Dumb Raider
The
visually impressive Spriggan is hindered by an
undercooked, derivative story.
The
first question that comes to mind when you look at the poster for the new anime
film Spriggan is: So, what the hell is
a spriggan? On the face of it, it sounds more like an
Irish jig or a vegetarian dish than anything terribly intimidating (Supurigan, the original Japanese title, had more of
a ring to it). A somber voice-over tries to explain the concept off the bat,
with some kind of heady nonsense about warriors assigned to prevent anyone from
uncovering dangerous hidden relics, but you're better off watching 1999's The
Mummy and observing the way the Medjai are
described in that film, then pretending you heard the same explanation here. It
won't be the first time Spriggan blatantly
reminds you of another movie. For one thing, the plot involves the discovery of
Noah's long lost ark, which attracts raiders.
The whole concept of the spriggan isn't explained in great depth, but essentially,
it's the old anime and comic-book standby of the super soldier, the kind of
hero who can grab an opponent's sword between his palms in mid-swing and snap
it in two or punch somebody 50 times in a second. Our hero in this case is a
high school student named Ominae Yu (voiced by
Christopher Patton), who's generic in almost every way; the filmmakers seem to
think super powers are the same thing as character traits, so they don't bother
to actually give him any personality. Not until the film is almost over do we
get a flashback that gives us some insight into Yu's character, and by then, it
ceases to matter.
While the visuals are impressive
and become increasingly psychedelic as the movie proceeds -- the best way to
watch it is with a loaded bong, the volume turned down and the Orb cranked up
on your stereo -- the story is strictly a case of spot-the-influence, which
usually turns out to be a well-known movie, comic or video game. Yu's fellow spriggan are being hunted down and killed by a malevolent
force (Watchmen), so he heads to Istanbul and gets into a car chase (Ronin), goes into the mountains and, using hi-tech
super armor, sneaks into a well-guarded military base in the driving snow (Metal
Gear Solid). He confronts an enemy from the past, voiced by Mike Kleinhenz, who's been remade as a cyborg
(Robocop) and discovers a lost ark (duh!) that could also be a long-lost
technological device capable of saving or destroying the human race (Titan
A.E.). Yu must also confront a scary-looking child, voiced by Kevin Corn,
with an adult brain and psychic powers (Akira) to whom
he defensively proclaims, "We are not machines or numbers -- I am a human
being!" (The Prisoner).
Which is not to say that action
movies aren't derivative in general; do audiences go to Steven Seagal movies expecting anything to be different from the
previous one? But Spriggan doesn't add much to
the mix aside from some nice visuals. The only character with any personality
is the psychic kid, and his is on loan from Akira. Even the villainous cyborg looks generic, and in a genre that revels in its cyborgs, that's quite a feat.
What the principles lack in
character, the settings try to make up for. The visuals are lovingly rendered,
with some computer assistance, from the streets of
Perhaps it's also worth noting
that the timing ain't great: The movie features
suicide bombers, planes in jeopardy, holy warriors, attempted smuggling of
weapons through customs and a wide shot of the Pentagon. Mostly, though, it
features people being sliced to bits as great crimson plumes erupt from their
bodies. It's often fun to look at, if that's your bag, but when Yu defensively
exclaims, "We can't all be Schwarzenegger," you know how low they've
set the bar.