I finally got to see “Patlabor 3 the Movie” today. The first movie was pretty good. But I think this one is by far the best of the three.
The storytelling was a bit slow at times, but it was worth the wait for the characters and the plot to climax. The best aspects of this film are probably the aspects that annoy typical Hollywood goers — many things were not resolved when the movie ended. Even though the movie is a fusion of science fiction and detective thriller, the director tried to adhere the plots as close to real life as possible. There are shots of scenes that were nothing more than to show the mundane work of police detective work. But those shots also take the audience all around the suburbs of Tokyo — in the allies, neighborhood stores, corner convenience stores… etc — the less glorious part of being a detective.
Althogh I knew who did what and how the story was going to end, the plot still threw a curve ball at me as the climax drew to a conclusion. The story has a level of complexity and humanity that’s lacking in most Hollywood movies. But even in comparison to other anime films, Patlabor 3 stands out on par with the complexity of Jin Roh in terms of mood, character development and sophistication.