Label: MVM
Release date: 11th May 2009
Certificate: 12
Discs: 1.
Running time: 90 mins approx + extras
Video: Widescreen 1.78:1 Anamorphic
Sound: Japanese 5.1
Subtitles: English.
RRP: £15.99
Brief synopsis:
To the untrained eye Honey Kisaragi seems to be your normal, run of the mill, cute but ditzy office temp who likes nothing better than to spend her days off hanging around the house all day in her underwear. But when duty calls and evil threatens Honey Kisaragi transforms into “Cutie Honey”, a super powered, self-proclaimed “Warrior of Love” intent on defeating the evil Panther Claw gang and avenging her father’s murder. The evil and amoral Sister Jill, the mastermind behind the Panther Claw gang, has her eyes set on our heroine and will do anything to get her hands on the secret of Honey’s “I-System”, a mysterious necklace that allows Honey to transform into any kind of heroine that she so desires. Initially hunted by, then reluctantly assisted by, hard boiled female police detective, Natsuko Aki, Honey’s going to need all the help she can get as Sister Jill sends her strongest, wiliest and craziest lieutenants to take her on face to face. But when her beloved Uncle is kidnapped, Honey decides it’s time to take the fight directly into heart of Panther Claw territory and thwart their evil schemes once and for all.
Comments:
First things first; If you’re expecting a dark and serious adaptation of a comic book superhero much like those we’ve being seeing so much of in recent years, much in the vein of Superman Returns or The Punisher, you’re going to very disappointed as this is not an movie that takes itself too seriously. In fact it takes itself so far from seriously the very word “serious” may not have been uttered even the once by anyone, at any point, during the whole filming process. Case in point, the movie starts off with the heroine in a big soapy bath and then, for reasons I won’t go into (because to be honest they don’t really matter), moves swiftly onto her running along the high street in just her underwear and a craftily tailored bin bag. Shakespeare this certainly isn’t, but to be fair, it never claimed that it was.
Director Hideaki Anno (yes, that Hideaki Anno, the very same writer & director behind total mind-screw anime Neon Genesis Evangelion) is known for creating the kind of production that primarily excites and interests him personally and as such is just as well known for infuriating his audiences as he is for enthralling them. The aforementioned Evangelion is probably the best know example of this as it left him just as vilified as it did lauded amongst the anime community. However, what Anno is trying to bring to the screen here is more in line with camp old spy comedies from the 60’s & 70’s, unashamedly OTT super-hero shows such as Power Rangers and the more madcap of western outings such as The Monkees or the Austin Powers series than his previous head-twisters.
So, with this in mind, I’ve got to say that this movie succeeds quite amiably and, while I’m not a fan of the mahou shoujo (magical girl) or costumed hero genres and was initially quite sceptical about this offering, I found myself happily laughing away at the sheer camp silliness of it all less than ten minutes in. There’s many an instance of both sides, the good guys and bad guys, prancing about in ridiculously over the top costumes overacting their way through their laughably camp and silly lines whilst performing flashy faux kung-fu moves that would make the Power Rangers green with envy. One of the evil henchmen even goes so far as to break into a full song and dance number part way through his final fight with our heroine, though I have to admit I was quite glad when Cutie Honey put an end to that… permanently. There are several scenes that are essentially just shout-outs to fans of the Japanese superhero and magical girl genres, such as the five minute Baywatch style musical interlude where the heroine parades around in various “Cutie Honey” outfits, the obligatory half naked transformation sequence and the sheer number of Japanese celebrities making cameo appearances.
The production swings at times from deliberately cheesy to impressively high tech. While many modern movies would rely solely on CGI for their effects, Cutie Honey often employs age-old methods such as blowing up scale models of major cities or throwing the stars over parked cars using trampolines. That’s not to say there’s no CGI involved, as there’s plenty of it, much of which is actually quite impressive. There was also an entirely new filming technique created just for this film involving a mixture of live action and anime style animation that makes for some very distinctive fight scenes. Of course no Japanese superhero story would be complete without Tokyo getting trashed (which it does) some lovely ladies to look at (the two lead actresses are both ex-models and extremely easy on the eye) and the heroes saving the day (was there ever any doubt?) through the power of Love, Justice & Friendship.
In closing, if you come to this show expecting the gravitas of Watchmen or Batman Begins then you’re going to be wasting your time. However, as long as you take this movie for what it really is, that being a fun and silly little romp though the magical girl genre full of pizzazz and fluffy eye candy, then you’re going to be just fine
Extras:
There’s a stills gallery, a selection of original trailers and TV spots for Cutie Honey, a trailer for the live action adaptation of Osamu Tezuka’s Dororo and a quite extensive 20-minute “Making of…” featurette. Also, I’m not sure if this really counts as an “extra” but the DVD, the cover and even the DVD case itself are very, very pink.
Cutie Honey will be available on DVD from most online and high street retailers including Amazon
Reviewer: Penfold