Knights of the Zodiac (live-action film)
The cynical “Why” query has no end, and Toei and Sony’s response is “Why not?” Knights of the Zodiac is merely the most recent work in Saint Seiya’s enormous media world, which also includes TV shows, movies, and spin-offs of the manga. More perplexing is the delay in a live-action adaptation. However, Hollywood screenwriters and directors are left with the challenging task of converting fans whose metaphorical wells have been repeatedly poisoned in light of Netflix’s Death Note and Paramount’s Ghost in the Shell. Even with its appealing ensemble and eye-catching cinematography, this Knights of the Zodiac adaptation falls short in the eyes of critics.
Given the nearly four-decade history of the source material, the film acts as a prelude to pique interest in a franchise. However, inside the first five minutes, it swiftly moves into exposition, outlining Athena’s history and the significance of keeping her safe. The focus then changes to Seiya, who has a dream about his sister being abducted and his Cosmos coming to life. An engaging Act 1 transitions to a disorganized and hurried Act 2, which tries desperately to cram as much dialogue as it can. However, despite this, the movie still finds time to overdo the same images and flashbacks, as if the audience had forgotten what had been presented just ten minutes ago.
The movie moves over a lot of material quickly, but it avoids character arcs for the majority of the running time. When Seiya and Sienna’s adventure comes to a close, the characters experience abrupt transformations without adequate development, making their accomplishments seem unjustified. Even while Guraad’s final heel-face change is perhaps the most plausible, it still comes on too quickly. Her debut makes it seem as though her homicidal goals are driven by a personal vendetta, but it is later revealed that they are an effort to stop a god’s unchecked power from destroying the Earth. Surprisingly, Alman turns out to be the person with the poorest moral compass in the entire globe. Like Sean Bean’s other characters, he doesn’t advance far enough in the narrative to atone for his transgressions.
The film may lack character development and plot continuity, but it makes up for these shortcomings with an abundance of eye-catching visuals and thrilling battle scenes, making the ticket price worthwhile. When the characters fight one another, Andy Cheng’s staging really shines. His skill and sense of humor influence Mackenyu to demonstrate remarkable martial arts in the wuxia genre during Seiya’s battles. These complement the directing of Tomasz Naumiuk by imitating the zoom-ins, pans, and fast cuts of anime fight sequences.The confrontations are made more intense by Yoshihiro Ike’s acute ear for heroic music; he never overdramatizes or oversimplifies a scenario.
The on-screen chemistry and tension feel natural because of how charismatic the cast and crew are. Mark Dacascos gives the forgettable Mylock from the source material new life as he dispatches black-armored goons with powerful sharpshooting. Fans who pay close attention will also enjoy the Easter eggs and references thrown throughout, such as Nero’s Nebula Chain earring.
Overall, the script spreads itself too thin and falls short of satisfying its critics, despite offering an action-packed retelling that modernizes the characters, broadens the mythos for newbies, and reimagines the story to captivate long-time fans. Even while this version has many intriguing concepts, such as Sienna’s friendship with Guraad and Seiya’s traumatic background, they are glossed over in favor of wrapping up the story.Knights of the Zodiac tries to pack years’ worth of content into a series introduction, but the result is the worst of both worlds.
