WXIII: Patlabor the Movie 3 (2002)

User Rating:

6.8/10   

Directors:

Takuji Endo
Fumihiko Takayama

Writers:

Miki Tori (writer)
Masami Yûki (story)

Genre:

Sci-Fi | Animation | Action | Crime

Tagline:

It's coming from Tokyo Bay.

Plot:

Two police detectives and SV2 investigate a series of mysterious acts of deadly destruction occuring in and around Tokyo Bay. |

Plot Keywords:

Police Detective | Detective | Police | Anime | Robot

Cast

Katsuhiko Watabiki	...	Senior Detective Takeshi Kusumi (voice)
Hiroaki Hirata	...	Detective Shinichiro Hata (voice)
Atsuko Tanaka	...	Saeko Misaki (voice)
Ryûnosuke Ôbayashi	...	Kiichi Gotoh (voice)
Mîna Tominaga	...	Noa Izumi (voice)
Toshio Furukawa	...	Asuma Shinohara (voice)
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Richard Cansino	...	Asuma Shinohara, Kishida, Lab Researcher, Officer Mimura (voice: English version)
Shigeru Chiba	...	Shigeo Shiba (voice)
Richard Epcar	...	Isao Ota, Director, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Michael Forest	...	Takeshi Kusumi (voice: English version) (as Alfred Thor)
Issei Futamata	...	Mikiyasu Shinshi (voice)
Daisuke Gôri	...	Hiromi Yamazaki (voice)
Michihiro Ikemizu	...	Isao Ohta (voice)
Yô Inoue	...	Kanuka Clancy (voice)
Steve Kramer	...	Boat Captain, Detective, Labor Technician, Security Guard, Police Officer, Yoshitake Misaki, Engineer, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Julie Maddalena	...	Hitomi Misaki (voice: English version)
Jake Martin	...	Police Captain (voice: English version)
Tomomichi Nishimura	...	Detective Matsui (voice)
Daran Norris	...	Kiichi Goto (voice: English version) (as Bob Thomas)
Shinji Ogawa	...	Fukushima (voice)
Tony Oliver	...	Baseball Player, Rude Boyfriend, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Simon Prescott	...	Toshiro Kurisu, Fisherman (voice: English version) (as Simon Isaacson)
Derek Stephen Prince	...	Shizuo Miyanomori, Police Officer (voice: English version) (as David Umansky)
Michelle Ruff	...	Noa Izumi, Student, Computer System, Reporter, Translator, Additional Voices (voice: English version)
Yoshiko Sakakibara	...	Shinobu Nagumo (voice)
Osamu Saka	...	Seitaro Sakaki (voice)
Ellyn Stern	...	Sign Language Interpreter, Stage Actress, Disbatch Operator, Kieko Misaki (voice: English version)
Kirk Thornton	...	Col. Goro Ishihara, Labor Technician, Additional Voices (voice: English version) (as Ron Allen)
Kari Wahlgren	...	Saeko Misaki (voice: English version) (as Kay Jensen)
Dave Wittenberg	...	Shinichiro Hata (voice: English version) (as Dave Lelyveld)

MPAA:

Rated R for language.

Runtime:

102 min | Singapore:100 min

Country:

Japan

Language:

Japanese

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Certification:

Singapore:PG | USA:R | Australia:M

Company:

Bandai Digital Entertainment

Trivia:

Though it was the most recent "Patlabor" film to be released, this takes place between _Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: The Movie (1990)_ and Kidô keisatsu patorebâ: The Movie 2 (1993).

An excellent character study despite its flaws

Mamoru Oshii's first two "Patlabor" films were excellent, both incredible and atmospheric pieces of work that always focused on characters first. For the third movie, you will find almost none of the original production staff involved but for Kenji Kawai, longtime Oshii composer. This said, I entered into the experience skeptical and was pleasantly rewarded.

WXIII, which stands for "Wrecked 13" for an almost indecipherable reason, is a fitting continuation of the series that gets occasionally bogged down in a ridiculous "big monster" plot. Much like the second film (arguably Oshii's best), fans should note that the main characters of the regular Patlabor series appear only incidentally. Asuma and Noa are the first members of Unit 2 to make an appearance, in a non-speaking part, almost 30 minutes in! Goto and Unit 2 don't have an actual speaking role until the last 20 minutes or so of the film. The movie focuses entirely on Detective Matsui, now older and on the injured list, and his young partner. Viewers of the first two films will recognize them, and it's a welcome exploration of their lives. In essence, it's a detective story, although the outcome is never really in doubt.

What makes the film so enjoyable is the excellent characterization of the detectives. The monster plot-line is fun at points and ridiculous most of the rest of the time, but thankfully it's spread out pretty thin. There are some beautifully composed shots, the music is spot-on, and the script is clever and in keeping with the tone of the first two films. There are some annoying plot holes that a Kazunori Ito script would have avoided, but it is overall a good effort from the new screenwriter.

Those expecting an action-fest will get a couple of fun, suspenseful moments, but otherwise look elsewhere. But fans of solid drama and intrigue will be rewarded. The Japanese DVD has excellent subtitles and a number of fun extras, so if you have an all-region player I would recommend it for your collection. Patlabor 3 is very good film that, despite its flaws and the reputation of the previous films, succeeds in the right places. 7 out of 10.