Heavenly Sword Movie Review

On September 2nd, 2014, Heavenly Sword, a 2007 Playstation 3 launch title received a follow up, in the form of a movie. How does the new movie compare to the beautiful, heart wrenching PS3 video game? Find out below.

It's easiest to review this movie in the form of pros and cons, but first, a plot synopsis of the video game. The action-adventure game focuses around heroine Nariko, who was born with a destiny to protects the Heavenly Sword, a weapon containing a huge amount of power that can kill its wielder in less than three days. While Nariko is ultimately born with the task of protecting this sword, much of her clan thinks of her as lie, and is in fact not the chosen one. Nariko has to deal with disbelief and hatred directed towards her from her clan, and is also forced to use the sword to protect herself, her father, and the weapon itself. Now, let's start with a pro.

The movie is ultimately centered around the same end goal, but just has a different path of getting to it. This is definitely a pro, as it allows for fans of the game to receive a fresh, new plot, in lieu of a new game. While the two versions do have the same (gut-wrenching) ending (that had me openly sobbing for minutes), a whole new plot provides another level of depth to the Heavenly Sword universe.

However, this also tends to be a con. Some of the major plot point changes start to take out the meaning of the game. One prime example is Bohan, the evil king chasing down the sword. In the game, he wanted the sword for power and domination over the world, however, the movie counterpart Bohan just wants the sword to destroy it, so no one can have it. Which would be fine! The sword will be gone and can never be used for evil, sounds great right? Not for Nariko. Our obviously dyed hair protagonist refuses to give him the sword, and puts many lives in danger in doing so. While in the video game is was necessary for Nariko to protect the sword at all costs, not so much in the movie.

Another con of the movie is animation. Overall, the video game had smooth battles, beautiful graphics, stunning cinematics, and was overall visually great. This is an even greater feat considering it was an early launch title for the system. However, the movie features clunky (for the most part, some are exempt) battle scenes and animations that aren't near the caliber of the game.

The above picture is from the movie, while the below is from the game. While it may not be evident from these two pictures, the game reins superior in all aspects visually.

Now, the final pro of the movie. Putting all my cons aside, this was a solid stand alone film that provided something for fans of the game that were left empty handed for seven years. Getting to see Nariko in action again, one of my favorite video characters of all time, was in itself a wonder thing. While it may not be perfect, it is overall well, good. It was just good, and coming from a studio that is also working on a much more highly anticipated Ratchet and Clank film. I guess, that's all we can ask for.

What did you think of the film? Post in the comments below, and I'll see you in my next review!