This anime movie was described to me beforehand as the equivalent of a Hollywood summer action movie. I think that covers it nicely. Spriggan is a tale about Yu Ominae and the organisation he belongs to. Their responsibility is to keep the world safe from itself by preventing man from delving to deep into the mysterious technology from the past. He is a Spriggan - one of their most powerful agents despite being only 17 (it's anime, you can't go expecting the lead character to be an actual man!). Agents of a certain world power have been disrupting operations and it all comes to a head when Yu's friend is turned into a bomb meant for me. A powerful artefact of times past has been discovered which could have dramatic implications for mankind.

The flow of Spriggan is indeed that of a summer hit. The movie journeys over parts of the world as Yu goes after the people who want him dead, with action scenes dispersed aplenty. The ever popular "cool technology" approach is present in abundance here with both heros and villains possessing crazy gadgets and mean weaponry. Probably because it's an anime, that blatant gung-ho feel-good factor seems slightly less cheesy than in live action flicks. This results in some very dynamic action scenes which are well thought out and keep the blood pumping. Amongst them is a chase (the staple of any blockbuster action movie) that moves from cars to feet in the winding streets of a suitably "foreign" city.

When the primary villian is revealed I got rather miffed that he was another "genetically enhanced child", (anime stock character #456) so abundant in anime. By child I do mean an actual child and he reminded me of the freaky grey kids in Akira. It's a character that seemed slightly out of place to me. However he does forward the plot to its true direction, involving the power of the artefact and the re-creation of the human race. It's one of those plots where it's thoroughly silly and yet routed enough in real life stories to still seem relevant to the viewer. There are no great philosophical ideals espoused here no ridiculously intricate webs of conspiracy & counter conspiracy. It's an interesting story but not at the expense of enjoyment.

The animation in Spriggan is excellent. Everything is very dynamic and vibrant, sporting the best qualities of modern anime. The art style is standard anime and anything else would look very out of place in this film. The gadget and tech ridden good and bad guys look suitably mean and put over the essential "cool!" factor they're meant to. Suprisingly there's a total lack of "hot women!" in Spriggan so you're spared (or deprived, depending on how you feel) the usual big-breasted, scantily clad female co-lead you'd expect in this kind of anime (and this kind of thing in Hollywood).

I think my first sentence in this review summed up Spriggan perfectly. It is an action blockbuster movie so if you're not a fan of those then you're unlikely to really enjoy this. Personally I really enjoy a good mindless action movie when they're put together - it doesn't mean I don't love the more intelligent films even more but I don't feel the need to adopt a prentious stance to simpler films. Consequently I found Spriggan to be a good, fun romp. It was well structured with great action and lovely visuals, which is really all you want from this kind of film. The plot was interesting in its own simplistic manner which is nice to see as too many action movies fail due to their appaling stories. I know this flick isn't going to cause me to sit down and think or provide me with a wealth of character development. There are no plot twists and turns, no intricacy. Instead you get given gung-ho fun and frolics for an hour and a half - the perfect movie for beer and snacks. Watch it and enjoy it but don't go to it expecting anything more than it is.

Written to Foo Fighters - Disenchanted Lullaby