is a 2009 Japanese

science fiction Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...

action Action may refer to: * Action (narrative), a literary mode * Action fiction, a type of genre fiction * Action game, a genre of video game Film * Action film, a genre of film * ''Action'' (1921 film), a film by John Ford * ''Action'' (1980 fil ...

live-action feature film written and directed by

Mamoru Oshii is a Japanese filmmaker, television director and writer. Famous for his philosophy-oriented storytelling, Oshii has directed a number of acclaimed anime films, including '' Urusei Yatsura 2: Beautiful Dreamer'' (1984), ''Angel's Egg'' (1985), ...

. It was released in Japan on December 19, 2009. The movie was developed as a

spiritual sequel A spiritual successor (sometimes called a spiritual sequel) is a product or fictional work that is similar to, or directly inspired by, another previous work, but (unlike a traditional prequel or sequel) does not explicitly continue the product lin ...

to the '' Assault Girl: Hinako The Kentucky'' and ''Assault Girl 2'' shorts Oshii directed as part of the ''

Shin-Onna Tachiguishi Retsuden is the sequel to '' Onna Tachiguishi-Retsuden'' consisting of six loosely connected short stories. It was released in Japanese theaters November 10, 2007 and on DVD on April 23, 2008. Production While the original Tachiguishi was directed by Mam ...

'' and '' Rebellion: The Killing Isle'' collections of short films respectively. It is also set in the same fictional universe as Oshii's ''

Avalon Avalon (; la, Insula Avallonis; cy, Ynys Afallon, Ynys Afallach; kw, Enys Avalow; literally meaning "the isle of fruit r appletrees"; also written ''Avallon'' or ''Avilion'' among various other spellings) is a mythical island featured in the ...

'' 2001 film but it is not a direct sequel.

Synopsis

In the aftermath of global thermonuclear war, three battle tested women wage war against giant mutant sandwhales in the arena ''Avalon(f)'' of a virtual reality video game called ''

''. All of them seek to kill "Madara Sunakujira" the arena's

end boss In video games, a boss is a significant computer-controlled opponent. A fight with a boss character is commonly referred to as a boss battle or boss fight. Bosses are generally far stronger than other opponents the player has faced up to that ...

but find that despite their high levels, are unable to engage it alone as they wish, forcing them to form a party to defeat it together. "Gray," a sniper who travels flying in her own plane, "Lucifer," a black-dress-wearing girl who can turn into a giant crow and uses magic spells, "Colonel," a woman in burgundy armor who uses an FN FAL with

M203 The M203 is a single-shot 40 mm under-barrel grenade launcher designed to attach to a rifle. It uses the same rounds as the older stand-alone M79 break-action grenade launcher, which utilizes the high-low propulsion system to keep recoil forces ...

, and "Jäger," a drifter who uses a powerful sniper rifle and relies on his luck (despite the

Game Master A gamemaster (GM; also known as game master, game manager, game moderator, referee, or storyteller) is a person who acts as an organizer, officiant for regarding rules, arbitrator, and moderator for a multiplayer role-playing game. They are m ...

telling him his luck stat is very low). The four defeat Madara, but unfortunately for Jäger, only the first person to turn in the quest gets the points, all the girls having flying transports while he's left on foot. In anger Jäger shoots them all down and declares himself a "

player killer Player versus player (PvP) is a type of multiplayer interactive conflict within a game between human players. This is often compared to player versus environment (PvE), in which the game itself controls its players' opponents. The terms are mo ...

", and all of them engage in a fire fight.

Cast

Meisa Kuroki Satsuki Shimabukuro (Japanese: 島袋さつき, ''Shimabukuro Satsuki'', b. 28 May 1988 in Okinawa Prefecture, Japan), better known by her stage name Meisa Kuroki (Japanese: 黒木メイサ, ''Kuroki Meisa''), is a Japanese actress, model an ...

- Gray *

Rinko Kikuchi (born ; January 6, 1981) is a Japanese actress. She was the first Japanese actress to be nominated for an Academy Award in 50 years, for her work in ''Babel'' (2006). Kikuchi's other notable films include '' Norwegian Wood'' (2010), which s ...

- Lucifer * Hinako Saeki - Colonel *

Yoshikatsu Fujiki , is a Japanese actor and voice actor. He is known for his roles in the '' Kerberos saga'', as Inui ('' StrayDog: Kerberos Panzer Cops''), Kazuki Fuse ('' Jin-Roh''), and Chuichi Koshiramaru ('' Tachiguishi-Retsuden''), along with his unusual ...

- Jäger *Ian Moore - Game Master/Narration *Isao Keneko - NEET *Takanori Tsujimoto - NEET

References

External links

* *
Review of the film
{{Mamoru Oshii 2000s science fiction action films 2009 films Films about video games Films about virtual reality Girls with guns films Japanese science fiction action films Films about telepresence Films directed by Mamoru Oshii MF Bunko J Films scored by Kenji Kawai Cyberpunk films Films set in the future 2000s Japanese films