Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critics

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 17
  2. Negative: 3 out of 17
  1. At this point, there's something almost masochistic about the way animators in Japan use cheesy ''Westernized'' heroes to fuel their fantasies.
  2. 50
    The film's lingering exploration of their sleek surfaces verges on roboporn.
  3. Only real fans, however, will be willing to slog through the heaping helpings of incomprehensible exposition.
  4. 50
    The stock characters and leaden stretches of expository dialogue are welcome evidence that there's still no computer program capable of telling a decent story.
  5. Dazzling visually but is flattened by corny dialogue better suited to the 1936 "Flash Gordon" serial, a needlessly hard to follow plot and heavy-handed exposition clotted with pseudo-scientific mumbo jumbo.
  6. The characters are (hand-painted) so flat that the film looks like a paper-doll convention at Epcot.
  7. 40
    Much of the movie is dull, and as it has been dubbed into English, the blah-blah is impossible to ignore.
  8. While there are some genuinely dazzling moments of visual bravura, the marriage of flatness and depth that Mr. Aramaki attempts doesn't quite work.
  9. 40
    Its busy, stiff, artificial graphics are a perfect match for its busy, stiff, artificial plot. A simple Shirow pinup parade might almost be preferable.
  10. Reviewed by: Kim Newman
    The characters might physically appear rounded, but are otherwise paper-thin.
  11. Whatever is lost in translation can't keep Appleseed from feeling a decade late--and its animation from looking like a relic on arrival.
  12. 40
    The film's snazzy new automated animation style falls short: The supposedly human face of our metal-plated robocop's partner -- the inevitable curvy female in a leather jump suit -- is an inexpressive, glossy doll mask, untouched by human hands.
  13. Reviewed by: Richard James Havis
    The film has enough originality to interest demanding fans of the genre.
  14. Reviewed by: Peter Debruge
    The visuals are really the only compelling reason to see Appleseed.
  15. Reviewed by: G. Allen Johnson
    Held back by a story and script that is often silly and confusing.
  16. Reviewed by: Leslie Felperin
    Craft connoisseurs won't be disappointed with the splendidly executed result. However, everyone else is likely to wonder what the fuss about given the plot's dated cyborgs-and-supercomputers hijinks.
User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 19 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. Sam
    Jun 23, 2006
    With the exception of Princess Mononoke, I truly despise anime, and Applessed enlarges my grudge against the ridiculous form of art even more.
  2. [Anonymous]
    Nov 16, 2005
    The story has great premise, but it doesn't take advantages of the prime elements in the best way. Still, it does get you to think about such a system, if only a little bit. If that doesn't please you, there's plenty of graphics to feast on, and the action is among the best i've seen in an animated feature. Not perfect, but definitely worth a watch or two. Full Review »
  3. mem.
    Sep 22, 2005
    Good thing about manga is that you can just switch your brain off and let the movie take you into its own little strange world. the visuals in this film help u on that little journey to manga land, and its great. reminds me of watching FF spirits within. Full Review »