[Movie Review] One Piece Film Gold

[Movie Review] One Piece Film Gold

Introduction

The movie is set in One Piece Universe right after the Dressrosa Arc whereby Luffy has already defeated Donquixote Dorflamingo. Straw Hat Crew visits the world largest entertainment city Gran Tesoro which was created by Gild Tesoro.

It is a home of the world's greatest entertainment casino city where well-known pirates, Marines, and millionaires throughout the world gather in an "absolute sanctuary" that even the World Government can't touch.

Straw Hat Crews are enjoying themselves until they are tricked into a bigger conspiracy by Gild Tesoro as part of his “entertainment”. The crews are trapped in a great threat when Zorro is captured and about to be executed by Gild Tesoro.

Apart from that, Straw Hat Crews also discovered the other secrets of Gran Tesoro about those “losers” who are entrapped and suffered in the city.

Will Luffy and the straw hat crews be able to save Zorro?

What is the secret behind the gold and glittering city?

Let’s Coup de Burst to the nearest GSC cinema this 8^th September 2016 and find it out!

Review:

The Straw Hat Crews In Action On Big Screen!

It’s always a pleasure to see our beloved Straw Hat Crews in action on big screen. The movie kicked off by showing the crews visiting the Gran Tesoro and was assaulted by pirates who have just lost all their money in the casino. Just like usual, the crews are introduced as each of them displays their strength in fending off the enemies. It’s great to see them with their latest bounty price too (especially the one “God Usopp” with 200 million berry).

Simple Plot of Exploration with some small twists!

The plot of the movie is kind of straight-forward with a small twist in the end. It is the storyline everyone would expect from a One Piece movie. First, started off with an exploration of the world of Gran Tesoro, whereby we could see the Straw Hat Crews having fun in the different games in casino. Then, it revolved around Straw Hat Crews against the villain Gild Tesoro’s mischievous plot. There are some twists in the movie but most of it are within expectation. It is something familiar for the One Piece fans yet something which the fans would enjoy.

Spy Infiltration Style Action?

Apart from usual fight-it-through scenes, this time around, the One Piece film shows us how the crews could use their abilities to deliver some James Bond, Mission Impossible or Metal Gear Solid style of infiltration. It is actually quite a good way to demonstrate the use of their skills in a different way.

Spectacular Action Sequences!

Although the first half of the show doesn’t involve too many fights, the action sequence near the end of the show is quite nice. Here, we get to see how the crews use their skills in defeating the villains with distinctive powers. Some even demonstrated the abilities which are never seen in the manga or anime before. Of course, since this is a story after the Dressrosa Arc, you get to see Luffy in his Gear Fourth too!

Smooth Graphical Animation! Great Voice Acting!

The graphical animation for this movie is quite remarkable. Some of the scenes involve CGI enhanced 2D graphics. This enhancement is great and appreciable in an anime movie like this.

Besides, the voice acting performance for the film is good. It featured the original seiyuu casts for the main characters. The new add-ins for the film has amazing voice acting too.

The Cameo Appearances!

Other than the Straw Hat Crews, the movie also shows us some cameo appearance of a few characters from the series itself. However, most of these cameo appearances are sidelined and doesn’t even have an interaction with the straw hat crews themselves, their appearances are no doubt a mere fans servicing attempt.

  

Decent OST and Background Music!

The music for the film is quite decent and fit well with the theme of the film. The starting song of “Gold & Jive by Silver Ocean” has the carnival like mood which is quite appropriate to the movie while most other songs sounded casino-like. “DokiDoki Spy Time” gives a vibe of classical detective mood for the movie scene.

Personally, I love the song “Daigyakuten” the most because of its upbeat tone as well as the Gear Fourth moment!

Downside: Overpowered But Underdeveloped Main Villain!

The downside for the movie would be the main villain. The main villain this time is different from other villains in the previous One Piece movies or even other anime movies whereby most of the time, the movie villain is actually quite weak. In this case, the main villain Gild Tesoro and his gang has some coolest Devil Fruit ability. Gild Tesoro himself is really overpowered and I can understand why the straw hat crews would need to struggle a little to beat him up.

However, what makes the main villain a setback in the film is its underdeveloped backstory. Of course, there are flashbacks signifying some of his background origin. But the patches of scenes won’t help you to feel for him or even understand his true motive in the film except just to play the role as the main villain here. What made it worse is the repetitive lame slogan of “It’s an ENTERTAINMENT!”

Downside: Inconsistent Pacing! Abrupt Ending!
Another downside for the movie is the inconsistent pacing of the movie. There are moments in the movie which really get the fans feel excited with but then to be abruptly slowed down by some down-tempo conversation.  

In addition, the abrupt ending is also upsetting because it is so sudden without any time for the audience to even process it.

What I like about the movie:

• The straw hat crews on big screen
• Action Packed
• Smooth Animation
• Decent OST

What I dislike about the movie:

• Sidelined cameo appearance
• Underdeveloped villain
• Inconsistent Pacing & Abrupt Ending

Verdict:

This movie deserves a 7.0/10.0!

“It’s great to see The Straw Hat Crew In Action on Big Screen! A show which is highly recommended to all One Piece Fans” –WLJack

Million thanks to GSC Movies for inviting me to the gala premiere of the movie. And million thanks to them for bringing the movie to Malaysia.

The movie will be available in selected GSC Outlets from 8^th September 2016 onwards!

Published by WLJack.