Heavy Metal 2000 (Superbit™)

- I bought the new release of the original Heavy Metal and Heavy Metal 2000 at the same time. I found myself remembering almost every scene in the original movie, even though I hadn't seen it in over 20 years. Then I watched HM2000. About halfway through I vaguely recalled that I had seen it before, but there wasn't one single scene that I clearly remembered- and I probably only saw it about three years ago. It was that forgettable, that ordinary. Don't get me wrong; this isn't necessarily a bad film. The animation is very well done, very slick and seamless. The writing and voice acting is competent and professional. The sound track is certainly better incorporated into the animation and story than it was in the original. Everything was competently done, it was just.... ordinary. Nothing jumped out at you. It was like a Saturday morning cartoon episode- just with a little more violence, and a lot more animated nudity (animated nudity- I mean what's the point?) Personally, I'd save my money and buy the new release of the original Heavy Metal. Sure, the animation looks crude by today's standards- but it was done the old, time-consuming, expensive way of drawing one cell at a time. The original was also crammed full of a variety of different animation styles and story lines. Perhaps that was because it was the first big budget science fiction animated feature and the people involved had so much enthusiasm that they tried to do too much. In contrast, I don't think anyone got too enthusiastic about this film. Sure, they did a solid job of craftsmanship, but where is the originality, the fire, the spirit? Kind of reminds me of the original heavy Metal magazine, it started out fresh and new and just slowly petered out to nothing....

I steering away from this at first but now that I've seen it I was pleasantly surprised. It has a great story, great characters, plenty of sexuality and violence. It has the heavy metal feel with the Loc-nar infecting its host. I liked the music except for the intro. It even has some funny moments that were unexpected given the violent nature of the film. The main voices of the hero and antagonist are excellent. What I like about this better than the original is they were able to spend the entire film on this one story instead of only being able to spend a small amount of time on lots of different stories. You start to care about the characters as the film goes on.

To be fair, there are several references to the cult classic, 1981's Heavy Metal. Directly, the only true attachment to that breakthrough accomplishment was the sign on the Space Docking Port reading, "Heavy Metal." HM2K is loosely based on its namesake in minor and jumbled ways. Tyler, the space miner, was nicely portrayed by Michael Ironside. His gritty, overbearing voice gave Tyler a presence of dominance and a general sense of evil to all whom he crossed. Finding the "green crystal" was similar to HM's Loc-Nar without any self-awareness. Yes, the "green glow" of the crystal was alluring and prized. No different from the Loc-Nar. But without that all-knowing evil presence, it was a huge departure from HM. In HM, the Loc-Nar sought its victims. Here the crystal awaits to be found before unleashing the evil that the beholder intends. In this radical plot differential, the story played out for the entire length of the movie. I found this to be pleasing with just a single storyline to follow. Don't get me wrong. I absolutely loved HM for all it was and the variation of tales told. But it genuinely captivated me with a single story in HM2K. Once Tyler begins his transformation into a single-minded madman, he embarks on his quest for immortality on a planet further than his ship can normally traverse. All the while, plundering system after system, planet by planet, for his needs and psychotic pleasures. Certain similarities between this and HM were closer in storyline. The lone survivor in the form of F.A.A.K.2. Torn out of the mold of Tarna. The whole badass attitude and take no prisoners methods. The Heroin who will become Tylers' nemesis. Never mentioning that "green crystal" again. All Tyler has at his disposal were the little viles to keep his superhuman strength up. To this point, there was little in common to HM. The stronger Tyler becomes, the more fear he strikes into those around him. Psychosis has nearly taken over as Tyler destroys all he deems unfit or unworthy. A definite reference to the drug culture that HM was geared for. Opposite from Tarna who remained silent and stoic, F.A.A.K. is highly vocal. Bitter, verbally abusive and unafraid to speak her angry thoughts. No different than in real life, sometimes ones words can come back to haunt them. It does for her. To her credit and paired with HM, she is drawn with the perfect body. Like Tarna, HM2K has her dress out for battle with a G-String, red/black, thigh high boots, cool gloves and a shoulder cover. Oh yeah, a sword too! Clearly the animation was male oriented. Yet I needed to look closely over many viewings to see if any more connections were made between the 2 movies. Not many! The ultimate showdown. Tyler has become of monstrous proportions. Wearing a fallen enemy's skull as a mask, bones on his uniform to be more imposing and a "Punisher" type insignia on his chest. F.A.A.K. is ready to save her sister and all that is good in the universe, all though I don't feel she sees it this way. Her little rock buddy (R2-D2 type) brings the light humor and her moral guidance. The insuing battle happens way too fast considering the hype to its culmination. F.A.A.K. wins and evil is locked away until the next time the "green crystal" is found. For the musical scores, Thrash Metal was chosen as this was the style of the times. The majority of tie-ins were not in keeping with the action. I feel this was just in keeping with what worked so well in HM. I found myself adjusting the sound every time a tune played because the 5.1 Surround was so clear, it overrode the dialogue. Then raise the sound again when the tunes ended. The Superbits was revolutionary for the times. The look, feel and sound took me back many years! This is truly not a sequel if one has those expectations. By name only, it is Heavy Metal 2000. HM is a series of vignettes that took the viewer away with several stories told by the all-encompassing "Loc-Nar." HM2K is a single story of a similar evil by suggestion alone. Again, were it not for that sign on the Space-Dock reading Heavy Metal, and had one NOT seen the title of this movie prior to watching it, I don't believe viewers would know it was of HM fame. To me, I have always been a Heavy Metal fan. The magazine, the 1981 Midnight showing of HM, and this film. I have watched this for years back when my home theater system was set up for VHS. Since my Amazon purchase, to say I've watched it 20 times is on the low side. The cartoony feel is just how it is. It beats anything on TV these days! Should this become available on Blu-Ray, I will jump on that too! So, if you want to watch a violent animated movie that is sexually suggestive, this is for you. Just don't run into this with expectations of a true "Sequel" to Heavy Metal. Far from it. Two separate movies where the second hopes you will buy because of the namesake. Trust me, it isn't. If you can rip yourself from that, your gonna love it!

Le premier (Metal hurlant) n'est déja intéressant que pour les conditions de réalisation et l'aventure que ça a représenté, mais là ça s'effondre franchement. Lisez plutot la BD, Simon Bisley au dessin mais sans aérographe cette fois, c'est strictement la même histoire sauf que la recette prend.

No es mejor que la primera pero sin duda merece su lugar al lado. Trae subtítulos al español y aunque en la imagen no se nota el acabado de la portada es plateado, luce bastante bien.

It arrived. Today today no problems, no issues.

While I wasn't particularly a fan of the first Heavy Metal movie, I had been a fan of the magazine for some time. This movie, I felt, was much more in keeping with the gritty action of the magazines, and does a better job of relaying a better paced story than the first movie. The villain Tyler is voiced by Michael Ironside, and Billy Idol voices another character I won't name here, other than that don't expect any ground breaking voice over work for most of the cast. But it is still an entertaining watch.

great movie