I remember seeing a few minutes of the anime of "Space Battleship Yamato" on TV in the 70s. I took one look at the ridiculous-looking flying battleship and turned it off. However, a few days ago, I was watching an Asian martial arts movie and the trailer to "Space Battleship Yamato" came on. The movie is visually gorgeous, the battle scenes fast paced and plentiful and, best of all, the chemistry among the cast is genuinely heartfelt. I found myself misty-eyed in many sequences, something I cannot say has happened to me in a space movie since "Wrath of Khan". While some of the CGI is less than stellar, the cheesy shots pass so quickly they do not intrude. Besides, this movie was shot for less than a fifteenth of the modern Hollywood blockbuster and looks as good or better than most of them. It also never drags, which I cannot say about even the best of the "Star Trek" and "Star Wars" movies.
The Japanese made some good to terrific science fiction films in the 1950s, including "Godzilla" ("Gojira"), "Rodan," "The H Man" and "Battle in Outer Space". "Space Battleship Yamato" has elements of "Star Wars," "Star Trek" and, particularly, "Battlestar Galactica". Given the origins of this live action movie, all of the clichés and cribbing can be forgiven, except one. All I can say is that it occurs at the climax of "Space Battleship Yamato" and shamelessly cribs from the last scene of "Return of the Jedi". Clumsy as this scene is, "Space Battleship Yamato" is still the most fun I've experienced watching a movie in years. I give "Space Battleship Yamato" an "8".
The Japanese made some good to terrific science fiction films in the 1950s, including "Godzilla" ("Gojira"), "Rodan," "The H Man" and "Battle in Outer Space". "Space Battleship Yamato" has elements of "Star Wars," "Star Trek" and, particularly, "Battlestar Galactica". Given the origins of this live action movie, all of the clichés and cribbing can be forgiven, except one. All I can say is that it occurs at the climax of "Space Battleship Yamato" and shamelessly cribs from the last scene of "Return of the Jedi". Clumsy as this scene is, "Space Battleship Yamato" is still the most fun I've experienced watching a movie in years. I give "Space Battleship Yamato" an "8".