Taking place in the latter half of the 21st century, Vexille is
the name of an anime film--as well as its title character, a young woman named
Lt. Cmdr. Vexille Serra, who’s a member of SWORD, a special ops commando team
that’s attached to the U.S. Navy. The world lives with a U.N. mandated
restriction on the development of robotic technology, which has been deemed to
be a threat to humankind. Ten years ago, the nation of Japan had sealed itself
off from the rest of the world by using a massive electronic shield that
surrounds the entire island country, and even prevents outsiders from peering in.
The Japanese have continued their research into robotic technology to the point
where their cyborg parts are almost as real as actual human body parts, making
them a potential threat.
Determined to see what’s going on under the electronic shield, the United States sends in Vexille and her SHIELD team. Their mission is to penetrate the electronic shield and establish a link to an orbiting satellite that will allow the U.S. to finally take a good look at the closed society within. But, as one might guess, the best laid plans go awry, and the SHIELD team are captured and surrounded by the Japanese, who are now completely ruled by an evil corporation known as Daiwa Heavy Industries. Vexille manages to escape, and is taken under the protection of a rebel faction within Tokyo who are determined to overthrow the tyrannical rule imposed on them by Daiwa. And in the best tradition of all anime heroines, Vexille throws in with the rebels to fight the good fight.
Produced by the makers of Appleseed, Vexille mixes the classic anime style with
The Matrix, plus a dose of The Road Warrior, as well as a dash of DUNE (the
Jags--huge, metallic, worm-like creatures that stalk the wastelands of
Japan--bear an uncanny resemblance to the sandworms in Frank Herbert’s epic SF
series). Like the recent Beowulf, the film is done in motion capture CGI, yet in
style that reminds the viewer of the original anime films, which were animated
by hand. The main female characters, Vexille and Maria--the resistance
leader--are sympathetic enough to make you want to follow their story. But I
wished the filmmakers would push the envelope further with regards to the story.
In the end, Vexille is comic book that’s set in motion, and while there’s
nothing wrong with that, it would have been nice to see some more deeper
characterization beyond the hot babe quotient that’s already presented here.
There’s a subtle love triangle between Vexille, Maria and Leon--the commander
of the SWORD team--yet, instead of offering some much needed humanization,
these scenes fall flat, feeling more like a bad soap opera that bogs down the
pacing. The cardboard villain is also a bit hard to take, as he gives the
standard cliché lecture on how he will rule the world, which is complete with
him breaking into maniacal laughter. The DVD has no special features whatsoever.
It does give you the option of watching the film in its original Japanese with
English subtitles. There are no closed captions for the English version, but
you can still turn on the English subtitles. Despite its drawbacks, Vexille is
visually stunning--especially in its action scenes--and is a fun, harmless way
to spend some time away from the daily grind. Just don’t expect too much from it. --SF
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