REVIEW: Akira:Redux

Still posting the old reviews. This one was from an Incredible Film Festival screening back in 2002. Nowdays, the IFF is part of the Auckland International Film Festival, but back then it was a month-long parade of cinematic oddities. And, cult classics like this one...

I'm going to level with you right off the bat, dear Reader. I didn't totally understand this film, and it was my second viewing of it. Blame the fact that its's a Japanese film, I guess... there's so much about that country I don't get. (Their fascination with large men slapping the buggery out of each other, for one. The way Japanese girls automatically make the Peace Sign when you point a camera at them. And the fact that to sell products, people put English on the labels... but never consult an English-speaking person first! Results: "Enjoy sparkling goodness with friend today!"... that kind of thing...)

However, despite some of the films plot zooming over my head like a jet plane, I can report that my $12 ticket was well worth the expenditure. Incredible visuals, amazing sound and a hell of a venue! Roll on the rest of the Incredible film Fest! Who needs sleep? But, for now, here's a brief-ish journal of my thoughts on;

AKIRA: REDUX

First and foremost, I was looking forward to this film as it was the first time I had seen a film in the fully restored and refurbished Civic Theatre. This picture palace had been built back in 1929 and has been a part of Auckland's central business district ever since. It was here in the 30's that dancer Frieda Stark caused major scandals (And sold tons of tickets) by dancing while wearing nothing but gold paint. She also ditched her lover to move in with a woman, causing even more tight-mouthed moralists to turn their eyes heavenward and swoon. Sex, drugs and red-hot jazz, folks! Sadly, the Civic was becoming very shabby by the 1980's. Its former nightclub, the Wintergarden had been converted into a second cinema in 1975, while the main cinema was becoming more and more run-down. A journalist doing a story actually fll through a hole in the floor of the stalls!

Enter actor Sam Neil. His loving documentary "The Mighty Civic" was screened on national television, and probably saved the Civic from destruction. It certainly helped pave to way for the Auckland City Council to classify the building as part of the Historic Trust. (And pony up the restoration money.) Two years of reconstruction wark later, the Civic and Wintergarden were re-opened, restored to their former glory. These days, it hosts plays, premieres and special events... such as the Becks Incredible Film Fest!

I was second in the door, having pre-brought a ticket last week. (No, I'm not an anime fanboy, I just hate waiting in line for tickets...) The Civic is designed to look like a Turkish places' courtyard, with towering buildings encicling you.

The stage had been moved forward since my last visit, meaning the seats I sat in as I watched "The Return Of The Jedi" for the first time are consigned to history. (Front row, right of center.) The twin lions I loved so much as a kid used to stand on either side of the stage are now positioned right next to the front row of seats. (I had a strange urge to go and touch them, but that might have seemed wierd. Maybe during the midnight marathon... geez, I'm getting all nostalgic here...)

The best part of the restoration... the screen, once a distant rectangle at the rear of the stage, was now a mammoth drop-in affair. (Literally four times larger than it had been last time I was there.) I scored a slightly right-of center seat a dozens rows back and settled in. This was the test. In eight days I would be in one of these seats for TEN hours! (My results today suggest a stretch and a walk every ninty minutes or so might save me some back and neck strain the next day. Not much head support...)

With the theatre nearly half-full (Meaning, 250+... not bad for a "cult" film... A nice cross-section, too... groups, pony-tailed sci-fi fans, old and young, even a few families!) tThe Civic showed it's flair for the dramatic, with the lights taking almost a full minute to fade out. As they did, the "stars" came out above us. Thousands of tiny lights in the ceiling slowly illuminate, giving the impression that dusk has faded into night. Loved it as a kid, love it now...

Oh, right... the movie!

Technically, the new version is incredible. The print was crystal clear, without a scratch or flicker throughout. The audio was doubly amazing, with digital surround sound that practically left you ducking in case you were tagged by a stray ricochet during the gunfights. It was also loud. Like, LOUD. Second loudest flick I've seen, after a "Hey-This-Dial-Goes-To-11" sceening of "Face/Off" in a multiplex... The voice acting is uniformly good, although a few odd lines I thought were mistranslations were still around with the new, more accurate script.

As my "blow-by-blow" reviews are done with the luxury of a rewind button and a notepad, my actual thoughts on "Akira' will be done using the badmovies.org "What I Learned From This Film" system. (With apologies to Andrew B, although I'm sure he won't mind.)

What I Learned From "Akira" (In no particular order)

Tokyo gets destroyed on a regular basis. If it aint Godzilla, it's the damn scientists!

Bike gangs of 2019 are either have sponsers, or Our Hero just really like stickers.

Neo-Tokyo: Tall buildings, neon lights, street gangs. Not much has changed, then?

Except they're importing student rioters from Korea...

Painting your face like a clown doesn't make you look like a badd-ass biker.

There's always one fashion victim in every gang. Lose the tie, man...

Never trust a kid who looks like an extra from "Day Of The Dead"

Or the Zombie-fied Paul Williams, for that matter.

Neo-Tokyo cops train in South Central LA, apparently.

Fragmentation grenades make great comic relief props.

Except the ones with 3-minute fuuses, that is...

Neo-Tokyo physical education teachers are ALSO legally entitled to beat the crap out of people.

There are no innocent bystanders in Neo-Toyko

Diving into raw sewerage will not, repeat, NOT impress a girl.

Neither will firing a chain-gun in her genral direction.

Cuddly toys can be creepy if you're hallucinating.

Occasionally, a scene set in space is rightfully shown in total silence!

In the event of a catstrophic fireball engulfing your city, seek shelter in a tunnel. (See also "Independence Day")

If a kid who can destroy walls with the power of his mind tells you to step aside, DO IT!

Final Thought: Tell me those weren't Akiras' testicles floating in that jar?