Review of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale
Sword Art Online Ordinal Scale is an original movie based on Reki Kawahara’s famous light novel and A-1 pictures animations of his novels Sword Art Online. The edited version is suitable for all ages looking for action-packed futuristic movies with amazing quality and plot that is easy to understand and won’t have you lost in the maze. The full version provides adults with a taste of comedic fanservice that sends whole cinema in fits of laughter. You’re able to watch this without watching the anime but it makes more sense if you have done so (and it’s definitely worth it(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ).
The plot is set in 2026, 4 years after the Sword Art Online incident. It’s at a time when the new trendy electronic device “Augma” explodes on the market. Augma is a device worn on the head and adds augmented reality to your view. It allows you to browse the web and earn rewards in real life for doing things such as going to this specific shop to get a 10% discount storewide. Marketing and social media are what the device was most popular for, but there is a game named ordinal scale in the device that Asuna and the gang convince Kirito to play but they find it’s anything but fun for the survivors of the Sword Art Online incident...
The movie focuses on fight scenes while providing a plot that has cliche tragedic villains that are causing havoc for selfish purposes. It doesn’t linger on plot lines and prioritizes getting through to the next scene of action. During fighting scenes, it is clear what is happening, unlike marvel movies where it is just a mess of heroes vs villains. Your eyes are able to keep up with the clashing and the quality is too great that it makes the outside world seem blurry. Just like the anime series, while the engaging action scene is playing, the soundtrack that is in the background enhances the scene you’re so lost in that you don’t even know it’s there!
While the amazing animation of A-1 pictures is playing, there is one thing that annoys me, plot holes. Plot holes, some things that happen in the movie defy the law of physics, people are sent flying when it’s only an augmented reality game, WHA? They also take physical damage as well! What makes people so into this movie is the great fight scenes that A-1 pictures made but due to that, you forget that it’s just a simple storyline that can be summed up in less than 5 sentences. The protagonist is overpowered like usual so sometimes it just seems like the villains just can’t dodge and are standing there to be hit.
For the conclusion, it’s an amazing movie to watch but plot kind of ruins the animations that go along with it. The fight scenes are engaging and active but without it, the movie would be a complete failure. But then again, with long plots, people can get confused, so if you’re fine with simple plots easy to understand and love epic fights then this is a must watch for those people.