User Reviews

This is a quite entertaining movie adaption of a series of successful mangas and video games. You don't really need to know the originals to appreciate this mixture of a fantasy and a crime movie. The film has some suspenseful and mysterious moments but also humorous parts. The movie has several short side stories that are rather appealing and don't take too much space. They involve childhood memories and the sightings of a strange monster for example. In fact, the movie adds a lot of diversified genre elements into one big potpourri but none of the elements is really dominating or impressive which is maybe one of the movies biggest flaws. It's always entertaining but sometimes lacks depth.

The story itself is divided into three parts that all lead to dramatic courtroom discussions. The three different cases are closely connected to each other and become in fact more and more interesting. A well done and short introduction, some outdoor investigations and a few flashbacks add some diversity and depth to the different characters. The story isn't hard to follow and only the first few minutes feel a little bit rushed.

While the cases are all realistic and grounded, the movie has some fantasy elements in form of holographic elements in the courtroom that could come from a science-fiction movie and a few supernatural elements involving mediums and other appearances. I happened to find these supernatural elements rather distracting and useless. They don't add much to the story and make an otherwise solid plot feel a little bit fluffy.

The most important thing that may be controversially discussed is the acting. Some fans of the games and mangas said that this movie was one of the best video game adaptions ever done, others said that this movie lacked the charm and genius of the originals. I neither know the games nor the mangas and that's probably the best thing for a neutral point of view.

Each character has its unique traits which is great. Phoenix Wright is your chaotic, determined and nervous young attorney who fights for ideals such as friendship, justice and truth. His antagonist is the aged, bitter and self-possessed Manfred von Karma. His childhood friend and colleague Miles Edgeworth happens to be a rather arrogant, cold but very smart prosecutor who could come from a medieval court or a visual kei band. Another childhood friend called Larry Butz is a humorous, ingenious and tricky fellow. His assistant Maya Fey is a rather emotional, sometimes even hysterical but also intelligent woman with stylish looks. The judge is old, patient and wise. Even the secondary actors in form of different witnesses have their own unique characters such as the broken and isolated Yanni Yogi or the dark and mysterious Redd White.

What I liked less about the acting was that many parts were simply overacted. I know that this is the case of many Japanese movies and this element seems to want to underline the manga style of the story but it feels quite redundant after a while. This element is used way too much in this film and fails at its initial attempt to put some emotions and humour in this film. Sometimes, the characters feel more like birds. Phoenix Wright is the nervous chicken who always gets upset, Maya Fey is the colourful but sometimes difficult turkey, Miles Edgeworth the proud rooster, Redd White the strange raven, the judge the wise owl who is always ready to attack when the chances are good and so on. The funniest thing is that at some point, a cockatoo comes into play as a witness and happens to play the most grounded part of the entire movie. This bird feels the most human among all characters. At some point, all this exaggerated acting may feel somewhat childish.

In the end, it,s hard to rate this movie. If you just want to watch it because legendary Japanese filmmaker Takashi Miike has directed it, better stay away from it because it doesn't have much to do with his most famous works. Those who like the games and mangas either hate or love this movie. Watch the movie and choose your camp. Anyone else might get very well entertained but you should know that this film is very Japanese. It's colourful, diversified and always over the top. Some might find this mixture dynamical, others rather annoying. Fans of Japanese cinema should definitely give this movie a try, those who prefer traditional courtroom dramas or thrillers should stay away from it.

'Ace attorney' is a courtroom drama about crime solving theme based on a popular video game called 'Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney'. The trademark of this story either movie or video game is that main character Phoenix Wright shows his index finger like a style Ambedkar statue saying 'objection'.

Its hard someone to understand who are not familiar with Japanese movies or culture. If you are then this movie will be so fun which is directed by one of popular Jap director Takashi Miike, the '13 assassins' fame. Not so long ago I watched an another courtroom comedy called 'A ghost of a chance' which these both are kinda totally enjoyable. If you like any one of these you will like another too.

This is a story of a not-so-popular attorney Phoenix Wright who starts to claim best period of his professional when he bags back to back cases to his hand with successful results. The structure of movie plot was brilliant especially solving crime puzzle which opens new sub-plots instantly towards the last quarter of the movie. The story happens in the courtroom is like a wrestling match between two without physical contacts, if someone wins they qualify for the next round. Like I said it is a comedy genre so there's no seriousness in movie characters. I did not get a couple of jokes which I believe are pure Japanese which we won't get in translation. The movie was good to have once especially if you like Takashi Miike movies.

The Phoenix Wright games are a series of clever, wildly entertaining mystery adventure games in which a defense attorney must trip up witnesses with clever deductions on the evidence he finds himself at crime scenes. The games have weird, eccentric characters with odd hairstyles, prosecutors dress like 18th century poets, the courtroom follows no sane rules, with the judge constantly and prematurely about to declare Wright's client guilty before someone shouts or bursts in or Wright shouts OBJECTION.

The movie emulates not just the formula of the game but its over-the-top wackiness. Wright's hair appears to have been vaselined during a windstorm.

Many characters look like they're badly disguised as other people. The courtroom audience is dressed for a hip New Year's Eve party.

This emulation is a double-edged sword if you know the games. Miles Edgeworth is dead-on, but Phoenix Wright's hair is mainly wrong, and the character is too boyish and not square-jawed enough. A less literal version probably would have worked better, but the attempt is certainly an interesting and quirky one.

The bigger problem is the characters. The movie gives us the same thunderous moments, crazy graphics, and sudden plot terms, but it is less successful at bringing the characters to life with life actors than the game was with still images and text dialogue. Characters like Maya and Gumshoe have gone from being interesting characters to props. And while the movie is humorous, it is never as funny as the game.

Still, at its best, as in the final courtroom scenes, the film delivers a strong concoction of mystery, drama, and surprise. I'd recommend the games over the move (the movie's a 7, but the first game is a 9), but I'd still recommend the movie.

Set in a world where the legal system is so backed up that trials are limited to three day bench trials overseen solely by the judge, Phoenix Wright (Hiroki Narimiya) is a novice defense attorney working under his mentor Mia Fey (Rei Dan) and only tried one case, albeit successfully. Unbeknownst to Phoenix, Mia is investigating an old case tied to her family but soon turns up dead in Phoenix and Mia's office with Mia's sister Maya (Mirei Kritani) and identified by a witness as the killer. Not sitting right with Phoenix, Phoenix offers his services to Maya placing him opposite an old friend turned rival and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth (Takumi Saitoh) and eventually stumbles upon a conspiracy that's been masterminded by a shadowy figure.

Ace Attorney is a 2012 legal dramedy directed by cult filmmaker Takashi Miike and based on the first game in Capcom's fan favorite Ace Attorney series. Created with direct involvement from Capcom and the creative staff behind the games, Miike and his staff were very involved in the process of working out how to adapt the episodic game into a feature length film. Premiering at various film festivals Ace Attorney received a positive response from many fans in the audience while being slightly mixed albeit mainly positive with critics. Ace Attorney is a fun offbeat legal dramedy that features Miike's signature high energy style that complements the games nicely, but I do wonder how well this movie plays to someone unfamiliar with the material.

Despite being in live-action, Miike and his cast and crew have done an excellent job at bringing the over the top designs and mannerism to life with all the characters well-suited to their individual roles. Hiroki Narimiya does well in both the dramatic and comedic bits of Phoenix, Mirei Kiritani brings that youthful energy to Maya, and Takumi Saitoh is nicely situated as a foil to Phoenix with the two's complex history and dynamic brought to life faithfully from the games. Miike finds some clever workarounds to mimic the experience of the source material including the holographic interface used in the trial sequences that allows for the same over the top reactions and "Objections" we all know from the game but translated to work in real world context (we even get the confetti and applause endings for cases in a bit of amusing faitfulness). Being a movie, the plot has been streamlined quite a bit with the primary focus now on the friendship between Phoenix and Miles and as a result Maya and Mia do feel like they've been slightly more simplified. In many ways Ace Attorney kind of feels like you're watching two back-to-back episodes of a TV show, but a VERY good TV show that you're invested in. Given the time limitations this is probably the best adaptation you could've hoped for given the inherent limitations, but it is still worth noting. I think the movie is mostly approachable to all even those who haven't played the games, but there are instances that do feel like they'd be lost on the unitiated including a decision made by Maya that happens over the end credits.

Speaking as a fan of this series, I really enjoyed Ace Attorney. It did a good job of forging a streamlined film experience out of the games while offering an enjoyable experience and I'm honestly kind of sad they didn't make more of these (at the very least a trilogy covering the original game series). I don't know how well the series' trademarked mixture of over the top humor and quasi-serious murder mysteries will play to those not well versed in this series, but for the franchise faithful it's definitely well worth a viewing.

This movie by Miike Takashi is based on the game with the same name by Capcom for Nintendo consoles. These two preliminaries might scare some off, but I can truly say that this is movie is the best game adaption I've ever seen, and one of the most mainstream films by Takashi.

Takashi, sadly enough, known for its more violent films was attending the World Premiere screening at the International Film Festival Rotterdam and requested everyone to watch this movie with the heart of a child.

And yes, even though this movie is intended for adults, its well suitable for young teenager as well.

The fun mix of anime, game and cinema is working very well. Not just in visual style, but also in storytelling and humour. The story itself is well presented and the viewer receives clues and information so that it feels involved in the quest. For the quick thinkers amongst the viewers, this way of story telling might take a bit of the speed out of the movie, as all information gets presented step by step.

In the end, Ace Attorney is a fun and stylistic movie. Not just for Japanese cinema lovers, but for everyone who enjoys a bit of silliness and a good mystery.

Great story, awesome visuals and good acting. The main flaw is that it failed to keep up the pace for the whole duration of the movie, but still interesting enough to stay interested.

Great show, watch it with the whole family!

Gyakuten saiban or Ace Attorney is a Miike take on a story based on the popular games and manga. It brings Phoenix Wright, Miles Edgeworth, Larry Butz and the Spiritual Fey family to life in a fantastic story of futuristic trials that are seemingly interwoven. Leave it to Miike to deliver a movie with incredible pacing control. The beginning races you through the characters to start with the crime that sets off the main plot to be followed. At times the movie is really intense in showing what the characters experienced, catering to the more understanding older viewer. However, he said so himself in the worldwide premiere today at the International Film Festival Rotterdam: you should watch this lightheartedly, like a kid. The way he adapts the famous series onto the screen is definitely one that combines his skills at bringing the best of a story with making it a very fun one. I can strongly recommend watching this if you're either a fan of his (later/(not lighter) work (like Zebraman) or of the games. I had my eyes glued to the screen except for a few moments where I looked at the audience and saw they were equally drawn into the movie.. It has great CGI for the court scenes and the spiritual moments with the Feys and as always with Miike; it caters to the idea of a greater plan. If you're taking the time to read this review; you should probably go see it already!

Maybe for fans of the source material this movie is decent. But as someone who is not familiar with it and who therefore can only judge the movie on its own, it's pretty bad. While technically it is well made, the characters are just too goofy to look at and be taken seriously, they are not introduced well so you don't know what their deal is and the story is boring as hell.

I had the privilege of seeing this film in Tokyo while it was still in theaters. Having played all of the Phoenix Wright/Gyakuten Saiban games, I was very familiar with the source material. That being said, it easily introduces all of the characters in a very succinct manner, and their personalities show through brilliantly on the big screen.

The summary: Ryuichi Naruhodo aka Phoenix Wright is a struggling defense attorney who works for the Ayasato law firm. After a shocking murder, he finds himself in the high court defending a client against murder... pitted against a prosecuting prodigy... who just happens to be a childhood friend. The twists and turns of the case lead Naruhodo into an investigation of a long-closed case which is very relevant to current events.

For fans of courtroom drama or mystery, it's a very suspenseful and very clever murder mystery, but if you've played the first game, you already know how it turns out. For once, a director chose to go with the original story rather than trying to go off in a strange direction or "re-imagine" the details that people know and love (yes, I'm looking in your direction, Michael Bay), though some elements have been absorbed into one story to make sure the entire story takes place. All of the cases from the game are referenced, though not all of them are fully played out on screen (time constraints). Additionally, there are no clever "wink wink" moments to future games in the series, thank goodness.

Purists will be happy to know that some of the musical numbers come straight from the game, particularly in the courtroom, and the "floating box" evidence presenting element from the game is preserved as a very cool holographic system.

If I may level one criticism, it's that just like the game, the "investigation" portions tend to drag, but the courtroom scenes will have you sitting on the edge of your seat, pointing dramatically and shouting, "IGI ARI!" -- OBJECTION!

I understand how many people who aren't familiar with the Ace Attorney franchise could watch this movie and be utterly confused and weirded out. However, if you have played the games (or just the first one), I think you will enjoy this film immensely, as I did.

Ace Attorney is a movie about a young lawyer named Phoenix Wright who, after the death of his mentor, must unravel a conspiracy that stretches back to a murder that took place over a decade ago. The characters are quirky, the story is insane, and the references to the franchise are in great abundance. It's not supposed to be realistic.

Here is why it is such a good adaption. The film took liberties with the story in order to condense it down into a 2 hour movie, but they did so effectively and kept the spirit of the games alive. Because of the differences in scenes and dialogue (while keeping the same core story), fans of the games can watch it and still be enthralled, despite knowing the outcome. And the movie is hilarious. As I said before, they make a ton of references to cases they do not showcase specifically in the film. Throwing confetti out of a garbage bag. The appearance of the Blue Badger. Everyone in the courtroom falling over from the sheer force produced in Phoenix's "Objection!" These iconic aspects of the game have been creatively implemented into the movie.

The acting is over-exagerrated, but to me at least, that made the film even funnier. Honestly, the casting, costumes, and make up effectively bring the characters to life. You recognize them instantly, and their weird mannerisms and personalities are amazingly written (save for maybe Maya, who seems a bit too serious in this movie compared to the game).

It's a fun ride from beginning to end for fans. If you haven't played the games, I don't know what to say. Buy yourself a DS and get to it.

I'm incidentally a huge fan of both Miike and the Ace Attorney game series, but I believe people who want to see this film, are mostly Phoenix Wright fans, so I'll try to review the movie from this point of view, to show fans what they need to expect.

Adapting a game like Phoenix Wright might seem easy at first, but in fact, it's something you have to be careful with: the game is basically like a comic book, a series a images well put together, with often intriguing, other times funny but never uninteresting dialogues and characters. Like a comic (or even a novel for that matter) most of the world is created by the reader (or in this case the player) who links these dialogues and images in a way, to create a motion picture in their mind. I loved exploring the crime scenes, and such (=the non scripted parts of the game), but it's the story and the characters that had a bigger impact on me. Each player has a different way of imagining this world while playing the game, and for that the film has to work in a way that it ruins the least amount a fans' expectations. Every single imagination can't be pleased, but this film tries its hardest.

First, what I liked about the film, is the attempt itself to create a Phoenix Wright movie. Second, the fact that this "distopic absurd world" of the source material is portrayed in the movie without the creators shying away from ideas that an average human being would find acceptable in a video game, but not necessarily in a film. In fact, that is a very strong aspect of the movie: it has a world without rules, limits, it's crazy, dark and fun, just like the game. It doesn't want to be just a movie, it wants to be THE Phoenix Wright movie. In other words, one of the films biggest values, is that it wants to translate the least amount of video game logic to film logic. It embraces video game logic, plays with it, and uses it to show the craziest ideas on screen. I mean for example by the trials with holograms, which is of course not like that in the games, but the idea is brilliant, because it translates the game's epic moments perfectly, when somebody pulls out the definitive evidence and shows it to the court. Third, the film is not only made by somebody who knows the source material throughly, but from the film's attitude, is a big fan of it as well. The most possible elements are compressed in these 90 minutes to please all the fans' needs: for example some unexpected characters from the series make short appearances (which, I'm not going to tell you of course) and many similar surprises..

All that being said, the movie has a few downsides for me: First, the Gumshoe character: I love him in the games (my second favourite character after Godot) and I'm sure many of us do, but he had a lot less screen presence that I wanted him to have. Because of that, his style, his whole presence could not be felt as much in the film as in the game. Also, I think it was bad casting: although the actor does a decent job, they should have gotten somebody with a bit more weight on him to do it, after all he's the big guy in the games. Second, even if I didn't care as much for the Maya character in the games, as much as for several others, I always loved his relationship with Phoenix. Here, the chemistry between the two can hardly be felt, Maya seems more like an assistant than a true friend/partner of Phoenix. Also, I think bad casting here as well, since I think the actress was a bit too old for the role, but that wouldn't have been a big problem if the chemistry between the two worked. Third, the judge character. In the game we discover two sides of him: a strict (but old and tired of it) and a humorous naive judge (the way I see it). Here, I felt that he is left only with the first, and frankly least interesting side of him. And here again, I know this is tiring, but I think the judge having hair was a bad decision (I'm sure many of you think of this as astonishingly stupid nitpicking, but hey, the bald bearded guy: it's one thing that made him memorable for me, and if you make him have a beard, then cut his hair as well) Last, but not least, is a key scene which has been slightly modified by the writers. I'm not going to say which scene it is, all I can say without spoiling is that this key scene, was moved to another location in the film (the location in the game was one of the aspects which made it great). I think it was an easy choice, but they might have had a reason for it.

Although I devoted the bigger paragraph to negative aspects, I wouldn't call them flaws, more like things, ideas I would have done/solved differently. To end this all, and to clear all misunderstandings (if any happened): i loved the film. I think it's an absolute treat for fans, and a very well made piece of work, in terms of cinematography, screenplay, direction and everything else. Although I thought that the problems I had were worth mentioning, they didn't affect my viewing, since I was blown away by seeing Ace Attorney as a movie, and I thoroughly felt that only passion has been put in the making of this film and little to no laziness, which is sadly rarely the case of films nowadays. Does the film work? Absolutely. And that is what matters.

I wouldn't call myself a fan of Miike. Actually with "Audition" I might have started with one of his most wicked movies, very disturbing and very different and I might not have been open to that. This on the other hand (must be the tenth movie of his I have watched to date, not a lot if you consider his output!) is very easily accessible.

And that rings true, even if you're not familiar with the source material this is based on. I myself didn't know the game and haven't played it yet. But the essence of the movie is a courtroom thriller with a few twists. And it has a very wicked sense of humor, which might not be to everyones taste. If you don't like the first 5 minutes, don't bother watching more. Otherwise it'll be a hoot (and those hair styles ... awesome!)

Well, I am so glad to say that I have changed my mind about the best live-action video game movie as this certainly qualifies! It helps that it came from Japan, which is where the world's most popular video games come from. It's just great to see all of these characters looking just like their video game counterparts. At the same time, that can be kind of a flaw. I mean, a lot of them do look pretty goofy. It's just hard to translate animation of any kind to live-action. It's a little hard to take seriously. I know a lot about the "Phoenix Wright" games, but only because of all the Newgrounds parodies!

Then again, the parodies themselves told very little about the actual games, so I guess I still couldn't understand it. At least I got to see a good representation of it. This happens to be the longest movie ever made based on a video game and I think the pacing was quite good. Yeah, it probably could have been a little shorter, but still good. The story and twists are very nice. The film is mostly just well trials, which I what I expected. There are so many awful live-action video game movies, it's great to see the best one ever made. It's a saving grace for Video Game Month! ***

Best movie ever made. I expected it to be some low quality trash, but oh boy let me tell you - it is some highest quality trash! damn. this film stands to the standard set by the game and complements it in all the good ways. adaptation is surprisingly adequate - with obvious need to work with cinematic format that requires certain changes to the source material, authors did a great job feeling said material and shaping it into a new form - perhaps even superior one. by that I mean: whoever filmed this knew their business damn well. certain scenes just left me stunned with their powerful image - this kind of cinematography is usually expected from some auteur films. a surprise, but very pleasant one - as well as courtroom scenes and the whole set up to this new juridical system to explain what the hell is going on. with all the posh tech it creates sort of an absurd dystopian vibe - one that transforms insanity of the game into corporeal form and allows it to be believable. so, yeah 10/10, gread addition to Ace Attorney games. the only bad thing about it is the fact that now I desperately want to watch something as good and as fun as this masterpiece, but I doubt another gem like this can ever be found... ... ............