Berserk Golden Age Arc II: Capture of Doldrey [Review]

How would you rate this movie?

  • Excellent

    Votes: 10 8.9%

  • Good

    Votes: 35 31.3%

  • So-so

    Votes: 26 23.2%

  • Poor

    Votes: 25 22.3%

  • Embarrassing

    Votes: 16 14.3%
  • Total voters
    112
I voted for so-so, but I'm really not sure if poor wasn't the best option. I don't know if it's resignation, or numbness on my part after the utter disappointment the first film was, but I liked this one better. I know, I really tried not getting my hopes up from the start, and I thought I managed to for a while, but after you're sitting there with your expensive bluray and gorgeous cover there's no way you can not wish for the best :( It's Berserk afterall..

Anyway, the second one flowed better, I think, and the animation and soundtrack were better too. The imagery sometimes was gorgeous (like in Doldrey battle), and that's when you truly see they had so much potential and could have made it SO much better... but didn't. Apparently, the person(s) behind the decisions has as much sensibility as a cactus. It's obvious they didn't get what it was all about, or didn't care, when the very things they changed or cut out were the things that gave the events any kind of soul. Hell, Berserk is NOT about some badass guy with a friggin' huge sword and all the different things he cuts through and a bishonen evil guy that doesn't care about no-one and the rest is all filler. But I guess that if that's true even to some "fans", that may be so to them as well. It's just... downright sad that it had to be like that.

But overall, the movie didn't anger me as much as the first one and once you tried not to think of the manga, it was kinda neutral. Like those (hollow) movies you watch just because you're there, already watching TV, and you forget about later. But also, it's difficult to forget the manga when you have to fill in the plot holes yourself with the knowledge you have and after that it's impossible again to not make the comparison. There's no way to ignore the absence of Bonfire of Dreams, Guts talk with Judo and Carcus before leaving, Judo telling Casca that Griffith said he needed her and Guts on the Hawks, the background for Casca and Griffith and Guts understanding of it, the conspiracy plot, Griffith asking Guts if he though he was a cruel person and Guts unknowingly contributing for the line of though that led to Griffith's decision to sacrifice afterwards... the list goes on and one and the consequence of taking these things out is so overwhelming for me, that I believe they just decided it'd be simpler to remove everything.

And have Griffith on the rescue party after the hundred man battle, acting like a stunt and not reacting at all towards Guts. And have Casca on that very scene cry on him like she did on those two other important scenes that won't be on the movies - Griffith "back to life" and Guts alive after Wyald.

And have Guts and Casca dance on the ball, because let's face it, they'd totally do that. (I groaned and facepalmed throughout the entire scene. I honestly couldn't watch it). Same with Gennon's boys - who wouldn't be happy serving an old noble in his gay harem? Perhaps children that were enslaved, like they were supposed to be?


:mozgus:


PS: Yeah, I know, I started saying it didn't bother me as much as the first one, and ended hating it. That's what I get from falling out of numbness again :judo:
 
The more I think about these two movies, the more I can see what they were going for is being flashy. As others have pointed out, the producers seem to exaggerate many scenes and emotions of the characters so it looks over the top. I can visualze them in the script writing phase, and someone mentioning "this manga scene was okay... but we need to make it bigger! Better! We need to wow them!". Maybe I'm the only one that sees this but it made me a little queasy when I watched them.
 
May have been their intent, but they just made everything...less flashy, and very confusing, especially for people who are new to the Berserk fandom. I was hoping to use the Berserk films to introduce my friends and family to the work...yeeesh.
 
Well, I've had a coupler of beers and at least three glasses of champagne, so now that I'm in the same frame of my mind in which I wrote them it's time to finally transcribe MY NOTES in situ. I've tried to translate these as exactly as possible to the original written word in spelling and formatting. The spaces indicate page breaks in my little note pad, and edits for clarification are in brackets []. Consider this like a running diary form of live review, or even stream of consciousness poetry about the film. Even I don't know what some of it means at this point, but for the most part it's "pretty self-exploratory." I guess this is also officially my written review. Enjoy. :griffnotevil:

Looks better
more muted colors
better monitor
Still some game-i-ness
Thick lines
Guts terminator 2 entrance
Hawks look weird
Wearing white?
Background, gorgeous
11 min - Guts Gross Face

miLe L|/d (nice bird)
Added violence
Casca attack
Spaghetti western
impalement impossible
Guts gross again
guitar music - familiar
WTF!? FLASHBACK!?
Shittioer/gamier
tongue dude
casca badass/then helpless

Doldery, like lego
Berserk game
Looks like shit!
Raban looks good
LOL Gennon's GriffixL
clones! Attack of the clones
Berserk fight scenes
characters cut
Boscone looks like a
polished turd

Gennon is bad cuz
he's a fag
2nd man pirate
Some shots nice
Rhino Flag, Gennon
mask lol
Griff looks good
Fight starts good
looks good

Charlotte? huh? WTF
Guts/Boscone = awesome
G Casca raid Really
dumbed down
Boscone/guts cotners
to look good
Casca/Adon get
the B budget

eyepatch guy
my favorate
character, RIP
Adon dying is
a good thing, in
as many ways
possible
Doesn't [Guts] doesn't
need flags...
Or Zodd apparently

Those flags were
put up fast!
hundreds!
Aftermath longshot
glorious.
when gennon goes dam
Random dead chick
ass, dead servants
Return of the guaanfdgfdg [guard model]

Corkus k mackin
on his horse.
Serpico and
Farnese! Fan
service saiccessful!
Guts and casca
actually talk!
I assume this
(bonfire of dreams)
scene and fire/combined

Charlotte claps
has man hands.
Guts' look stuck.
Glad they worked
in the new
dance montage, like
the one from
ROTJ SE. Seeing
Caca and guts dance
was cute (FFVII)

Wow, no assassiration
new homeless dude
going through the
motions/actions
Dance to this
makes no sense
Corkus rant
lengthened? Griff's
coat infused with
gold? Goldfinger?

Remember when
we were worried
about clothes being
wrong? Or when
it was debated
what made a
good adaptation?
Instant flashback!
Guts harmed hair
on his head

BLOWWWWWW
Old lady: "Don't
fuck Griff tonight!"
Griffith, emo
window raper
Griffith makeout
out of tim and
eric. Kung fu
nipple grip. No

No ambiguity
here, Charlotte
kinky. Added
titsucking and
fingerbanging.
WOW! Moment
of penetration/
janai remix!
to beat

Art porn!
I reacted like
the maid
embarassing
WOW!
Charlotte/Griff
cum cross

Added ass
Casca senses
fucking LOL
Griffith Eceyt [caught]
by lego guard
models!

Pippin ear
twitch yell
music shit
magic.
Lego Model
Revenge. King
whipping, no context

This actually
effective!
Hey! It's
the real
torturer! It
was all worth
it!

Berserk:
Faithful Torturer
Project.
Puck scene
like out of
Simpsons fam [fan]
service.

Movie 3: trailer
more embarassing
Sex Scenes.
I like the
credits music.
Familiar, either
from last OST or
stolen

Then turned
to generic
Shit!
Berserk
film partners
KILL!

you know how
watching sex
scenes with
family is
embarrassing? th
This was like
watching it with
Miura. Literally hs [his]
work being Aucked [fucked].​
 
You know, the thing that I hate about this, is that a lot of people found Berserk through the Dreamcast game and the 97 anime. It led to the series gaining a real U.S. presence, and BSOM and SK.net took off after that. I really wanted to become active in the fan community again because of the films (I thought they would bring a torrent of new fans) and the fact that we're on the home stretch of the series, but I just don't see these films exposing a new generation of fans to the manga. Anyone who likes them is, by and large, probably not going to invest their time into a 36+ volume series and just wait for another movie/tv series. I think this was probably the last gasp for a Berserk anime, and I hate to write an obituary when we're only 2 films in.
 
The manga will still be here for those of us who do read it. People are drawn to manga for a lot of different reasons also. And Berserk has consistently represented itself among the best. So it's bound to draw future readers as long as the format is sought after in general. It doesn't need an adaptation to hold a steady following.

It would have been a nice boost, but oh well.
 
Finally sat down to watch it today and couldn't get past the first twenty minutes. The CGI is that cringeworthy. Distracting, too - I felt like I was watching a poorly-processed video game port.
 
IncantatioN said:
The CG on 1 was not as good as 2. So if you couldn't get past the first 20 minutes of movie 2, I ask if you've watched movie 1.
Click to expand...

Nope! ;) Now I'm morbidly curious.
 
Here's the thing I found about the cg: watching it on my computer via clips and trailers, it looks pretty bad, terrible in some spots. But watching it on my tv, from a normal distance, it looked fine, great in fact. The cg was barely noticable.
 
KuraiDragoon said:
Here's the thing I found about the cg: watching it on my computer via clips and trailers, it looks pretty bad, terrible in some spots. But watching it on my tv, from a normal distance, it looked fine, great in fact. The cg was barely noticable.
Click to expand...

I would honestly have to agree I found the first film a lot more watchable when the copy I ordered finally arrived so as a result I'm not gonna make any final opinions until After I acquire and watch a hard copy of every movie they release in this project
 
Here's a review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs61eXFc4Gc

He seemed to really like it. Could he be the primary demographic?
 
Walter said:
Here's a review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs61eXFc4Gc

He seemed to really like it. Could he be the primary demographic?
Click to expand...

Favorite quotes:

"shit gets crazy"

and

"do dese sex moves to my bitches"

but yeah, not a good review.
 
Walter said:
Here's a review: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fs61eXFc4Gc

He seemed to really like it. Could he be the primary demographic?
Click to expand...
I see huge potential for that Comic Con dating show.
 
BerserkMJM said:
I want a transcript. :troll:
Click to expand...
BERSERK GOLDEN AGE ARC II: THE BATTLE FOR DOLDREY REVIEW! (MANLY!)
By ThePhone999, as transcribed by Walter

berserk fan.jpg
Ooouhhh whoa whoa, people guess who has two thumbs and seen the Berserk Golden Age Part II: Battle for Doldrey movie, subbed, finally? Uhhhhh, thiss guy. Yes, I did. Yes, I fuckin' did. And I'm going to tell you, this movie is better than the first one, because of where this movie takes place—a lot of action, a lot of blood. A lot of people get cut in half. It's fuckin' Berserk. Let's fuckin' go!

We have Guts versus Adon's soldiers, and when I tell you, to see Guts taking out 100 soldiers by himself, it was glorious. To see that in this movie, it was amazing. To see Guts go rampaging, like ahhhh, die, me Casca (?), woahhh, is that an arrow in my hand? Fuck it ahhhh, diieee. It was amazing. It was manly. Respect that man, Guts. He's a fucking beast of a character. Ohh. Oh!

A lot of shit was going down in this movie. You got the battle for Castle Doldrey in this movie. Something happen to Casca, you have to see the movie to find out people, you know I can't tell you these things, man. You got to see the movie. Guts saves Casca, and you start to see Casca and Guts relationship start to connect, start to grow. As the movie progress, their relationship grows. It's bout to burst any second.

berserk fan2.jpg
And in this movie we learn a little more about Casca, why Casca loves Griffith, why Casca wants to be Griffith's sword. And from the first movie what Griffith said about friends, friends are people who are equal to him,and you know, they have their own dreams and not followers. What he said was fucked up, but it was the fuckin' truth, it was factual. And in this movie Guts was thinking about like, "Yo, like I ummmm. I want Griffith to see I'm his equal. I have dreams. I like, uhh, I want to do something for myself too. I don't want to be a follower, like, you know, what do I want?" And Casca in this movie questions Guts, like, "Yo, do you have dreams, do you have goals, what do you want in life?" pretty much.

And we see the Band of Hawks move up. We see Griffith getting closer to his dream of having his own kingdom and you know, shit gets crazy the battle for Castle Doldrey, the king there, they mention him, because Griffith talks to the king, his name Gennon. And they mention it but Griffith, like I said would do anything to have his own kingdom. He did some THANGS with the KING you know wh'm sayin? Uohh Griffith, you a crazy motherfucker. You got the purple rhino soldiers, it was crazy. It was a lot of battles. A lot of fights. It was good. I was hoping in this movie to see more about Guts past. I was hoping they would go into Guts' past. But again, I was hoping to see to get to know about Guts' past. You get to see Guts get the nickname 100 man slayer. You know, you see Guts and Griffith they clash toward the end, and Griffith's shit just crumbled because of what Guts did, and you know... You see Griffith get down and dirty in the bed with the princeeeesssss.

I am going to tell you, when that shit happened, I was like, "Yo, let me write down these sex moves so I can do this shit on my bitches. You know wh'm sayin? Do these sex moves on my bitches. You know wh'm sayin? Call that shit the Griffith." You feels me? Call that shit the Griffith, man. Hmmmmm.

But anyways, the movie is better than the first one. Each one is going to be better than the last one, man. The 2D animation is amazing. It's really nice. The 3D animation, it's the same from the first one. I thought they'd improve it, and do you know better things from the first one, but they kept it the same, pretty much. And, you know, also, Puck makes an appearance in this movie. People if you know Berserk, if you've read the manga, you know who Puck is. He is in the movie, he makes an appearance in the movie. So yeah, I was like, yo yo.

The third one, you know, this movie ends off yo where shit's about to go down. Like, when the third movie comes out, The Descent. God Hand, the sacrifice, the esper tales like (?), it's going to be unreal people. I cannot wait for the third movie, it's going to be total mind fucks.

berserk fan7.jpg
But Berserk, Golden Age Arc II: Battle for Doldrey. It was really great. We learn about Casca, we learn more about Guts and what does he want. Does Guts have dreams, does he have goals? You know. He wants to be equal to like, Griffith. He wants Griffith to see like, "Yo, I'm your equal. I'm not your little pebble in the fucking pond." Like, nah. It's not going to happen.
But yeah people, watch the movie. It's better than the first one. Okay? Yeah. Better than the first one. Yessss.
 
I watched his review and laughed ..so much nonsense,I dunno on what drugs,but he definetly had verbal diarrhea about Berserk. This is what hype does to people.
 
:serpico:

It might be the fever/flu that I have right now talking, but I have an overwhelming urge to loop the "You see Griffith get down and dirty in the bed with the princeeeesssss" bit.
 
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