Gantz - The Ultimate Answer - DVD

Film: The adventure continues: after Gantz - Play for Your Life now comes The Ultimate Answer. We remember: former school friends Kei (Ninomiya Kazunari) and Kato (Matsuyama Kenichi) meet again one day in a Tokyo subway station, and a short time later they are both hit and killed by a subway in an accident. However, instead of lying dead on the tracks, they find themselves with some strangers in a strange room with a mysterious orb called GANTZ floating in the middle of it. From GANTZ, they are given the mission to find and kill a supposedly alien life form. And thus began a game of life and death for the friends that ended fatally for Kato.

Five months have now passed since Kato died fighting the aliens. Kei is now doing everything he can to bring him back to life. For whoever manages to earn a score of 100 points can either return to normality themselves after having their memories of GANTZ and its murderous game erased, or bring a former teammate back to life. However, Kato's return turns out to be a little different than planned.

Gantz - The Ultimate Answer continues the story of the first part consistently, although the title is somewhat misleading. For there isn't really an ultimate answer. Admittedly, the story is concluded and a thoroughly rounded overall picture emerges. Nevertheless, many questions remain unanswered at the end. In addition, the action in the second part, even more than in the predecessor, is at times arg arguably confused and somewhat overloaded.

But in return for these small weaknesses, the viewer is offered a show and entertainment value, which is even above that of part 1. Alone the long fight in a subway between Kei and his comrades-in-arms against aliens in human form is just great. The fight choreography, the special effects and the editing make this sequence a highlight of this two-parter. Even if the dialogues seem a bit stilted at times and the plot has some logic holes, it's fast-paced scenes like the subway fight that make Gantz - The Ultimate Answer quite great entertainment for all fantasy and science fiction fans.

Although in contrast to the anime series in terms of violence and sex in the live-action adaptation was clearly stepped on the brakes and of course the plot had to be extremely tightened, so the fun factor of especially this second film is hardly diminished by it. If you can make compromises with the story and just want to be intoxicated by the great fight and action sequences, the second excursion into the mysterious world of GANTZ can be highly recommended. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: Since only a data-reduced press sample was available for testing, no rating can be given here about the final picture and sound quality.

Extras: Also the bonus material could not be sighted on the press DVD. Announced are a making of and the trailer for the film.

Conclusion: The second installment of the live-action adaptation of the manga Gantz may not give the ultimate answer promised in the title, but it does bring the story to a well-rounded conclusion in an exciting, entertaining and action-packed way. With some really impressive fight sequences and decent effects it is consoled over some logic holes and the fact that the story is a bit confusing at times doesn't bother. For fans of fantasy and science fiction action absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp