Paul Magne Haakonsen I never read any of the comics or watched the Anime of "Fullmetal Alchemist", so I had no idea what I should expect from this live action rendering of the concept. I just had a little information about what it was about, so I sat down to watch it with no expectations or hopes, as I found it on Netflix.It turns out that this movie was actually entertaining enough for what it was, although the storyline was somewhat simplistic, and there were no twists or turns along the ride."Fullmetal Alchemist" (aka "Hagane no renkinjutsushi") was long, painstakingly long. And they could have trimmed it down with some more intense and thorough editing, because there was a lot of stuff which wasn't really serving more than being eye-candy and filler on the screen.The characters in the movie were adequate, although the lead role played by Ryôsuke Yamada was somewhat of a swing and a miss, because he was rigid and monotone in his performance. Yasuko Matsuyuki, playing Lust, was really perfect for the role, but it was a shame that she, as the villain, didn't have more time on the screen. Tsubasa Honda, playing Winry, was carrying a great deal of the movie, as she had to pick up where Ryôsuke Yamada came in short.The visuals and special effects in the movie were amazing, and they carried the movie quite a long way.An entertaining movie for sure but it was just way way too long.

ordeth Watch the anime full metal alchemist brotherhood. There is a reason it has such a high rating. This movie was just terrible compared, It's missing everything that really makes the original good.

cod393 First review ever, but had to. This is bad. Music is hokey, graphics are bush league, and acting is lacking. I mean if I can't get past 12 minutes then something is wrong because I will almost always give a movie or show a chance.I give it 3* because maybe, just maybe the story or concept is actually good. Problem is the production is so hokey (best way to describe it) that I cannot even give the film a chance.Those that rated this anything above a 5* must be sentimental to the anime or something.

nmn34 The movie feels cheap, there is no other way to describe it. It has polish, it looks like an actual movie that they wanted to make look good, but it seems like they cut some corners that they really ought not have. Coupled with adapting a story that may be too long with too many characters and too many subplots, the outcome is a jumbled mess that may be worth a single curiosity viewing and then promptly forgotten.The CGI throws up a lot of red flags for this movie. While I can't fault the actual models, Alfonse looks pretty true to form, there is something about them that consistently feels off. Something that keeps them from meshing in with the world around them. That thing is textures, there are too many flat textures that draw attention away from what looks good. While I can't fault the meta sheen of Alfonse's armor, the cloth around his waste sticks out like a sore thumb. There is no weave or detail, its a sheet of white hanging over his nethers. It was this reason I'd rather they just rigged a cheaper suit of armor for the actor and special effected him out. Gluttony is much the same way, a character that loses much of his usage because of Japanese distaste towards desecration, they make the big reveal of his true power. And it looks terrible. His chest opens up to reveal long teethe like appendages and the eye of truth in the abyss that makes up his insides, but again completely devoid of texture. Coupled by the characters immobility, he waddles like a penguin with all the speed of a tectonic plate, it kills any semblance of threat that he imposes. The worst offender however is the homonculus horde. They move like zombies but are all pure white to the extent that they could be used as paint swatches with a big goofy eyeball.There are a couple of exceptions, Tucker's chimera looks pretty good as does Lust's fingers, but the failures bring something that the movie doesn't intend. They make it feel like a cartoon. Its like watching Who Framed Roger Rabbit, but while n that movie the interaction between live action and cartoon is intentional, here it does not. They want the audience to feel that these things are real, that the laws that govern this world apply to them just as much as they do Edward and Winry, but one look at them and the audience knows they are not. This in tun kills the serious nature of their interactions and ultimately reshapes the movie into something it never intended to be.The source also does not translate as well because there is simply too much of it. Fullmetal Alchemist has a ton of characters, lore, and backstories that just can't be fit into the time constraints of a two hour move and as such a ton of key characters are omitted. The problem then arises in how to fill in for them. While Lieutenant Armstrong may not have been as integral a character in the early parts of the series, he provided some much needed comic relief and is a character fans would surely miss. But then there is Rose, a member of a cult that played an integral role in defining Edward early on. A character just starting down the same path as the hero, it is his interaction with her that really fleshes him out as a character. Her omission greatly harms his development as they are left finding a less natural work around for it.Ultimately, the movie just isn't good. Its not a complete train wreck nor does it drive any real animosity against it, it falls in the realm of mediocre movies that no one will ever bother to remember existed. But with all its technical flaws, the one thing I can take out of this movie is the mop they slapped on Ryosuke Yamada's head. To call that natural looking hair is truly the most upsetting thing to come out of this movie.