20th century boys trilogy review

OK, this is a bit of a strange one to review but will give it a shot. Manga (Japanese comics) don't always translate to the screen well but sometimes they do as anyone who has seen the excellent "death note" series can tell you. I do not read manga much but do on occasion watch anime series of said manga. Some exceptions where I have seen the "live action" versions before the anime series were "Kaiji, parasyte and death note" (of course the anime always outshone the live action). Let me start off by saying that this film is intense...very intense. The first half of the first movie in this trilogy really takes it's time to unfold introducing the viewer to as many of the important characters that it can but for most part the characters remain uninteresting or one dimensional and kind of boring to be honest. Those viewers who will persevere will find that the second half of the movie will answer most if not all questions. The eeriness of this movie is because of the focus on cults (not a spoiler as it is established early on). Cults start out striving to do good but power and greed soon twists that into something different: that is the message given here and in a very realistic and unnerving tone (the cult of Cartman was a right laugh though). If this was a standalone film then the ending would have come as a huge disappointment but nooooo, there are two additional films. Something for you viewers out there to take into consideration is that unless you have a very good memory of events from the first film I would not suggest watching the second as you will be at a loss. Depending on your views, This second film is either a step up or a step down (it is more tongue in cheek) but is still as creepy as the first if not more. There are some similarities to modern day cults as well as some throwbacks to similarities of political assassinations and the like. After watching this chapter one can almost see the connection of why the fascination with cults...religious or otherwise. The story is well told and leads to a thrilling conclusion but also paves the way for a third and fiinal film which does tie up lose ends and unravels the mystery surrounding the first two films. In conclusion let me say that I enjoyed this trilogy and it is almost as good as the "death note" films. It had a big budget and it made use of it just enough so as not to be distracting in any way. On to the negatives now; it is not for all tastes . If in doubt...going against my own policy and saying that I would recommend seeing the trailer(s) first to see if it is something you'd enjoy. Also it wouldn't hurt to read the manga if you're still confused.