Fullmetal Alchemist (film)

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This article is about the live-action film. For the animated film in 2005, see Fullmetal Alchemist the Movie: Conqueror of Shamballa. For the animated film in 2011, see Fullmetal Alchemist: The Sacred Star of Milos.

Fullmetal Alchemist
Theatrical release poster
Kanji鋼の錬金術師
Directed byFumihiko Sori
Screenplay byFumihiko Sori
Takeshi Miyamoto
Story byHiromu Arakawa
Based onFullmetal Alchemist
by Hiromu Arakawa
Produced byYumihiko Yoshihara
Starring
CinematographyKeiji Hashimoto
Edited byChieko Suzaki
Music byReiji Kitasato
Production
companies
Square Enix
OXYBOT Inc.
Distributed by
Release date
  • 1 December 2017 (2017-12-01) (Japan)
Running time
135 minutes
CountryJapan
LanguageJapanese
Box office$8 million[1]

Fullmetal Alchemist (Japanese: 鋼の錬金術師, Hepburn: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi, lit. 'Alchemist of Steel') is a 2017 Japanese science fantasy action film directed by Fumihiko Sori, starring Ryosuke Yamada, Tsubasa Honda and Dean Fujioka and based on the manga series of the same name by Hiromu Arakawa, covering the first four volumes of the original storyline.[2] It was released in Japan by Warner Bros. Pictures on 1 December 2017.[3][4][5][6] The theme song of the film, "Kimi no Soba ni Iru yo", is performed by Misia. Two sequels were released in 2022: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy.

Plot[edit]

In the fictional country of Amestris, children Edward Elric and his younger brother Alphonse live in a rural town with their mother Trisha while self-learning alchemy. When the brothers commit the taboo act of Human Transmutation to resurrect Trisha after she dies of illness, it backfires and they face the consequences via the Law of Equivalent Exchange: Edward loses his left leg, while Alphonse is dragged into the Gate of Truth. Edward sacrifices his right arm to save his brother's soul and bind it to a suit of armor. His missing limbs are replaced with "automail" prosthetics made by the town's automail mechanic whose granddaughter, Winry Rockbell, is the brothers' childhood friend.

Edward receives an invitation from Colonel Roy Mustang to join the military. After becoming the country's youngest State Alchemist with the title "Fullmetal Alchemist", he and Alphonse begin their quest to find the legendary Philosopher's Stone that can restore their bodies. Years later, the brothers, now teenagers, receive help from Major General Hakuro after another failed attempt to find the stone. Hakuro introduces them to Shou Tucker, a bio-alchemy authority who obtained his State Alchemist credentials by creating a talking chimera. Tucker points them to Dr. Tim Marcoh, who created a Philosopher's Stone prior to going into hiding.

When Edward and Winry find Marcoh, he is murdered by Lust, an assassin. Upon return, Edward and Alphonse are horrified to discover that Tucker has transmuted his young daughter Nina, and his dog together to create a human talking chimera in a bid not to lose his State Alchemist credentials. They have Tucker arrested, though not before he tries to turn Alphonse against Edward, causing the brothers to fight. Edward and Mustang's close friend Major Maes Hughes makes a disturbing discovery from Marcoh's notes, but is killed by Lust's associate Envy. Using Marcoh's notes, Edward is led to the clandestine Fifth Laboratory, where he finds the now-insane Tucker holding Alphonse and Winry hostage. When Edward learns that Philosopher's Stones are unethically created from human lives, he has a breakdown, realizing he can no longer depend on that method.

Lust kills Tucker, revealing herself as a homunculus. Hakuro reveals himself as their partner, divulging that the military made Philosopher's Stones using human hostages. He activates a Mannequin Soldier homunculi army with the Stones but is killed by them. As the military destroys the Mannequins, Mustang kills Lust and tears out the Philosopher's Stone that was powering her body. He gives Edward the stone so he can restore Alphonse but the brothers refuse, now knowing how they are made. Instead, Edward uses the stone to appear before his brother's corporeal body at the Gate of Truth and promises to find another way to restore him.

In a mid-credit scene, Envy is revealed to have survived Mustang's attack as its true parasitic form escapes from its human body's charred remains.

Cast[edit]

Character Actor English dubbing[7]
Edward Elric Ryosuke Yamada,[3] Rai Takahashi [ja] (Young) Vic Mignogna, Kristine De Los Santos (Young)
Alphonse Elric Atomu Mizuishi, Seiru (Young) Aaron Dismuke, Ryan Bartley (Young)
Winry Rockbell Tsubasa Honda[3] Caitlin Glass
Roy Mustang Dean Fujioka[3] Steve Phelan
Riza Hawkeye Misako Renbutsu[3] Dana Powers
Maes Hughes Ryuta Sato[3] Matt Mountjoy
Gracia Hughes Natsuki Harada[3] Ryan Bartley
Maria Ross Natsuna Watanabe[3] Lilly Grand
Tim Marcoh Jun Kunimura[3] Paul St. Peter
Envy Kanata Hongō[3] Brian Timothy Anderson
Lust Yasuko Matsuyuki[3] Caitlyn Elizabeth
Gluttony Shinji Uchiyama [ja][3] Mark Allen Jr.
Trisha Elric Kaoru Hirata [ja] Lilly Grand
Father Cornello Kenjirō Ishimaru[3] Jamieson Price
Shou Tucker Yo Oizumi (special appearance)[3] Lane Sandison
Nina Tucker Mei Yokoyama [ja] Rachel Luna
General Hakuro Fumiyo Kohinata[3] Andrew Thacher
Truth T.J. Lowe

Production[edit]

Director Fumihiko Sori

The film was originally planned to be produced in 2013 but because of low budget and also technology, it was delayed until it was officially announced for production in May 2016. According to the director's press conference in March 2017:

[S]ince the main characters are the two brothers, where there is Ed, there will always be Al. Even just based on that, the amount of CG used becomes enormous. In this work, I’m using a technology that was used in Hollywood movies such as The Avengers. We’re using a lot [of] new techniques that were never used in Japanese movies before..."

Since the original story consists of 27 volumes, I cut it down in to two hours, but we will stay faithful to the manga. ... I don’t plan to change the setting, the world view, and make a different story... Of course we will have the philosopher's stone...[ in the story].[8][excessive quote]

On adapting the source material, Fumihiko Sori said, "I want to create a style that follows the original manga as much as possible. The cast is entirely Japanese, but the cultural background is Europe. However, it's a style that doesn't represent a specific race or country." Regarding the faithfulness of the adaptation, which has characters of non-Japanese ethnicity, the director said, "There will never be a scene in which a character says something that would identify him/her as Japanese."

Sori told Oricon he has a deep affection for the story that tells the "truth of living," and said, "It is my dearest wish to turn this wonderful story into a film, and it is not an exaggeration to say that I am living for this reason." He added that he "wants to create a wonderful film that uses techniques that challenge Hollywood," and noted that nowadays Japanese filmmaking techniques have progressed greatly.[2]

Filming was spotted in June 2016 in the Italian town of Volterra

Principal photography took place in Italy. Shooting was spotted in Volterra (identified as Reole from 06:53 to 12:54) on the first week of June and some scenes continued filming in Japan from June and finished on 26 August 2016.

Japanese VFX company OXYBOT inc. provided the visual effects for the film.[2] The first teaser visual was unveiled on 31 December 2016.[9] The updated version with the 2017 New Year Greetings were unveiled on the following day with the text "Happy New Year".[10] In February 2017, they unveiled the release date of 1 December, with the CG appearance of Alphonse[11]

On 19 February 2018, the film released on Netflix as a Netflix Original Film. Notably, in the English-language dub voice actors Vic Mignogna, Aaron Dismuke, and Caitlin Glass reprised their roles as Edward Elric, Alphonse Elric, and Winry Rockbell respectively from the Funimation dub of the Fullmetal Alchemist anime series.[citation needed]

Reception[edit]

The film received mostly mixed reviews.[12] The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported that 28% of critics have given the film a positive review based on 18 reviews, with an average rating of 4.8/10.[13] On Metacritic, which assigns and normalizes scores of critic reviews, the film has a weighted average score of 48 out of 100 based on 5 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[14]

Sequels[edit]

In July 2017, Sori and Yamada said a sequel was in development.[15] In early March 2022, it was announced that two sequels would be released during the year: Fullmetal Alchemist: The Revenge of Scar (鋼の錬金術師 完結編 - 復讐者スカー, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Kanketsu-hen - Fukushūsha Scar) and Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy (最後の錬成, Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Kanketsu-hen - Saigo no Rensei), with Mackenyu playing the role of Scar.[16] They were released on 20 May and 24 June respectively.[17][18] They became available on Netflix on 20 August and 24 September respectively.[19][20]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Full Metal Alchemist Box Office Mojo Listing". Box Office Mojo. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 15 December 2017.
  2. ^ a b c "Live-Action Fullmetal Alchemist Film's On-Set Photos Show Yamada in Costume as Ed". Anime News Network. 8 June 2016. Archived from the original on 27 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o "鋼の錬金術師". eiga.com (in Japanese). Archived from the original on 28 August 2016. Retrieved 28 August 2016.
  4. ^ Komatsu, Mikikazu (31 August 2016). "Live-Action "Fullmetal Alchemist" Filming Has Wrapped Up in Japan". Crunchyroll. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  5. ^ Wilson, Scott (21 November 2016). "First trailer released for 'Fullmetal Alchemist' live-action film". Japan Today. Archived from the original on 7 February 2017. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  6. ^ "Live-Action Fullmetal Alchemist Film Reveals December 2017 Release, Mustang's Costume". Anime News Network. 2 December 2016. Archived from the original on 3 December 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  7. ^ Netflix post-video dubbing credits.
  8. ^ https://hagarenmovie.tumblr.com/post/157573232695/translation-entermix-most-anticipated-japanese Archived 2 March 2022 at the Wayback Machine
  9. ^ "Live-Action Fullmetal Alchemist Film Reveals New Teaser Visual Featuring Ed, Al". Anime News Network. 31 December 2016. Archived from the original on 17 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  10. ^ ""Fullmetal Alchemist" Live-Action Film Official Website Posts Teaser Visual Featuring Elric Brothers". Crunchyroll. 1 January 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  11. ^ "Live-Action Fullmetal Alchemist Film Reveals December 1 Opening, CG Alphonse". Anime News Network. 22 February 2017. Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  12. ^ Nordine, Michael (2 March 2018). "'Fullmetal Alchemist' Review Roundup: Life Continues to Be Pain for Anime Fans". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 8 March 2018. Retrieved 8 March 2018.
  13. ^ "Fullmetal Alchemist (Hagane no renkinjutsushi) (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. Archived from the original on 27 November 2017. Retrieved 27 March 2020.
  14. ^ "Fullmetal Alchemist Reviews". Metacritic. CBS Interactive. Archived from the original on 20 March 2018. Retrieved 20 April 2018.
  15. ^ Peters, Megan (3 July 2017). "Fullmetal Alchemist Live-Action Movie Sequel Announced". Comicbook.com. Archived from the original on 23 May 2018. Retrieved 23 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Fullmetal Alchemist Anime's Leads Narrate Live-Action Sequel Films' Special Trailer". ANN. 2 March 2022. Archived from the original on 2 March 2022. Retrieved 2 March 2022.
  17. ^ 山田涼介「鋼の錬金術師」完結編後編は６月24日公開「皆様を楽しませる自信がある作品」 [Ryosuke Yamada's "Fullmetal Alchemist" Final Part 2 to be released on June 24: "A work that I am confident will entertain you all."]. Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 21 May 2022. Archived from the original on 21 May 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  18. ^ 本郷奏多、『鋼の錬金術師』撮影で安心感「現場はアットホーム」 “キラキラ俳優”苦手も告白 [Kanata Hongo felt at ease during the filming of "Fullmetal Alchemist"]. Oricon (in Japanese). 25 June 2022. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 21 August 2022.
  19. ^ Hazra, Adriana (24 July 2022). "Netflix Adds Fullmetal Alchemist The Revenge of Scar Live-Action Sequel Film on August 20". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  20. ^ Hazra, Adriana (26 August 2022). "Netflix U.S. to Release Fullmetal Alchemist The Final Alchemy on September 24". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2 October 2022.

External links[edit]

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