In the 1970s Leiji Matsumoto created a sci-fi manga-anime called SPACE BATTLESHIP YAMATO, which told the adventures of an Earth spacecraft sent on a quest through space to save its world. The saga became a great hit in Japan, ushered in the space opera genre of anime, and became one of the first animes to be seen in the West (under the title of STAR BLAZERS).
This film is a fairly good live-action adaptation of a classic cartoon, which is a genre known for misfires and disappointments. Its strength lies in that the story is presented faithfully enough to the source material (a trip to save the Earth, a young cadet matures into a soldier and hero), but enables some interesting upgrades made that effectively work out (the alcoholic Dr Sado portrayed by an actress, the robot Analyzer given a palmtop mode). It was also a nice touch to feature voice actors from the original cartoon in major roles in the film.
The story sadly also comes up short on a few changes, though. The original work dealt with the alien invaders the Gamilons as a parallel alien race to Earth, with their leader Desslar as an honorable villain who eventually becomes an ally to Earth. The film pushes this aside to make the Gamilons an unstoppable insect swarm; it was probably a necessary move to put the Yamato against incredible odds, but the story is reduced in scope by only focusing one race of warriors and their quest, in comparison to multiple races and their dynamics. Compared to the manga and cartoon adaptations this comes off a little disappointing, but to be fair an independent person who didn't see those works won't really care about that.
The cast perform their roles competently and loyally. The VFX are an interesting mix of practical sets (ship interiors, caverns) and computer-generated imagery (space vistas, starship fights). The music is a wonderful orchestral homage to the original show's stellar tunes.
All in all, it's a great adaptation that pays homage to the cartoon/comic it came from, and by itself is an above-average space adventure tale.
This film is a fairly good live-action adaptation of a classic cartoon, which is a genre known for misfires and disappointments. Its strength lies in that the story is presented faithfully enough to the source material (a trip to save the Earth, a young cadet matures into a soldier and hero), but enables some interesting upgrades made that effectively work out (the alcoholic Dr Sado portrayed by an actress, the robot Analyzer given a palmtop mode). It was also a nice touch to feature voice actors from the original cartoon in major roles in the film.
The story sadly also comes up short on a few changes, though. The original work dealt with the alien invaders the Gamilons as a parallel alien race to Earth, with their leader Desslar as an honorable villain who eventually becomes an ally to Earth. The film pushes this aside to make the Gamilons an unstoppable insect swarm; it was probably a necessary move to put the Yamato against incredible odds, but the story is reduced in scope by only focusing one race of warriors and their quest, in comparison to multiple races and their dynamics. Compared to the manga and cartoon adaptations this comes off a little disappointing, but to be fair an independent person who didn't see those works won't really care about that.
The cast perform their roles competently and loyally. The VFX are an interesting mix of practical sets (ship interiors, caverns) and computer-generated imagery (space vistas, starship fights). The music is a wonderful orchestral homage to the original show's stellar tunes.
All in all, it's a great adaptation that pays homage to the cartoon/comic it came from, and by itself is an above-average space adventure tale.