G-Saviour (1999)

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

Great story, amazing characters, superb action, enthralling cinematography. Yes, this is something I am glad I spent money on.

Okay I'm going to give an honest review. First things first the movie nowhere near that bad, this movie was made in 2000 in what I'd expect' its good to see the first Gundam live action series since there's only had been anime series of it. Positive feedback - Music track is brilliant to hear - Good special effects in the 2000 - Interesting battle/fighting scene - The physics(Gravity/Space fight) was almost real. Negative feedback - Bad acting (Not terrible) - Confusing storyline or plot - Need more episode or it should have been Overall Its a good movie to be seen if those who don't know whats Gundam.

A month ago, I found G-Savior DVD in the "2nd hand" product bin at my local video store. It was really cheap so despite having read so many angry fan ravings about how terrible G-savior was, I bought it, watched it, and was pleasantly surprised by it.After seeing so many angry fan ravings about how terrible this attempt at a live action Gundam movie was, I decided to check it out myself out of curiosity, and I must say I was pleasantly surprised. G-Savior is not the most impressive looking live action adaptation but it is definitely not "crap" or "an obscenity". Among direct-to-DVD movies, G-Savior is possibly the best of the bunch. Though it pales in comparison with big screen blockbuster movies, such a thing is expected seeing as G-Savior's budget was only slightly less than 9 million dollars. The story starts of with a great premise. The year is Universal Century 223 and the various Space Colonies have proudly let go of their colonial past and now consider themselves independent "Settlements". The ruling government of earth known as CONSENT once again seeks to bring the outlying colonies under its control and does so by creating a food shortage in the colonies. In that way, the colonies now depend on CONSENT for food hence giving the earth total economic control over the space settlements. Enter Ex-CONSENT mobile suit pilot Mark Curran who, while peacefully working as a mobile suit operator for an underwater research facility, is swept up into the war when "terrorists" attack the facility and steal a top secret research project that may be able to solve the food crisis and break the earth's economic stranglehold on the colonies. In a crisis of conscience, Mark makes the decision to help the colonies, much to the displeasure of his former CONSENT commander Jack Halle, who has been tasked with eliminating this rebel faction. Shocking twists reveal a hidden conspiracy as Mark Curran must once again take up arms against a powerful enemy despite his past traumatic experience in space combat.For a low budget direct-to-DVD movie, G-savior actually looks very good when compared to other 1999/2000 movies, but pales very much in comparison to other giant robot movies such as Transformers or Matrix, especially in the special effects department.The computer generated graphics used for space vessels, the various mechs, the G-savior tend to clash in the most obvious ways with the live action footage thanks to some off key lighting and the unrealistically blocky designs. It felt like watching two different shows; a sci/fi TV drama inter-cut with footage from video game cut-scenes. At least they tried to make the mobile suits move realistically as opposed to lightning fast movements of the mecha in the anime. One would normally forgive a movie's sub-par graphics and special effects in view of its low budget, but this movie's acting is really hit or miss. I had no problems with a Caucasian cast (after all, most Gundam characters had western names and facial body features), but only a handful of them manage to deliver good performances. Aside from the main characters like Mark Curran, Cynthia Graves and Jack Halle, the rest of the actors sound about as good as characters in a bad Saturday morning cartoon. The greatest crime of this movie is the action, or rather, lack of action. Almost an hour passes before the viewer gets his first dose of Mobile Suit mecha combat. Before that, the whole show plays out like a pilot episode for some boring TV drama series. Overall, the story is good; the plot was interesting and managed to incorporate a number of political themes, a staple in the Gundam stories. The action scenes are few and far in between, but when they do come they come in hard and fast. The final battle is definitely a well earned payoff for sitting through the horrible pacing in the first hour; Epic in scale and truly a spectacle to behold.G-savior is not as terrible as so many people claim but it does have its flaws. It has an excellent story with a couple of good plot twists, a well developed main character that really grows on you as the show moves along and some intense action sequences coupled with a grand sweeping film score composed John Debeney(who also composed for The Scorpion King and The Passion of Christ). Too bad the acting was such a mixed bag, the CGI effects were disappointing and the production values were so low.Gundam fans would no doubt feel let down that this was not the big budget blockbuster that they fantasized a Gundam live action movie would be. I personally enjoyed G-Savior for what it was, not what people expected it to be. It is highly entertaining and one of the best, though low budgeted, direct-to-DVD movies around nowadays.

As an avid Gundam fan, I have seen a huge amount of the great mecha saga, but this one was the only entry in the Gundam canon which left me disappointed. My opinion, in a nutshell, was that the story didn't really work as a Gundam title, the characters were bland, stereotypical, and didn't draw me into the story, which was aided by substandard acting, and what might be my biggest problem with the movie, was that the mech action was nowhere near as good as the other series'. The mobile suits don't really enter into the story until, literally, the last 20 minutes of the movie, and though the CGI was beautiful, and the MS were very well designed, they moved in a slow, and awkward manner, and if that were any indicator, they could've been out maneuvered by a Zaku II. (which is over 140 years older) Of course some could argue that Gundam 0080 had about the same story/action ratio, but 0080 had extremely deep characters, and a much better story to back them up. So, if you're an avid fan who has to see EVERYTHING there is to see in the Gundam universe, feel free to check this flick out, but to everyone else, I can see no reason to watch it. Then again, I have of heard of people who have enjoyed the movie, so I guess its probably hit or miss.

G-Saviour has the best visual effects I've ever seen in a TV Movie, and some of the best action too. Who is Brennan Elliot anyway, and why isn't he in any other stuff? Enuka Okuma is also wonderful