Terra Formars (2016)
Genre: Action / Horror
Duration: 108 minuten
Alternative titles: Terraformars / テラフォーマーズ
Country:
Japan
Directed by: Takashi Miike
Stars: Rinko Kikuchi, Rila Fukushima and Kane Kosugi
IMDb score:
4,7 (3.837)
Releasedate: 29 April 2016
Terra Formars plot
"We're the ones who will survive."
The story is set in the year 2599. Humanity is about to return to Mars, after leaving moss and cockroaches there hundreds of years ago. They did this to 'terraform' the surface of the planet and thus make the planet habitable. But when they land on Mars, they find a colony of super-strong, human-like cockroaches there.
Actors and actresses
Shokichi Komachi
Nanao Akita
Jin Muto
Ichiro Hiruma
Ko Honda
God Lee
Asuka Moriki
Keisuke Dojima
Sorae Osako
Shunji Tezuka
Reviews & comments
Onderhond
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- 87737 messages
- 13162 votes
You can safely call it sci-fi.
Of course, it remains just a Miike film, so simply sticking a genre on it won't cut it. Trying to clarify afterwards what people *should* actually expect from this film isn't easy either, as there isn't much to compare it to. It has turned into a sort of Power Rangers on Mars, with humanoid cockroaches and quite a few fights. The message is simply to watch it.
Or not, of course, because anyone expecting a serious film had better watch something else. It is presented reasonably seriously (except for the bad guy), but the story is so over the top and some things are so weird that it can hardly be taken seriously. Not really absurdly weird, by the way, more incomprehensible.
The cockroach creatures are wacky, with their big eyes and somewhat clumsy posture. Even though they are serious fighting machines. The human crew + mutations are also quite strange, reasonably original special powers, but it is a weird twist about 30 minutes into the film. CG isn't all that great (obviously), but overall it's passable.
Furthermore, a striking opening (a clear Blade Runner homage), some typical wacky Miike moments (those cockroach waves), and a fun bad guy. Still, it was a bit too slow at times, and I found the whole mutation thing just a little too childish without actually becoming weird, but otherwise, I enjoyed this Miike again. Instead of a "they don't make them like this anymore" sigh, he consistently delivers a "they've never made them like this before."
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
sinterklaas
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- 11839 messages
- 3329 votes
It’s been a long time since I saw a film by my faithful hero Miike. In the last ten years, very little of the man’s work has been released in the Netherlands. So this wacky space movie is definitely an exception.
Miike hasn't lost his touch... even though Terra Formars is just a side project. We follow a group of hardened criminals who are sent to Mars in exchange for their freedom. Apparently, life forms have been found there. Those cockroach-like creatures that, on closer inspection, you lose badly against. Unless you inject some kind of superpower into yourself.
This makes for a delightfully wacky trip in Miike-land, where heads and limbs fly around and the humor is allowed to be dry and wacky again. Those creatures look very wacky too, and the fights are truly stunning.
Great video from the Japanese grandmaster. His creativity is still undeniable...
3.5*
Translated from Dutch · View original
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