Review of Sword Art Online the Movie: Ordinal Scale

Reviewers point of view: There are many anime that I don't watch for plot purposes simply to avoid pure disappointment. The SAO series and movies are in that category. I don't read any of the light novels or manga and watch the series solely for the fight scenes and animation. >I put spoiler footnotes at the bottom for those who already saw the movie< Story: Watching this movie made me desperately desire a stamp (like the ones at the libraries) that can stamp the words "utter bullsh*t" on this whole plot. And I metaphorically pulled this "stamp" out about...9 times. The conflictof the story was drastic and unnecessarily extreme. The goal the main antagonist was fighting for could've been easily achieved without using all the time, money, and effort that went into things (spoiler footnote #1). There also were ACTUAL parts or facts that the movie stated that contradicted facts stated in the previous anime!!!(spoiler footnote #2) It was hard to for me to empathize with the struggles when they could've been easily avoided. What I find quite ironic, I still think it's the best SAO anime to come out so far.

Art: The art as usual is beautiful and eye-catching. I enjoyed how the fights were choreographed and how the idea of the Augma and Ordinal Scale game were animated. The only complaint I might have is that the final battle wasn't as dramatic or intense as the ones before it which left me with this anti-climatic feeling.

Sound: The soundtrack carried over a few iconic songs of the series which I liked. However there were quite a number of songs sung by Yuna, Ordinal Scale's mascot-like idol/diva. Out of all the songs she sung, I can only remember one I actually liked (spoiler footnote #3)

New Characters: I was left disappointed when it came to the characters. First up: the new characters. The movie references to SAO's 1st season a lot (almost the whole movie). I already sorted out my feelings toward that season and moved on. However the movie attempted to add new, important characters into SAO's former plot. They were never mentioned nor referenced and thus were only put there for the sake of this movie and that made me feel apathetic towards them. (Spoiler footnote #4) This isn't a big deal, but I wish they did what they did with GGO where the antagonist was somebody Kirito met before.

Recurring Characters:The lack of character development was disappointing. You still have the the only two male recurring characters (Agil and Klein) who were MIA a majority of the movie. You still have Silica who still sucks at gaming and just ends up in the heat of battle doing nothing but screaming and waving a weak knife.You still have the inconsistent character of Asuna, where she's sometimes an independent female gamer bad***, sometimes a problematic "housewife" dependent on her lover, and the rest of the time when she's in the middle (basically commentating the battle until the boss is barely alive and she takes the final blow after doing NO WORK!!!).

Kirito: I saw a hope for improvement when I learned that Kirito is new and inexperienced in Ordinal Scale (since the main issue people had with him was him being overpowered). However, that hope dissipated when he somehow managed to become one of the top players in a WHOLE DAY!!! He literally ran around the city fighting bosses and ranking up without getting the least bit tired. (Spoiler footnote #5). For those who told me it was due to the adrenaline he had from Asuna's condition, I metaphorically stamp "utter bullsh*t" on your logic. XD

Enjoyment: It's pretty clear that I did not enjoy this movie. I had so many issues to point out and the only way I'd get them all in is if I were Cinema Sins (Footnote #6). Sadly, this IS the best SAO anime I've seen thus far. XD XD

SPOILER FOOTNOTES:
1. Did it TRULY have to be SAO survivors? Shigemura was truly prepared to do anything for Yuna and if that's the case, would have gotten a more accurate AI of her personality if he gathered his info from the memories of people who knew her best (friends and family) rather than the collection of SAO survivors who saw her as "that singer I may have talked to on the lower floors". It's clear that even without the memories, the bond remains and compare the quota the few who know her best to thousands.
2. Wasn't the 100th floor boss supposed to be Akihiko Kayaba? He was supposed to help the players and then make the big reveal when they reached the top.
3. That's a shame considering Yuna was an important part of the plot. I didn't even like her last song.
4. I refer to Yuna. The whole "she was there and important the whole time and we didn't notice" cliche? Really?
5. By the time Kirito and Eiji finally fought I was rooting for Eiji who actually abandoned his previous weak will and worked his way to the top possible player.
6. Cinema SIns: A popular Youtube channel that's known for going through movies cut-by-cut exposing plot holes and actions that made no sense.