Audience Member
To be honest, I thought the Game itself was virtually unplayable, so when I discovered that a movie existed, I decided to check it out, and honestly, I thought it was pretty good. Now, it does only half-way feel like a movie, with some scene-to-scene jumps feeling like the filmmakers did what they could with scenes that, in the Game, didn't directly connect. It's not a glaring issue, but it does exist, resulting in some momentary jarring upon viewing, but they were able to iron out these seams enough to make them acceptable. In regards to the movie itself, it's actually rather engaging, if just a bit shy on material. It's one of those movies where the Worldbuilding is somewhat complex and the Plot keeps moving, but the elements in the middle that connect the Big Picture to the Details are somewhat murky and underdeveloped. With that, the CGI is certainly decent but not at all top-tier, in terms of execution or even in terms of artistic merit; many of these locales would be seen as artistically interesting in a standard, live-action movie, but in an animated film, it merely falls into the 'Competent' category. It's Cheap so I might pick up a copy, as I didn't think it was at all bad, but anyone hoping for a more thorough experience like the last two Final Fantasy films, Advent Children and Kingsglaive, will likely be underwhelmed, and if you were somehow able to stomach the Gameplay of Heavenly Sword, this movie will likely do nothing except act as a compilation of the cutscenes you might recall.
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
The Heavenly Sword game was a hidden gem on the PS3. While it had the misfortune of being overshadowed by Uncharted that year and suffered from the major problem of being a relatively short game, it more than made up for it with its cinematic storytelling, great acting and fun gameplay with really exciting boss battles. It's an underrated game that's definitely fun while it lasts. It's also aged much better than the aforementioned Uncharted game. The movie is absolutely horrendous and didn't do much to change people's opinions on the quality of video game movies. It's a shame because I heard that the people who worked on it were fans of the game, who were trying their best with the resources available to them. The animation is shoddy despite coming out 7 years after the gorgeous-looking game, likely due to having a smaller budget, the voice acting is terrible with Alfred Molina being the only one who seems to be trying despite the fact that Anna Torv reprises her role as Nariko from the game, the story seems to be going out of its way to be as distant from the source material as possible with new characters and questionable plot developments that mess up the character arcs from the game and the action sequences, while not without a cool moment every now and then, are lazy, boring and lifeless. This was animated conventionally, right? Where you don't have to worry about actors accidentally hitting each other? If anything, I think this movie might actually scare people away from playing the game, permanently shattering any hopes for a sequel...though Ninja Theory, the studio that developed the game, being bought out by Microsoft certainly won't help. This film adaptation is an awful, poorly-animated video game movie with stilted acting and ill-advised storytelling decisions that just reminded me that I'd rather play the game again, instead.
Rated 1/5 Stars •
Rated 1 out of 5 stars
01/23/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Really cool visuals with an interesting story.
Rated 4/5 Stars •
Rated 4 out of 5 stars
02/19/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Loved the video game, saw it was free to watch on Vudu. Big mistake to try watching. Couldn't make it more than 15 minutes... Looks like a poorly done feature length PS3 cut-scene from the early days of PS3, just after the system came out. In-game graphics from modern console generations look better than this "movie".
Rated 0.5/5 Stars •
Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars
02/17/23
Full Review
kevin w
Great visuals, but only a so-so story about a family beset with the dangerous desires of a power-mad warlord. They've got an all powerful sword to fight with ... but no male heirs. Dripping with Japanese cultural go-tos, the gist remains in the roots of the video game that spawned the proceedings, but goes no further.
Rated 2/5 Stars •
Rated 2 out of 5 stars
03/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
He rose from hell to scorch the world with hatred.
King Bohan has returned from what some believe is the depths of hell with an army in hopes of conquering the world. Only one legendary sword is believed to be able to kill the king, the Heavenly Sword. The problem with the sword is if used by a mortal, it will slowly drain them of life till their death. The legendary man who is supposed to wield the sword dies. A woman, who has suffered some recent successes, is told to wield the sword and lead her people into battle against the invading king.
"You think murdering innocent people is funny? Let's see you laugh when your guts hit the floor."
Gun Ho Jang delivers Heavenly Sword in his directorial debut. The story was fun and entertaining in a Beowulf kind of way. The animation style wasn't perfect but entertaining and the voices fit the characters well.
"Never follow the spider onto its web."
I came across this on Netflix and had to give it a shot. I enjoy these films for the most part and found this worth a viewing. This wasn't an epic picture or addition to the genre, but this wasn't a waste of time either. This is worth viewing once.
"Ki likes to make blood."
Grade: C+
Rated 3/5 Stars •
Rated 3 out of 5 stars
01/19/23
Full Review
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