Summer Wars

I'm sorry I have no pictures at this time, I'm kinda bootleg posting this from my phone at the moment (computer is awaiting it's graphics card to come back from the "shop") and I wanted to get this review up pronto, while the film is still fresh in my mind.

"But George!" you may be saying, "This is a site for game news/reviews! Surely you can't deviate!"

Well you're wrong, and I will. Mostly when I post it's something that draws me strong enough that it inspires me to put keystrokes to a pseudo-word processor and write, and this is definitely no exception.

Before I launch completely into this, be forewarned. This is an anime, but I believe it stands up to any modern live-action movie made in any of the recent years. As far as animated features, this movie stirred me more than Toy Story 3, but more on that in a minute.

Where to start...I guess with a synopsis.

The movie takes place during what is either intended as an alternate version of the present, or a relatively close future. The Internet (and computer technology) is so important and integrated into everything that there is a whole virtual world dedicated to hosting a few billion user accounts worldwide. This world handles everything from phone calls and text messages, to online gaming, it even handles online transactions. It's a mainframe built on top of the original internet, that utilizes it much like an MMO does, and it's security is supposedly unbreakable.

As the movie starts, a teen girl offers a teen boy a summer job. She says it will be simple, and after a little convicing he agrees to go along with it, without even knowing what he's in for. She asks him to come with her for her grandmother's 90th birthday celebration. When they arrive she introduces him as her fiancée, which--of course--he plays along with despite much protesting. On the first night of his stay, he receives an email with nothing but numbers. He's a math whiz, so he stays up the whole night and cracks the code. What he doesn't realize is that he starts a chain of events that endanger the very world.

To avoid spoiling any more (basically the first 15 minutes of the movie, which I believe are included in the actual description of the movie), I'll cut right down to it. This movie is amazing. Whether or not you like anime, this is something that anyone can enjoy. I know for a fact that it won at least one Sundance award.

With Internet culture the way it is today, with everyone being plugged in via cellphones and computers, the movie is very easy to identify with. The message that it sends about the Internet culture is shockingly chilling as well, yet it doesn't smash you over the head with it a dozen times; it merely whispers the message every so often, to the point where you barely grasp it.

But this film isn't only about the internet. It also features family as a strong centralized theme throughout the movie. The main family that is introduced is full of quirky characters, all of which help to tie the story together closer.
The movie reminds me a lot of the game/anime series .hack//, which is probably why it resonates so much with me, that being a game series that I obsessed over for a bit. It uses elements such as the Internet going so haywire that it wrecks society, even for a little bit of time. It--very chillingly might I add again--cautions us on our dependence on the web.

I'm going to go one step further and reveal something that will make me hand over my Man Card to the authorities. This movie is one of the very few movies that has ever made me cry. The last one was Toy Story 3, and I can't really remember any prior to that. I'm the type of person who forced himself not to cry during his grandmother's funeral, and would rather do almost anything other than admit that I cried. This movie was so powerful near the end that I literally couldn't hold anything in. My eyes started stinging, and then it was game over.

But you know what? I don't take that as a sign of weakness. Rather, I see this as the movie being so powerful that it actually broke a boundary that normally isn't crossed. Now--I'm easy to entertain, just not to emotionally engage. This movie did both for me, and for that I'm grateful.

The animation style was great. It switched between what I believe is traditional animated style (with very limited computer assistance) to full CG/Cel-shaded 2.5/3D models and environments. The blending of both work extremely well with the two separate worlds that are in coexistence in the movie. On top of looking nice in the "Game world" of "Oz", the "real world" looks stunning. I haven't seen such attention to detail since the last Hayo Miyazaki movie I saw (Ponyo, for the record).

I'll repeat it again: if you're a gamer--no, ANYONE who uses the internet--NO, anyone who can appreciate a good movie, I recommend watching Summer Wars. I'd imagine it's especially a great movie to pull out on movie night with the significant other, as there's a dash of romance thrown in as well (and drama, I hear chicks dig drama).

I will actually be purchasing this ASAP when I wake up tomorrow, and I recommend you do the same.