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 Style over substance has been a problem with art since the beginning of time. Works such as 300, Sin City, 2046, Eros, and etc has been attacked for their hyper-stylized material over actual substance existing in them. Casshern, a Japanese sci-fi film based on an Anime of the same name is a victim of its ridiculously hyper-stylized depiction of the world over substance.
Set in an alternate future, Casshern deals with human society on the brink of extinction due to violence and disease. Dr. Azuma is a scientist working on a formula called Neo Cells, which can regenerate and re-form any body parts and organs without rejection. These cells can only be found within an ethnic group which has been banned by the “real” human race. Azuma’s goal is to cure his dying wife with Neo Cells but the research isn’t going well. His son, Tetsuya, also a scientist, enlists in the army in spite of his father. Through the treacherous ordeal of war, Tetsuya is killed by a grenade. Azuma soaks Tetsuya’s dead body into the pool of Neo Cells thereby reviving him with regenerating body parts and organs, which gives Tetsuya super-human like qualities. However, with a drop of a thunder (which you will see in the film, LITERALLY), another Neo-Human race is created. Against “normal” humans’ wishes, the Neo-Humans escape the society and create their own society, only to avenge their spite and hatred for the “real” humans. Enter white body armor and a helmet reminiscent of Speed Racer with Tetsuya donning the body armor fighting a million robots in an Ironman on crack fashion, is only a smidget of what Casshern is about.
The film itself is flawed with plot-holes, messy character growth, and lazy writing. However, it is visually stunning and a treat to look at. Precursor to 300, Sin City, The Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow, Casshern looks and feels like a RPG game. It plays itself like a very long music video with eye-popping visuals with heart-thumping soundtrack. Anyone looking for a visual treat should be satisfied with Tetsuya’s fight sequence with a million robots. Although the sequence only lasts about three minutes, it truly is worth all the three minutes. The cinematography compliments the film as well as it follows the characters frantically, giving the audience the feel as if they are fighting the robots themselves. 
However the heart of the film really is the issues of playing God, guilt, and redemption. Although the Neo-Humans or Neo-Sapiens as they call themselves, seem to be the antagonists of the film, there is no right or wrong in Casshern. Everyone has their own agenda which they must abide by. Dr. Azuma is constantly harassed by the fact that he cannot save his own dying wife. By playing God, he feels the need to bring her and Tetsuya back to life, even though Tetsuya despites him for bringing him back to the world of cruelty (seen in horrific yet realistic depiction of war seen in the film). Barashin, the leader of the Neo-Sapiens deals with the guilt that he could not save his family from the humans. Tetsuya and Barashin represent the human soul at turmoil, driven by guilt and anger which lead both of them to their demise.
Disguised as a sci-fi flick, Casshern really is a human drama. After sitting down for two hours, waiting for many stunning action sequences, I was left with an emotional human drama with many moral and ethical questions. Well, a really visually ridiculous and eye-popping human drama.
Rated R for Strong Violence, Scenes of extreme violence, and Language. Running Time 117 Min.
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