Films > Film Reviews
Yu-Gi-Oh! - The Dark Side Of Dimensions
Cinema City
05/02/17
Its time to d-d-d-d-duel!
Season 5 of the original Yu-Gi-Oh series wrapped up in 2005 for western fans, and now over 10 years later the iconic cast of characters are back for an all new adventure written by the series creator Kazuki Takahashi. The film's story takes place one year after the conclusion of the TV show, and focuses around Yugi Muto and Seto Kaiba. For diehard fans of the series this could easily be the greatest thing ever, getting to see old characters return for an all new story after so long. For fans like myself who simply watched the occasional episode on Saturday mornings or engaged in the occasional duel on the playground at lunch time there is enough here to make it worth while. However people with little knowledge or those completely unfamiliar with the franchise will likely find this one of the most abysmal 2 hours and 11 minutes of their life.
The overall production of the film is perfectly fine, the animation is a joy to watch and features some truly eye-popping scenes that look simply fantastic up on a big screen. The soundtrack and overall sound design are what you would come to expect from a feature like this which is good. For the most part the voice acting is great particularly from the main characters who appear to sound exactly like they did in the original TV show and the fact that its dubbed over from the original Japanese cast is barely noticeable. What will alienate most people would be the story, writing and overall tone of the film. Once the nostalgia inducing opening 10 or so minutes had worn off I would often find myself quite simply... bored. The film truly does drag on for long stretches of time both in good and bad scenes. Some things add so little to the overall plot you wonder why its even being included, other things are included and then not mentioned again or then serve little or no purpose in the overall narrative. One of the most glaring issues in the narrative is that it can't decide whether this is a standalone film or a direct continuation of previous stories. Sometimes the viewer is expected to remember past events from the TV show, the next it will have you believing that only the current events on screen are what matters. Ultimately this leads to the viewer not really caring about the events on screen whether it be an overly long exposition dump or action packed duel sequence and struggling to understand where all the film's various plot strands connect or if they even matter.
Your move! But let's be realistic, we are not here for some thought provoking and mind blowing story. No, the reason I so eagerly watched the TV show all those years ago was because of the duels! If this film does one thing right it’s the action packed, totally ludicrous, hilariously ridiculous and perfectly awesome duels. The film has a number of match up's between main character Yugi, the ambitious Seto and main baddie of the film Aigami; these duels are easily the best part of the entire film. Each duel has serious weight and consequences and each does something to make it unique and exciting. The rivalries are fierce, the stakes are high, the cards spectacular, the rules... errrr confusing. I could not help but grin and laugh at some of the tactics used in the duels or the fact that one of the series' most iconic monsters Blue Eyes White Dragon had about six variations; often it's not clear what the actual rules are such as whose move it is. The monsters, spell and trap cards are all fantastic particularly when they fill the screen with their over the top and larger than life designs (the young boys consistent "yippee's" from the row in front certainly reaffirm this). This coupled with the complete seriousness of the characters as they make daring move after move make the duels incredibly fun to watch unfold. The duels then provide some of the most fun I've had at the cinema in a long time and are easily the best part of the experience. Its not just the duels that had me ridiculously grinning either but other parts of the film are riddled with pure cheesiness and ridiculousness but pulled off with a certain level of charm and finesse that it never enters the 'so bad it's good' category.
I believe in the heart of the cards! And so while the experience can get tedious and the story kind of terrible it’s the overall absurdity of the film and the fact that a film experience like this can't be found anywhere else that had me leaving the cinema with a massive grin on my face and laughing at the sheer absurdity of the whole affair. The film manages to wrap up nicely despite its rocky narrative throughout and boasts one of the most cliché (albeit awesome) finales of its kind. It's certainly not for everybody and either requires an extremely open mind or at least some basic knowledge of the series to truly enjoy. But if you really believe in the heart of the cards then I can guarantee you will at least have a fun time.