Appleseed Saga: Ex Machina (2008)

80% of users liked it
(4,282 ratings)

Veteran action filmmaker John Woo produces this sequel to the 2004 film Appleseed. Partners both at home and on the battlefield, Deunan, a young but skillful warrior, and Briareos, an experienced cyborg soldier, protect the utopian city of Olympus, where the last of humanity dwells in peace… More Veteran action filmmaker John Woo produces this sequel to the 2004 film Appleseed. Partners both at home and on the battlefield, Deunan, a young but skillful warrior, and Briareos, an experienced cyborg soldier, protect the utopian city of Olympus, where the last of humanity dwells in peace following a war that's killed off the rest of the world's population. As members of the elite police squad E.S.W.A.T., they take their orders from Gaia, an artificial intelligence that governs the city through the use of biologically engineered humanoids called Bioroids. Trouble stirs when Gaia engineers a new member for E.S.W.A.T. based on Briareos' DNA. The new team member, Tereus, looks and acts eerily like the old Briaros, before so much of his body was replaced with robotics following the war. Even more disconcerting, Tereus seems to have the same feelings as Briareos for Deunan! ~ Cammila Albertson, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 44 min.
Directed By: Shinji Aramaki
Written By: Masamune Shirow
Genres: Action & Adventure, Animation, Art House & International, Science Fiction & Fantasy

In Theaters: Oct 20, 2007 Wide
On DVD: Mar 11, 2008
Studio: Toei Company

Critic Reviews

Anton Bitel, Eye for Film
Amidst all this sequel's state-of-the-art 3D visuals and technological obsessions is a quest for the human beyond (or at least within) the machine.
Sean Axmaker, MSN.com
... you can feel [John Woo's] presence in the two-handed gun battles, slow-motion acrobatics, and spent shell casings waterfalling to the ground.
Keith Uhlich, UGO
It's the minor details that impress more than the high falutin' ones.
James O'Ehley, Sci-Fi Movie Page
Uses 3D computer graphics to replicate a 2D animated look and feel - whatever will they think of next?
Felix Vasquez Jr., Cinema Crazed
When you're done oohing and aahing at the animation, it's still as tedious, empty, and boring as the first film...

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Featured Audience Ratings

Justin Y

Shinji Aramaki successfully follows up Appleseed, with Appleseed: Ex Machina.While seen as a continuation of its predecessor, it is possible to view this installment without having seen the first. The story is more or less standalone,… More
Shinji Aramaki successfully follows up Appleseed, with Appleseed: Ex Machina.While seen as a continuation of its predecessor, it is possible to view this installment without having seen the first. The story is more or less standalone, but the buildup for the existing characters and futuristic setting is nearly non existent in this one. This is where Appleseed comes in to play.The 1 hour 40+ minutes is an appropriate time as this film delivers everything it needs to. The story is interesting and heavy on the science fiction, while the the Japanese voice work is a positive.The action seen throughout the picture has John Woo's signature all over it. Guns are a blazing and bullet casings are dropping all over the place. It is definitely fun to watch.Visually this film gets high praise. Japanese animation already looks good, but turn it into CG, render it to look like cel shading, and it all dazzles the eyes.Overall, Appleseed: Ex Machina has little in the way of disappointments and is a compliment to the Japanese animation genre.
xGary X

The Appleseed saga continues as Deunan and cyborg sidekick Briareos are joined by a bioroid created from his genetic template and fight to prevent an evil scientist from taking control of the entire population with an insidious communications device. The first Appleseed film was a… More
The Appleseed saga continues as Deunan and cyborg sidekick Briareos are joined by a bioroid created from his genetic template and fight to prevent an evil scientist from taking control of the entire population with an insidious communications device. The first Appleseed film was a visual feast that perfectly captured the essence of the Manga it was based upon. The story here is rather predictable and derivative, involving the usual stereotypical mad scientist having megalomaniacal designs on the human race, but it was never really the plot that the original was all about. This sequel obviously concentrated on upgrading the visuals, and they are a lot slicker and more up to date than the originals; but that does not necessarily mean that they are "better". Everything has a glossy sheen on it that lacks the gritty, dark style that made it so good, and they manage to make it look more like a cut scene from a Final Fantasy game rather than less. The action sequences are far less intense and exciting as a result, and the simplistic characterisation means there is little in the way of emotional involvement. There's still some gorgeous images and fantastic manga-style production design, but as a whole it's another case of a franchise becoming a glossy shadow of its former self.
_kelly .

I prefer the story of Ex Machina to the 2004 Appleseed, but it does require you to have prior knowledge of the characters in order to enjoy and feel the emotional components of the story (which drive it more than mere plot incidents). You will still get the visual stun, but I… More
I prefer the story of Ex Machina to the 2004 Appleseed, but it does require you to have prior knowledge of the characters in order to enjoy and feel the emotional components of the story (which drive it more than mere plot incidents). You will still get the visual stun, but I don't know how well a new viewer can cope with the character details in Ex Machina as I saw both versions of the first Appleseed and was one of the anxious awaities when Ex Machina came out. I was not at all disappointed. This is visually astonishing and the character development runs VERY deep if you have seen the '04 film. A must see for any scifi, action, or animation fans. This is the new standard for CG film. There are a few hiccups, but I'll need to rewatch before I can compile a list of complaints.
Fascade F

Incredible sci-fi anime pic that is once again unforgettable...thanks to the participation of John Woo. Pick this up only if you are a Sci Fi Anime fan.
Jonny C

Not as good as the first one, but still a decent enough action movie. I found the story and dialogue a little corny, and I wasn't impressed with the animation the second time round, having been blown away by the first one.
Donna D

Wow! The computer technology for animation is very high tech in this amazing CGI movie. Pretty cool movie.