Knights of the Zodiac review by Bobby Blakey
Bringing anime to life has always been tricky to be able to capture the same essence without it either getting ridiculous or straying so far from the source material. The latest getting the treatment is Knights of the Zodiac based on the anime Saint Seiya from Masami Kurumada. The film features a great cast including Mackenyu, Famke Janssen, Madison Iseman, Diego Tinoco, Mark Dacascos, Nick Stahl and Sean Bean from director Tomek Bagiński. Could this film capture the essence of the source material or will it fail to find its power?
Knights of the Zodiac follows Seiya, a headstrong street teen, who spends his time fighting for cash while he searches for his abducted sister. When one of his fights unwittingly taps into mystical powers he never knew he had, Seiya finds himself thrust into a world of warring saints, ancient magical training and a reincarnated goddess who needs his protection. If he’s to survive, he will need to embrace his destiny and sacrifice everything to take his rightful place among the Knights of the Zodiac.
Heading into this film I was a bit worried about the overall look from what I had seen. It wasn’t that it looked bad, but the overall video game look to it all can often come off silly and cheesy when adapted to live action. While there are some moments that don’t mesh all that well it still manages to deliver a fun over the top flick in terms of the action and visuals. Knowing that director BagiÅ„ski has a back ground in video games it comes as no surprise for the visuals he went for and it is definitely fun to watch.
The story is pretty simple despite it trying to be deeper and more complex than it actually is. This isn’t a major issues, but it tends to drag a bit as it is
trying to develop this world longer than I think is necessary. Of course there are elements that are necessary here, but at the same time it tries to over complicate it more often than not and could be tightened up a bit to make a more cohesive streamlined flick.
On the flip side this film offers up some fun action and over the top visuals. Most of them work great and create a cool vibe that blends fantasy, super heroes, video games and martial arts mythology all in one action packed spectacle. Of course it won’t work for everyone, but for those that enjoy any of these elements it could deliver what you are hoping for. Of course I am always a sucker to get to see the always awesome Mark Dacascos in action and while he doesn’t get as much martial arts action, he comes in guns blazing as a badass and I was here for it.
In addition to the film this release offers up bonus content including concept art, deleted scenes, character vignettes, and more. Decide for yourself and check out Knights of the Zodiac available now on digital, Blu-ray and DVD from Sony Home Entertainment.