgeworth, I expected Detective Gumshoe to look a little older and wider at the shoulders, but Daito Shunsuke pulls off a very cute Gumshoe (complete with fawning adoration of Edgeworth as per the game) so I think it works!
LARRY BUTZ
Akiyoshi Nakao as Larry is perfect; in other words, he makes me want to repeatedly slap a palm across my forehead. Gamers, you know I mean that in a completely positive way lol.
MANFRED VON KARMA
Ishibashi Ryo looks like a kindly old grandpa who's just having a somewhat uncomfortable bout of constipation. xD; But he does make an intimidating presence when he actually stands in the courtroom, so very much yes.
LOTTA HART / JUDGE
HAIR. BEARD. NO OTHER WORDS NECESSARY.
FAVE SCENES in no particular order...
1) Channeling:
Interestingly, Takashi-sensei chose to make channeling a little different from the games. In the games, a spirit that has been channeled will talk and act as though he/she were alive again, so the spirit medium is literally a body for the spirit to fill, before the spirit takes over completely. In the movie, spirit channeling seems to be a little more similar to a possession, wherein the spirit shows up in form, but only utters scant phrases and vanishes right away. I guess one could argue that Takashi-sensei wanted to show us Maya's insufficient training as a spirit medium, though I would have liked to see the game's version of channeling.
2) Verdict: NOT GUILTY
The huge holographic kanji plus confetti and audience cheering. FAITHFUL Y/Y.
3) KIDS:
My white van is ready-- I mean.
4) Phoenix asks a dumbass question and the aftermath of everyone collapsing in shock:
It kills me that Edgeworth collapsed too, before he slowly pulled himself up with that brilliant 'wtf' expression. Only Phoenix can get such a violent reaction out of him. /adjusts tin-hat
5) OTP forever stfu:
Childhood friends. Phoenix becomes a defense attorney because Edgeworth saves him with his l33t lawyer skillz, they meet again as opponents in court, then it's Phoenix's turn to save Edgeworth - literally and figuratively and physically and emotionally and-- er, you get the picture. Just look at the way Edgeworth smiles at him, all happy and proud. And that "give it to me" smirk in court, which Phoenix gayly returns in kind. Yes, I totally meant that one, and I don't regret it one bit.
6) Just because:
Taking out the guitar is not enough. No.
Miles Edgeworth STRUMS it.
Something about that makes me spit-take in the best way possible.
7) After Phoenix, Edgeworth and Maya find out who stole the class money:
Face reactions omg crying
MAYA: （ー△ー；）
PHOENIX: (ﾉД`)ヽ(ﾟДﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ)/(Дヾ)
EDGEWORTH: (￣ ￣)………
There are so many more game references that I'll leave you to discover for yourself - and probably more that I haven't caught - so clearly it's time for me to re-watch the movie five more times.
What are you waiting for?
PLAY THE GAME. WATCH THE MOVIE. THEN PLAY THE GAME AGAIN.
[edit]
Great article on the justice system in Japan, related to Ace Attorney games.