Vexille (aka: Bekushiru: 2077 Nihon sakoku) — dvd movie review — early!
Director: Fumihiko Sori
Genre: Japan, action, action, sci-fi
Release Date: May 27, 2008
As interested as I was in watching Baldr Force EXE, I was completely ambivalent about Vexille. I’d seen the ads on all the geek sites, but its comparisons to Appleseed weren’t winning me over. You see, to be completely honest, I’m not that big a fan of CG animation. I’ve not bothered to see either of the Appleseed CG movies, and while I have checked out the Final Fantasy CG films, they didn’t grab me in anything more than a cursory “that looks nice” fashion. Both the films I saw had stories that were a bit off, and the action sequences, while impressive, suffered from wonky movement and world-physics, distracting me from every sequence I saw. This all lead me to believe that CG wasn’t a viable solution for anything truly awe-inspiring in the realm of animated action sequences. Boy was I mistaken. Vexille is a total blast, wholly entertaining from start to finish, and featuring set-piece upon stellar set-piece of awesome sci-fi action.
Set in a near-future of biotechnology gone wrong, the tale of Vexille sees a world where advancements in robotics and AI technology have opened the possibilities of actual human/robotic hybrids (kinda cyborgs, but less obvious). Citing ethical concerns, the UN deems all research into the area off-limits. Japan, seeing an ocean of untapped potential in the field, falls back on its historic policy of national isolationism. Withdrawing from the UN, the country sets up an electromagnetic shield around itself, snuffing out all international communication and allowing them to pursue their research unfettered. Flash forward 10 years. A series of political incidents have lead the world to suspect Japan has perfected unsanctioned and illegal android technologies. However, Japan’s isolated state disallows any hope for verification. Enter SWORD, an American special forces team tasked with infiltrating the Japanese continent, and sending a transmission from behind the electromagnetic curtain. As luck would have it, their mission goes horribly awry, leaving team member Vexille the only agent left unscathed. Caught behind enemy lines, Vexille discovers a Japan plagued by a bio-technological virus, unleashed upon the populace by power hungry corporations and corrupt 
government officials. Teaming up with a rebel faction, Vexille sets about reporting the state of the nation, and helping the Japanese people to right their robotic wrong.
In terms of raw visual appeal, Vexille is nothing short of amazing. Action is fluid and complete convincing, absent of the usual wonky physics and marionette-work of similar cg action films. The cell-shading technique the film employs is more like a three-dimensional rotoscoping than simple bordering of 3-D elements, allowing a subtle blend of concrete reality and anime action excess. In many places it reminded me of the Metal Gear series, with its adherence to real world physical constraints, while at the same time introducing a set of fantastical, yet somehow believable dangers. Mechanical animations (ie: those involving mechanized suits, cars, and robotic menaces) are completely stunning, intricately detailed down to every hinge, hose, piston and screw. These are like the animated CAD drawings of some crazed mechanical engineer. And finally, the characters themselves have a genuinely cool look to them. Aside from the lead, Vexille, who sports an unfortunate Goku-spiky hairdo, all the characters have a decidedly real appearance, furthering the rotoscoped sensibility mentioned above.
But Vexille is not just about visuals. The story’s surprisingly good as well. Building off of current political and ethical concerns, from current perceptions and fears of Japan’s increased nationalism to those regarding stem-cell research, the tale of political oppression and robotic dangers is afforded a strong sense of reality. Granted, some of these things aren’t explored as in depth as they could be (it is a sci-fi action picture after all), but the points of reference they provide add a number of layers onto what could otherwise be a relatively simple storyline. Music too, was a welcome addition, featuring hits from both Paul Oakenfold and dreamlogic fave, M.I.A..
In the end, I was quite surprised by Vexille. Its visual appeal got me in the door, while its story got me to stay. This is one film I’m watching again.
The DVD
There’s nothing really to review as far as supplemental material on this disc. The video is crisp and clear, and the audio very nice. The disc is affordably priced, and given the quality of the film fully warrants a pick-up.
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