逆転裁判
Takashi Miike, 2012
We all have distinct
memories of movie watching from our childhood. For me, going down to the
Morwell Video Ezy and renting the Super Mario Brothers movie with my brother,
seeing the CGI created Final Fantasy movie at the cinema and renting the
Resident Evil movie in the early days of DVD are but a few of which there are
probably enough to write a nostalgic book full of in-jokes that would never
find an audience. But what do these aforementioned films all have in common and
why am I mentioning them? If you answered, "They're all films adapted from
video games" you'd be right. But if you answered "They're all SHIT
films adapted from video games" you'd be double right. (except maybe the
Mario Bros. movie which does have a certain "it's so bad it's good"
element to it. DENNIS HOPPER AS BOWSER??)
Since the early 90s, film makers have tried, failed and failed again at the seemingly impossible task: Adapting a video game for the screen. It's almost like a curse. Video games just have a completely different, dare I say deeper? ability to immerse. While the film-goer simply watches a film, the gamer must participate, explore and interact. Sure, you can watch someone else play, but we all know how boring that is.
Takashi Miike is often described as a "prolific" director, which I guess stems from the fact that he has proven he can actually do anything. From Samurai period dramas to musicals, to some of the most sadistically violent stuff I've ever seen on a screen. So really it makes perfect sense that he would direct the film version of Capcom's Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney, a court room video game series for Nintendo DS, of which there are now five games. Court room drama. That's been done right? You can hardly turn on the TV without seeing SVU or NCIS or CSI or some other stupid abbreviation full of people clutching their mochas and calling each other by their last names. Sure, it's been done to death, never like this though.
The premise is simple enough. Two lawyers go head to head in a fast-tracked trial system in which a verdict is reached in three days. Rookie attorney Phoenix Wright ends up having to defend his childhood friend/rival Miles Edgeworth who becomes involved in a murder case. It soon becomes clear that it goes much deeper than this, as an old case is re-opened and a conspiracy dating back fifteen years is uncovered.
Ace Attorney could easily have been done as an animated film, but that would have been the easy way out. Miike has managed to create a live action world that is completely cartoon at the same time. Remaining completely faithful to the source material was clearly the best approach to take, and in many ways, the video game has simply been transposed from pixels to film. The film more or less follows the case exactly as it unfolds in the game, elements of the original soundtrack have been given the orchestral treatment, and the costumes and art direction is an absolute triumph. It's like Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy crossed with Tim Burton put through an anime machine and then reversed back into real life. The art department would have had a field day working on this film. Outrageous hairstyles including but not limited to gravity defying quiffs, mohawks and afros, garish and opulent costumes that evoke both Victorian era excess AND Austin Powers. The cast seems to be divided between hip young models turned actors with impossibly perfect skin and older character actors, all of whom inhabit these cartoon characters with fine skill. From washed up rockstar to pet cockatoo, as these lawyers continue to call witnesses, it becomes quite exciting to see who the next outrageous character will be. The sets are also something to behold. You can really tell the film was given quite a budget, as everything has a certain sheen to it, whether it be the courtroom, prison cells or candy coloured lakeside, with the camerawork gliding elegantly throughout these hyperstylised locations and around its characters.
However this kind of restrained, classical cinematography is often interrupted with fast and furious editing techniques and visual effects that would give Edgar Wright a run for his money. The literal translation of the film's Japanese title Gyakuten Saiban is something along the lines of quick turnaround trial, this title more accurately reflects the absurd speed at which every aspect of the film is turned on its head. Edits and camera angles jump back and forth, characters fall off their chairs in disbelief, and crucial evidence is magically discovered just when its needed, and then proceeded to be thrown in each other's faces (via holographic screens of course). On top of all this, the film is absolutely hilarious. Between the slapstick comedy and absurdist Japanese humour there were moments when the sold out crowd were laughing so much the actors' lines couldn't even be heard.
Ace Attorney was the first Japanese film I saw at MIFF 2012, and already I can't imagine anything topping it. We are off to a roaring start, but time will tell of course. This was the most fun I've had at the movies in a long time. People will complain that it's too long, but I loved every minute of it. Even if you have never played the video games before (I hadn’t) it won’t matter. The film manages to transcend the label of video game adaptation and ends up being just a damn entertaining film. Takashi Miike just may have broken the curse of the video game adaptation film.
Since the early 90s, film makers have tried, failed and failed again at the seemingly impossible task: Adapting a video game for the screen. It's almost like a curse. Video games just have a completely different, dare I say deeper? ability to immerse. While the film-goer simply watches a film, the gamer must participate, explore and interact. Sure, you can watch someone else play, but we all know how boring that is.
Takashi Miike is often described as a "prolific" director, which I guess stems from the fact that he has proven he can actually do anything. From Samurai period dramas to musicals, to some of the most sadistically violent stuff I've ever seen on a screen. So really it makes perfect sense that he would direct the film version of Capcom's Pheonix Wright: Ace Attorney, a court room video game series for Nintendo DS, of which there are now five games. Court room drama. That's been done right? You can hardly turn on the TV without seeing SVU or NCIS or CSI or some other stupid abbreviation full of people clutching their mochas and calling each other by their last names. Sure, it's been done to death, never like this though.
The premise is simple enough. Two lawyers go head to head in a fast-tracked trial system in which a verdict is reached in three days. Rookie attorney Phoenix Wright ends up having to defend his childhood friend/rival Miles Edgeworth who becomes involved in a murder case. It soon becomes clear that it goes much deeper than this, as an old case is re-opened and a conspiracy dating back fifteen years is uncovered.
Ace Attorney could easily have been done as an animated film, but that would have been the easy way out. Miike has managed to create a live action world that is completely cartoon at the same time. Remaining completely faithful to the source material was clearly the best approach to take, and in many ways, the video game has simply been transposed from pixels to film. The film more or less follows the case exactly as it unfolds in the game, elements of the original soundtrack have been given the orchestral treatment, and the costumes and art direction is an absolute triumph. It's like Warren Beatty's Dick Tracy crossed with Tim Burton put through an anime machine and then reversed back into real life. The art department would have had a field day working on this film. Outrageous hairstyles including but not limited to gravity defying quiffs, mohawks and afros, garish and opulent costumes that evoke both Victorian era excess AND Austin Powers. The cast seems to be divided between hip young models turned actors with impossibly perfect skin and older character actors, all of whom inhabit these cartoon characters with fine skill. From washed up rockstar to pet cockatoo, as these lawyers continue to call witnesses, it becomes quite exciting to see who the next outrageous character will be. The sets are also something to behold. You can really tell the film was given quite a budget, as everything has a certain sheen to it, whether it be the courtroom, prison cells or candy coloured lakeside, with the camerawork gliding elegantly throughout these hyperstylised locations and around its characters.
However this kind of restrained, classical cinematography is often interrupted with fast and furious editing techniques and visual effects that would give Edgar Wright a run for his money. The literal translation of the film's Japanese title Gyakuten Saiban is something along the lines of quick turnaround trial, this title more accurately reflects the absurd speed at which every aspect of the film is turned on its head. Edits and camera angles jump back and forth, characters fall off their chairs in disbelief, and crucial evidence is magically discovered just when its needed, and then proceeded to be thrown in each other's faces (via holographic screens of course). On top of all this, the film is absolutely hilarious. Between the slapstick comedy and absurdist Japanese humour there were moments when the sold out crowd were laughing so much the actors' lines couldn't even be heard.
Ace Attorney was the first Japanese film I saw at MIFF 2012, and already I can't imagine anything topping it. We are off to a roaring start, but time will tell of course. This was the most fun I've had at the movies in a long time. People will complain that it's too long, but I loved every minute of it. Even if you have never played the video games before (I hadn’t) it won’t matter. The film manages to transcend the label of video game adaptation and ends up being just a damn entertaining film. Takashi Miike just may have broken the curse of the video game adaptation film.
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