Fullmetal Alchemist

I expected to be disappointed but I'm glad that wasn't the case. I was pleasantly surprised it used some of the original FullMetal Alchemist (2003) approach instead of going 100% FMA: Brotherhood (2009). Some storylines being dropped or crammed were to be expected and people who loved the side characters as much as the leads have to be prepared.

[spoiler]The beginning with the kids threw me off a little. The acting seemed awkward between Trisha and them. Luckily they didn't dwell on it. The CGI didn't seem that good in the trailers, so the next scene got bonus points from me for being funny (including the gag with that poor cat) on top of it. The '03 Mustang, being almost hostile towards Ed is a plus for me as well. I didn't really like the casting choice for Winry at first but she grew on me. Hughes, on the other hand, seemed perfect from the start - too bad his appearances were all too short. Nina's story didn't have much time to hit that hard but I guess just a reminder is already too much. Tucker's story being closer to '03 aligned with the story they were going for - it's a shame they didn't have Nina being the one to stop Ed from killing him. As for the rest, it's the final hurdle, not much to examine there though I was pleased by the final scene setting up a sequel.[/spoiler]

Finally, a live action anime movie that isn't horrible. No matter what, it's impossible to translate anime style mannerisms and facial expressions into a live action format so it always ends up being a bit cheesy but I felt like most of this movie was spot on. If you've seen and loved the anime, then you'll love this movie. If you haven't, don't waste your time. They are essentially covering a whole series in one movie so there's a lot they can't cover and it helps if you already know the back story. But having loved the anime, I was excited to see it come to life. Compared to every other live action I've seen, it was amazing and so much fun to see it come to life. I'm hoping for a sequel!

I really enjoyed this. One of the better anime adaptions out there.

The anime to live action I have enjoyed. It doesn't have a scratch on the Brotherhood series but I never expected it to. It invokes the same things I love about the anime though, the characters are true, the bond between the brothers is realised and an overarching plot that progressively becomes darker. They take liberty with the source material but lets be honest, a 2 hour 20 film could never cram 25+ hours of anime into it without sacrificing things.

In short, good fun, acting was admirable and I enjoyed it. In fact, it got me wanting to watch the original series again.

Al didn't get his body yet. pity!

So - it appears that some of the other commenters here didn't like this movie. I on the other hand enjoyed it. I also have never seen the anime series or movies, so I had no preconceptions about the characters or story.

I'm unfamiliar with the source material, but as a standalone film, this was enjoyable enough. Perhaps needed a little more alchemy to make it something truly special, but it's not a waste of a couple of hours.

Although CGI is garbage, it was still entertaining enough for me to watch it through to the end. Only reason it gets a 5 from me is because it made me want to rewatch the original series, which I may do after finishing the live action trilogy....hopefully the movies get better

Agreed and not smooth enough… the scenes are forced and not very well acted…