Steamboy
Director's Cut
A retro science-fiction epic set in Victorian England, Steamboy features an inventor prodigy named Ray Steam who receives a mysterious metal ball containing a new form of energy capable of powering an entire nation. This young boy must use it to fight evil, redeem his family, and save London from destruction. The lush Victorian interiors and the elegance of the era's mechanical design allows Otomo to create dazzling visual backgrounds and machines for this film.
Member Reviews
SteamBoy Hero - Shmoolix
I enjoyed this film. I didn't know what I was getting into All I knew is he uses steam to fly, but the story is actually more then that. Even though I did like some of it I would of liked more. For instance the ending, or a real reason for the dad to be crazy. In the beginning the father wants to shut down the project him and the grandfather did. Then he gets scalded and I don't know about you, but I'd probably wouldn't return to science after that. All in all great movie to rent.An original animation movie - wyefa
The famed Katsuhiro Otomo, who also directed the other animation movie Akira, participated in this endeavor and it definitely shows. The story is very refreshing and will get you hooked from start to finish. It is a perfect movie for everyone, young ones and old ones alike. Even though Steamboy is only on DVD, the image quality is phenomenal and has a nice dark style which suits the story perfectly. I cannot recommend this movie enough as it is very high on my list of best animation movies along with fan favorites Howl's Moving Castle and the likes. If you are even remotely interested in animation movies, you will definitely like this one. A nice story, character design, sound and on top of this, very nice visuals.Wonderful Animation, Weak Resolution, Good Film - Gregg
Steamboy is a beautifully animated film that starts off with considerable promise but seems to loose focus in its final third. The Victorian settings are well used and the characters are fairly well defined. The film falls into fantasy/science fiction sub-genre of steam punk which basically means it’s a story set in the Victorian era with a strong dose of either fantasy or science fiction which produces an alternate history to that which we actually experienced.
The films protagonist is Ray Steam is a young inventor whose scientist grandfather and father are absent pursuing some great advance in steam power. After some sort of accident a package is sent to Ray by his grandfather and he quickly finds himself pursued by those who want the package. The importance of the package is apparently connected to the upcoming Great Exhibition of 1866 in London. While I won’t spoil the films resolution I will say that it is unfortunately a little heavy handed and over the top. The conclusion isn’t enough to spoil my overall enjoyment but it is disappointing and inconsistent.
The DVD has available both the original Japanese audio with sub-titles (for the purists) and is also dubbed into English with a fairly note worthy cast. The American cast includes Anna Paquin, Alfred Molina and Patrick Stewart. The film was both directed and co-written by Katsuhiro Ôtomo who is probably best known for the blockbuster anime Akira.
Although Akira is definitely a superior film it did similarly also lose direction somewhat toward the end. An impressive vision of a future Tokyo, an intriguing story and characters got lost somewhat in the over the top resolution. Despite this drawback I still recommend Steamboy and highly recommend Akira for their amazing animation well realized characters and settings in addition to their story concepts. Although I feel both tried to hard to achieve a monumental conclusion that wasn’t as satisfying as it could have been.
Member Reviews
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SteamBoy Hero - Shmoolix
I enjoyed this film. I didn't know what I was getting into All I knew is he uses steam to fly, but the story is actually more then that. Even though I did like some of it I would of liked more. For instance the ending, or a real reason for the dad to be crazy. ...An original animation movie - wyefa
The famed Katsuhiro Otomo, who also directed the other animation movie Akira, participated in this endeavor and it definitely shows. The story is very refreshing and will get you hooked from start to finish. It is a perfect movie for everyone, young ones and ...Wonderful Animation, Weak Resolution, Good Film - Gregg
Steamboy is a beautifully animated film that starts off with considerable promise but seems to loose focus in its final third. The Victorian settings are well used and the characters are fairly well defined. The film falls into fantasy/science fiction sub-genre ...