Review: ‘Metropolis’ a nice place to visit

Geoff Carter

Friday, April 19, 2002 | 9:15 a.m.

'Metropolis'

Grade: ****

Starring: The voices of Jamieson Price, Yuka Imoto, Kei Kobayashi and Koaki Okada.

Screenplay: Osamu Tezuka and Katsuhiro Otomo.

Director: Taro Rin.

Rated: PG-13 for violence and images of destruction.

Running time: 107 minutes.

Movie times: http://www.vegas.com/movies/

Osamu Tezuka's "Metropolis," a Japanese animated film so named as to differentiate it from Fritz Lang's 1926 silent film and to honor Tezuka's original comic story (he created "Astro Boy," among others), is very nearly a masterpiece. I don't use that word lightly, and I only apply it to films I enjoy more and more with each successive viewing. I'll be watching "Metropolis" for years to come, enjoying its ageless quality and taking away some new information every time.

A detective story in an imaginary future city that owes everything and nothing to Lang's vision -- Tezuka was reportedly inspired by a poster for Lang's film, and based his classic comic upon it -- "Metropolis" sets up its most basic plot elements almost immediately, leaving the viewer free to explore the city's dark corners. It is a multi-level city, inhabited by humans but maintained by robots, and there's a lot happening in those corners: Dark plans are being made.

A new, gargantuan building, called the Ziggurat (check your bible), is built by Metropolis architect and shadow ruler, Duke Red. It becomes a lightning rod for trouble immediately. Red's thugs, the Malduk Party, secretly stir up anti-robot sentiment to sabotage Metropolis' real president; Red's adopted son, Rock, leads the Malduks. Into this mess comes a detective from Japan and his young nephew, seeking a corrupt scientist named Laughton -- who, unknown to anyone, is creating a super-android for Red that is a perfect likeness of Red's deceased daughter ... and is also a terrifying weapon.

If any of this sounds familiar or hokey, believe me, it isn't. The city scenes have an epic scale reminiscent of Andreas Gursky's photography; even the scenes in Metropolis' cramped underworld couldn't be built in live action without the excessive use of computer-generated backgrounds, which look more phony than animation. The story is impeccably told, and yields new revelations every minute or so.

And "Metropolis" has several unforgettable elements, images as indelible as they are familiar. Rock isn't the first baby-faced killer in screen history, but is among the most chilling you'll ever see. The robot, Tima, has the giant eyes and tiny features of every anime character, but has a face so expressive, it speaks half her lines. And the explosive climax, set to Ray Charles' "I Can't Stop Loving You," strongly recalls "Dr. Strangelove," with a wicked wit that would make Stanley Kubrick proud.

Visually unparalleled and shrewd in its use of music, "Metropolis" proves that there's more than a few new ways to tell an old story. All you need to know about "Metropolis" is in the city itself, hidden in its corners. Exploring those areas will take you the better part of a lifetime, and I can guarantee that you'll want to revisit this place, as many times as it takes.