Locke the Superman Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		0.5
Overall		3.5

Locke the Superman Blu-ray Movie Review

A fun 1980's action sci-fi thriller.

Locke the Superman is an action-adventure science fiction feature-film. Based on the original manga by Yuki Hijiri, the anime adaptation has graphic violence and sexually explicit scenes in the uncut form (the original US release was heavily edited – and Sentai Filmworks is proud to present the full and uncut version). From animation studio Nippon Animation (Future Boy Conan, World Masterpiece Theater), Locke the Superman is a blast of action from beginning to end.

The future is full of ESPers. The powerful Lady Kahn (Taeko Nakanishi) begins to build an army of extremely powerful and lethal ESPers. The goal is to take-over everything: complete and unending power. The Colonel Ryu Yamaki (Yoshito Yasuhara) is designated to recruit the most powerful agent in the universe to combat Lady Kahn and her dastardly plans. The only hope is the recruitment of the legendary Locke (Keiichi Nanba), who has his own remarkable strengths and abilities as a fellow ESPer. Can Locke take on Lady Kahn and save the universe in the process?

The animation impresses as one of the most essential elements of the production. The art work is clearly an example of 80's cell-based anime. Those who enjoy in the charms of the era will be enthralled by the setting and landscape. The style is super grim at times but with a cool sci-fi background. Featuring art direction by Yoshinari Kanebako (Go Nagai World, Legend of Lemnear), Locke the Superman is a strong production that does a superb job with character designs for the main cast. There is a sense of suave style on display: Locke and his ultra-green hair-do makes a strong visual impression throughout the feature-film.

The action scenes might be enough reason to check out the film. There are a lot of hyper-intense and exciting scenes with Locke battling it out with the villains of the story. The action-adventure of the filmmaking will keep viewers entertained throughout. There are not a lot of sequences where things seem to drag on unnecessarily. Fans of 80's anime action should take note.

Extreme action-anime.

The music composed by Goro Omi (Silver Fang, Grey Digital Target) is an example of pure 80's. The soundtrack has fun with the style of the time and gives the action a compelling enough back-drop to make the storytelling more engaging. Omi might not be the greatest composer around but the score ultimately manages to be entertaining nonetheless.

The dark and visually unique cinematography by Toshiaki Morita (Secret of the Seal, Red Spark Zillion) helps to make the science-fiction elements stand out more to some degree. The film seems to be a little bit inspired by Star Wars and Batman at times. The visuals are a key part of this and it makes for an interesting experience.

The screenplay by Atsushi Yamatoya (The Naked Seven, Dutch Wife in the Desert) is one of the weak elements, though. The storytelling is a bit far-fetched and a little paper-thin on plot at times. This is a action movie first-and-foremost and it throws away most logical storytelling devices in favor of the science-fiction shenanigans. The script is entertaining and does a good job of making Locke a cool hero. Yet the storyline simply seems a bit lacking in originality at times.

Directed by Hiroshi Fukutomi (Those Who Hunt Elves, Battle Angel), Locke the Superman is most compelling because of the creative visuals and the interesting direction from Fukutomi. There is something cool about the visuals and the action. While not the best example of high-level 80's anime, Locke the Superman has more than enough fun moments to make it worth a watch.

Locke the Superman Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Arriving on Blu-ray from Sentai Filmworks, Locke the Superman is presented in 1080p MPEG-4 AVC encoded high definition in the original theatrical aspect ratio of 1.85:1 widescreen. The video transfer looks impressive for the most part. There are some scenes which showcase minor print wear (such as dirt) but these moments seem pretty minimal for the most part. The bulk of the presentation shines. The animation looks terrific and makes a big impression.

The opening scene does stand out as an exception though: the first scene has a character reviewing some old tapes (which appear to be VHS quality). The scene stands out for showcasing the dated aesthetic of the past technology. The rest of the film fares so much better and color reproduction is effective throughout. There are a few spots where the optical is soft but the organic 80's cell-drawn animation still looks filmic overall.

Locke the Superman Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

The release is presented in Japanese DTS-HD Master Audio 2.0 mono (with English subtitles). Fans of the film might be a little disappointed to learn that the release lacks an English dub option (let alone a 5.1 surround sound mix). Even so, the audio presentation on the release manages to be an engaging, faithful, and fun audio track that reproduces the sound effects well. Dialogue is crisp and defined. The music score sounds terrific and gives the action-scenes some added weight. A superb effort from Sentai Filmworks. (Even if dub enthusiasts will feel a little left out – just watch this in Japanese.)

Locke the Superman Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Japanese Promo (HD, 2:30)

The release also includes a selection of trailers promoting other releases available from distributor Sentai Filmworks: Venus Wars (HD, 1:11), Ajin: Demi Human (OAD) (HD, 1:33), Granbelm (HD, 1:35), and 7SEEDS (HD, 1:37).

Locke the Superman Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Locke the Superman is a reasonably entertaining 80's anime. The production has cool action scenes and interesting animation. When first released in North America it was heavily edited. Sentai Filmworks presents the complete and uncut presentation of the film on Blu-ray. The Blu-ray release has a solid video-audio presentation and comes recommended.