Dante's Inferno [DVD] [2009]

I found this film to be quite refreshing and very interesting. I didn't know what to expect at first and was very intrigued by this release. Now before I go on I will say that this film will have a very cult following and may not be to everyone's taste but fans of the macabre, Anime and possibly Dante Alighieri fans will absolutely love this! I'll also say that a Bluray purchase is not nessessary as cel animated films pretty much look the best they can on DVD upscaled so you may want to DVD it. Id say the only real advantage with this is the sound.

This is an animated adaptation of Dante's first book in The Divine Comedy; Inferno. If you're not familiar with it, we follow Dante on his journey through hell to reclaim the soul of his lover, Beatrice from Lucifer (The Devil), he has to pass through the 9 circles of hell to reach her with the aid of his companion, the poet Virgil (Devil May Cry fans may start to understand things a bit better!)

The film is animated by four separate Japanese anime studios so the animation varies. You may start to see characters change and action scenes shot differently as you watch the film, I thought this was a nice idea and very original. If you are familiar with anime and manga and the style of it you will be at home with this and it will tick all the boxes. Please do not expect an Advent Children style of film as one reviewer already has and was extremely upset, this is naive and you will be disappointed if not surprised!

The animation is traditional Japanese animation or cel animation so you know what to expect immediately. For the laymen this is the oldest and most successful form of animation to date and is essentially a backbone for companies like Disney. The story is over 700 years old so it is what it is and I can't really comment, it's been condensed and some violence added in a nutshell and it's somewhat..less poetic which will upset fans of Dante's work I imagine but this is more of an Anime fan's film. The action is intense and is as you would expect from Japanese Anime. It's fast, hard, OTT and extremely, unnecessarily violent...Fantastic! The music is excellent and it follows a very eerie theme that fits the film perfectly.

I really enjoyed the film as im a massive fan of Studio Ghibli, Manga adaptations and Gonzo. I've read Dante Alighieri's Inferno and it took me a year, this film explains it nicely and a lot simpler with an added bonus of wall to wall mindless violence and outstanding traditional Japanese animation!

If like me you are a massive Anime fan and love the standout pieces like Akira, Afro Samurai and Princess Mononoke then you will definitely not be disappointed with this and it's more than a worthwhile purchase. If you are not familiar with anime but you liked the game I still think you will be pleased. If you're new to the whole process then id say tread with caution and you may want to work your way up and maybe start with Akira or similar. I have given it four stars as it isn't as good as the classics but then what is? Please don't be put off by negative reviews, this is not poorly animated it's just not Finding Nemo and some people will be upset by that but then again it's not Urotsukidôji either!!

I was really surprised at how good I found this. I was worried that it would be too...niche, for me, as I'm not into manga or anime and the likes. I just decided to try this on a whim as, while I haven't read the book or played the game, I know the gist of it and find it interesting. We get to follow Dante's journey through Hell to save his love Beatrice, getting a nice tour of the different locations in it.
Anyway, I thought this film was great, a couple of minor flaws, such as, as other reviews have said, the way the characters change with each different director. You'd think they would have met and decided on a look, but the main characters look completely different in different stages of the film, which is weird and a bit confusing, though I found it quite amusing how Beatrice's breasts got steadily bigger towards the end.
However, on the whole an exciting, well depicted story with decent plot and voice acting. Bravo.

PROS:
- Brilliant story, which shows the levels of hell and is uncompromising in stating who ends up on which level of hell.
- Excellent characters which are fleshed out and the voice work is very good, especially for Dante and Beatrice
- Excellent animation, several different artists are used which means the main characters look slightly different on each level.

CONS:
- The characters being animated differently in each level can take you out of the film briefly.
But each new version of Dante Virgil and Beatrice is very well animated so its no loss.

Overall if your a fan of anime, dantes inferno, horror or a good storyline, buy this.
I wish more animated movies were made to this standard.