I'm a little late to the Appleseed bandwagon, but now that I'm here, I have to say that these movies are some of the best action films I've seen. Yes they're anime. Yest they're based on a manga. Yes they're CG cartoons. But I'm telling you, the Appleseed films are some of the best action films I've laid eyes on. It's like seeing what would happen if Pixar decided to make movies for grown-ups. Appleseed: Ex Machina is in stores now, and if you love action, you should definitely check it out.

Now, if you're worried that you won't understand what's happening by jumping in on this second film in a planned trilogy, don't worry. This isn't a continuation of the previous story; this is a separate, stand-alone story that takes place in the world established by the first Appleseed movie. Granted, that world is a bit complex and if you've seen the first film you'll have a fuller understand of the movie's setting, but it's not essential to your enjoyment.

Just as a primer, however, the Appleseed movies take place in a future world with cyborgs, giant mech suits, biroids (which are genetically engineered and programmed clones of a sort) and of course good ol' human beings. If that doesn't sound like fun to you, you may want to skip this movie, but I'm telling you, it's a blasty blast (in fact after watching the Appleseed movies, I asked my wife for a giant mech suit with a big gun for my birthday... I don't think she's going to get me one, though [sigh]).

For this second film, many of the problems fans had with the first film have been addressed. Now, not being a fan of the manga, I didn't notice any of these flaws in the first film, but I could tell there were some definite improvements this second time out. For one, the characters are better developed, especially the two leads. They have an extremely interesting relationship which I've heard is at the core of the manga, but was barely alluded to in the first film. There's more of that here, and the film is better for it. Also, the voice acting is better this time out. The women in the film don't sound like they're being voiced by eight-year-old girls this time, and the rest of the voice cast also has a step up in quality. Finally, the animation has improved; which is really saying something because Appleseed was a very pretty film. Combining cutting-edge CG animation with state-of-the-art motion-capture technology, Appleseed: Ex Machina is one of the prettiest films I've seen. I'd even go so far as to say it rivals Pixar's best, including their upcoming Wall-E. Every frame is gorgeous work of art with some of the most amazing effects I've seen in a CG film. Plus it's all so fluid that it makes Beowulf look outdated. High praise I know, but the proof is on the screen.

Now, you may be wondering if a CG anime produced by John Woo is really worth your time. We all love good action, but without a story to hang the action on, what's the point? Fortunately, Appleseed: Ex Machina has an intriguing and complex story that examines all kinds of issues, from safety and terrorism and how much control the government should have over those issues to love and relationships.

My favorite subtext, however, is the affliction of sin. One of the characters, Briareos, is infected with nanites (he's a cyborg) which causes him to behave abnormally. He does things he would never usually do, things that cause him great shame and a lot of pain. That's exactly what sin is: an infection that causes us to do things we're ashamed of. Worse, we can't resist its influence. We know we should do what's right, and yet we feel this pull, this compelling force to continue in our painful, harmful ways. We feel like we have no control over it, which makes it all the more frustrating and painful. Well, fortunately for us, there is an answer. Jesus Christ died on the cross and rose from the dead to destroy that infection of sin. When we trust him, we are freed from the compelling power of sin; we are free to choose to do what we know is right. There may be lingering side effects, but we can know for sure that we'll never be ruled by sin again after we accept the fact that Christ can free us from its power. If only the solution were as simple for Briareos.

Appleseed: Ex Machina is available in both a two-disc and a single disc set. Two-disc set is definitely the way to go. Not only does in come in a beautiful metal case, but you'll also get a few extra bonus features. The discs contain insights on the revolutionary methods used to create the film's animation, details on what sort of contributions John Woo made for this sequel, and an exhaustive history of the Appleseed phenomena to help noobies (like me) get caught up on what it's all about. Everything about the two-disc collector's set screams quality, so if you're going to pick up this film (and you should), the extra bling is definitely worth it.

We don't take animation nearly as seriously here in America as they do in other parts of the world, and particularly Japan, but I believe that it's films like Appleseed: Ex Machina that show what the possibilities are for CG filmmaking. While it's nice that we can render thousands of feathers on cute little chickens, it's nice to see someone other than Pixar using the medium to push filmmaking into new territory while telling good stories aimed at an older crowd. The makers of Appleseed: Ex Machina understand that it's not just enough to have amazing visuals, you need substance to go with the visuals *cough*Beowulf*cough*. Anime may not be your thing. Big giant mechs flying around may not be your thing. But if you enjoy good storytelling, strong characters, and beautiful art, you should at least give Appleseed a try. My wife did, and to my surprise, she actually enjoyed it. I can't give a film a better endorsement than that.