MovieChat Forums > WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 (2002) Discussion > Just had the chance to see this yesterda...

Just had the chance to see this yesterday...

posted 20 years ago by pogo_sport
8 replies | jump to latest

I saw this yesterday and I must say this was an example of a superior Anime movie production. The storyline was pretty put together, the characters really draw you in and the animation was very beautiful. The musical score was also very good, kind of mysterious just as the previous Patlabor movie. The first Patlabor movie was good, the second better and this one proves to be better than the last. I wasn't too hot on the actual Patlabor series, but the movies haven't disappointed me thus far. If you are into a sophisticated anime, give Patlabor the Movie 3 a look.

[–] Pearl_Chilled_Blue 20 years ago

I love Anime and consider Ghost in the Shell to be an all time favourite. I was in Malaysia when I saw Patlabor 3 on VCD, quite by chance. I haven't been able to watch it, but I finally sat my butt down yesterday to give it a go. I have the previous two Patlabors on DVD and the second one has animation that rivals GITS. However, this one kind of disappointed me since it was based more on Bioweapons and techonology. It was more to do with a monster running havok instead of plots based on machines.

I do agree, the animation is incredible, but I think the second is more superior.

[–] pogo_sport 20 years ago

Pearl_Chilled_Blue,
It's funny you should say that. My girlfriend said something similar to your response. The bioweapons thing was close to home and the plot was damn near spectacular. The Patlabor movies seem to really be excelling. Glad someone other than me commented on this movie, I didn't think anyone else saw it!

[–] Pearl_Chilled_Blue 20 years ago

ha ha ha! Wonder what does that say for us women?

I AM curious to see what the TV series of Patlabor was like. I hear they only did 7 or 8 episodes.

[–] wayne-196 20 years ago

Maybe its just me.

The one overwhelming thing that all of the Patlabor movies seem to share in common is a very slow build-up into the story.

I mean, I actually caught myself thinking "jeez, this is so boring". Then I remembered I was watching a Patlabor movie, and I was okay with it.

Funny thing, for a movie about "Labors" you hardly see any. You don't even see any of the Patlabors until an hour and a half into the thing.

I'll still give it 3 stars out of 5, though.

[–] theasikkala 18 years ago

I AM curious to see what the TV series of Patlabor was like. I hear they only did 7 or 8 episodes.

That's the first OVA. The actual anime has 47 episodes. There's also a "post-OVA" but I can't recall the number of episodes in that.

[–] stark-1 12 years ago

16. Four of which wrap up the main plot of the TV series. The others are little stories that take place at moments during the series.

[–] noface42 19 years ago

Oshii wasn't the director on this one, and I think it really shows. Endo and Takayama try to emulate his style, which they accomplsih to some effect, but what they can't capture is the deep philosiphy, psychology, and symbolism that he puts into all of his films so meticulously. Without that, this film is just mostly slow-moving without anything in return.

Unlike Patlabor 2, the pay-off never really comes in this movie, as you get a rather unresolved ending coupled with an unimpressive and anti-climactic fight sequence. The deliberate, slow pacing creates the illusion that there is some sort of meaning behind the plot to this one, but it is simply in style with no substance. Just because a movie is slow doesn't make it smart.

Also, the Patlabor series and movies were always very character-driven, so it was dissapointing to see all of the original characters pretty much ignored in this film. The two detectives had potential to be interesting characters themselves, but the feeling I was left with was "Why bother making this 'Patlabor' at all? You could have easily changed the giant robot designs, took out the quick character cameos, and this could have been a totally independant movie..."

Overall, not terrible, but it certainly doesn't live up to its predecessor. I didn't expect it to, but it could've been a tad bit more interesting than this.

I'm just angry they didn't release the MiniPato parody seperately.... Now I'll have to buy the special edition of this if I want to see it.... hmm....

[–] emasterslake 17 years ago

Yeah, the 2 detectives having the main spot light made this movie not feel like a Patlabor movie at all. I was a little satisfied that they did show the guys from Second Division, and that they still exsist in the Patlabor world.

If this was a Oshii directed movie, then it have the exact level as the first 2.