Review of Psycho-Pass: The Movie

Psycho-Pass returns after what many considered a dismal 2nd season, myself included. With the creators of S1 working on this movie, I had high expectations. Reality can be harsh sometimes. The buzz surrounding the movie was the return of Kougami Shinya. As Psycho-Pass fans say, Psycho-Pass isn't Psycho-Pass without Kougami. As much as I fan-girled over seeing him back in action, he just didn't have the finesse of season 1. My assumption is that Makishima added that extra bit of 'umph' to his character. Kougami had a goal and clear motives in S1 but in the movie he seemed like a lost puppy. Although hiscombat skills say otherwise. Our other protagonist going by the name of Akane however, once again proved her competent skills as she uncovered the events occurring beind-the-scenes in SEA.

This brings me to the plot. It was dull. We are introduced to a random nation in South East Asia undergoing a civil war. This was a brilliant way to demonstrate the Sybil System's superiority over other judicial systems. Chaos and war is portrayed as common in many countries, with Japan being the only country living in peace and prosperity. However there was nothing more the story and it had no substance.

Shootouts, explosions and witty dialogue mixed in between the action scenes are not what made Psycho-Pass S1 the best work in the franchise. A large portion of the movie was dedicated towards showing off the ongoing havoc which disrupted the flow of the progression. It's obvious to see from the visuals and effects the high production values and the effort put into making the fight scenes look gorgeous. Due to this, less attention was paid to what I consider the more important aspects of the plot. How has SEA come to this catastrophe? How is the area designated to the Sybil System's management coping? We get brief statements about these plot points but showing the viewers instead of telling is much more effective. The story also concludes poorly. We weren't shown the after-effects of Akane exposing Sybil's intentions.

The remaining cast of characters were a mix of good and bad. Shimotsuki seemed more competent at her job than she did in S2 but the mercenaries had no personalities to speak of. Ginoza was given little screen time but this was used effectively. The 2 on 1 with him Kougami tag-teaming demonstrated his combat prowess, something we never got to see before. We also witnessed him having a soft spot for his former colleague by not arresting him. Nice touch to his character.

I doubt the heights of S1 will ever be reached again, as this movie proves Gen and his fellow colleagues seemed to be struggling to add something new to the series. I was pleased with seeing what Kougami was up to and the extra bit of world building in this sci-fi world.

Oh and yes, the engrish was bad.