Cutie Honey: Tears

Granted, I enjoyed the 2004 "Cutie Honey" movie that had Eriko Satô starring in it, so when I happened to stumble upon this 2016 "Cutie Honey: Tears" movie, of course I took the time to sit down and watch it.

I hadn't even heard about this movie before finding it and having the chance to watch it, so it was a nice surprise to stumble upon a find such as this in the movie selection.

Well, this was not up to the expectation I had. Not even by a longshot. The storyline told in "Cutie Honey: Tears" was too random and while there was a red thread throughout the movie, director Takeshi Asai just was all over the place trying to accomplish way too many things at once, and succeeding only in a few.

The movie didn't have that silly feel-good feeling that the 2004 movie had to it. And it didn't really feel like Cutie Honey at all. Sure Mariya Nishiuchi, playing Cutie Honey in this 2016 movie, was nice to look at, but she lacked the charm and on-screen presence that Eriko Satô had. And having her change multiple costumes and looks throughout the movie just didn't help sell the concept either.

Visually then "Cutie Honey: Tears" was spectacular. The CGI effects were good, very good. But it wasn't enough to lift up the massive holes that served as a script and storyline for the movie.

So essentially "Cutie Honey: Tears" was just a visually impressive movie with a pretty lady, and little to no storyline at all. And it should be said that Nicole Ishida definitely was also a pretty lady, but was also struggling with having nothing to work with in terms of script and storyline.

I wanted to like "Cutie Honey: Tears", I honestly did. And I did manage to endure the movie, though the last 20 or 25 minutes were a struggle to get through.

My rating of "Cutie Honey: Tears" is a mere four out of ten stars. It is nowhere near as enjoyable and entertaining as the 2004 movie.

Cutie Honey is a technologically advanced android with the ability to manipulate matter. She's is a standard Japanese character dating back to the 70s who has appeared in manga, anime, tv shows and film. Traditionally, Cutie Honey is portrayed as a bit of an airhead that beats the bad guys using her fearless beauty more than her brains. Cutie Honey: Tears is probably the darkest, most serious version of the character so far. So, if you're looking for an android that can knock a bad guy out cold with her breasts, this isn't the droid you're looking for.

So... It's the end of the 21st Century. The worlds cities are being built higher to get away from the pollution. The film starts with Cutie Honey and her "father" (the scientist who built her) being chased onto a skywalk by a woman and some thugs. The scientist is shot and Cutie Honey falls onto the street below. She wakes up in a street filled with rubble and walks away. The movie picks up 20 years later when Cutie Honey become entangled in a plot to destroy the AI running the city. Sorry. No spoilers.

Mariya Nishiuchi plays the role of Cutie Honey seriously in a world of serious villains. This gives the character a completely different personality and range of possibilities than the Cutie Honey most people are familiar with.

I've always described Cutie Honey: Tears as the Japanese version of Blade Runner. While that's pretty accurate most people don't really see the reference because Blade Runner is gritty and dirty and oppressive. Tears takes place in a uniquely Japanese dystopia where people still sweep the streets by hand even though they're living in a polluted, irradiated city and have to wear gas masks to take out the garbage when the weather's bad. Technically, the world of Cutie Honey: Tears is more grounded in reality than Blade Runner, LOL.

Personally, I give Cutie Honey: Tears a 10/10, but I'm biased because Mariya Nishiuchi is one of my favorite actresses. Realistically, I would say 7/10 for anyone unfamiliar with Nishiuchi-sama or previous versions of Cutie Honey. I'd probably have to say 5/10 for any die-hard Cutie Honey fans that might be lurking about.

Don't be turned away by the name of the movie. It's actually a great sci-fi movie with a good story. Very entertaining. I don't feel any time was wasted when I was watching.

The special effects are pretty neat, I also liked how dark the future was portrayed. But as it is quite often the case in japanese movies the dialogues didn't seem real and the acting was most of the time overacted. The action scenes were shot in a very bad close up way so it was rarely the case that you could properly witness what actually happened during those action scenes. There was no shortage of melodramatic scenes that seemed out of place. The dramaturgy is very flat. I cannot recommend watching this.