So I watched the Phoenix Wright film earlier today, it's running time was longer than I anticipated, coming in at around 2 hours - standard for films nowadays, yet still shocking for a film based on a video game (though, I suppose, less shocking when the subject is Phoenix Wright).
The film is a fairly faithful telling of the first game in the Ace Attorney series, fans of the game will understand what I mean when I say it covers 'The first turnabout', 'Turnabout sisters' and 'Turnabout Goodbyes' (Thats acts 1,2 and 4 from the first game, and omits The steel Samurai case, and the Ema Skye Case, though the steel samurai case is referenced in the film) - The latter 2 cases, Turnabout Sisters and Goodbyes, were the best 2 cases of the first game imo, and to see them retold in more or less the way I remember it unfolding brought some nice nostalgia.
I was fortunate enough to vaguely remember the cases and what happens, yet not quite be able to remember what exactly happens, which is probably the best way to enjoy the film - too much knowledge and there is no tension as you have practically seen the film already, too little knowledge and you may find yourself confused by the slightly ridiculous plotline. A benefit of the film however is that the key points have been cleaned up, and the trials do not last as long as the do in the game (duh).
Humour from the game is preserved in entertaining ways one wouldn't expect from such a seemingly serious film, and the rest of the humour is lovingly provided by the buttz.
Music from the game is also preserved to some extent, whilst there wasn't quite enough of it, it was nice to hear familiar tunes stir up at climatic moments of the film, an orchestral arrangement of the court theme in particular had me grinning from ear to ear.
Characters are preserved fairly well, though some were ported better than others. My gripes with the characters however are purely cosmetic, with the actors playing their parts well.
Characters I thought were being played by the wrong people were Gumshoe (too young) and Maya (too old / not adorable enough), On the flipside, I thought Phoenix, Lotta Hart, Larry Butz and the judge were all cast pretty spot on.
Verdict:
Fans will definitely get the most out of this film, though fans who remember the twisting plot too well may find themselves slightly bored. Watching the cases unravel themselves however is almost as satisfying as playing through the games again. The film is just the right length and is a great mix of courtroom drama and light comedy, and well worth a look.
I grabbed the film back in september last year when there were no subtitles available, so I can't direct you to that, however I can tell you that the copy of the film I saw was called 'Ace.Attorney.2012.JAP.DVDRip.x264.AC3-zdzdz' and was okay (if a little low quality).
The subtitles are mirrored on my hosting - http://www.mengsbizarreadventure.com/uploads/Ace.Attorney.2012.JAP.DVDRip.x264.AC3-zdzdz%20-%20Copy.txt
Download the file and then change the extension to .SRT
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