This review contains spoilers https://verniedk.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/efpnoodles2.jpg This wasnt exactly the first movie on my radar. I was putting off playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 the other day and noticed Masatsugu Saito did the art for that game along with this movie. And with Gen Urobochi on the script and the staff getting together again for another upcoming moviehttps://www.animenewsnetwork.com/news/20210701/expelledfromparadiseanimestaffreuniteforbrandnewfilmproject/.174664 my impulse viewing was locked in. What I expected was gratuitous CGI mecha action and what I got was a tellnotshow movie that floats above average by having a few interesting things to say and gratuitous CGI mecha action. Were introduced right off the bat to the protoMythra Angela Balzac an officer in the digitized human civilization of DEVA whos tasked with tracking down a hacker on the outside known as Frontier Setter. With a newly cloned body shes joined by her informant on the ground Zarik Kajiwara aka. Dingo for a notquitebuddy cop journey through the stillinhabited ruins of a now barren Earth. 300https://i.ur.com/0ZumleZ.gif The voice work for the main cast is great which is just as well when the movie lives by its dialogue. This goes for the Japanese version which I watched first as well as the English dub where Steve Blum stands out as the flippant cowboylike Dingo. The fully CGI visuals arent perfect with the models getting framey at times while the special effects are more consistently smooth but its good enough when it counts. Angelas emotions and a few other things thanks to the excessive fanservice are on full display. As their investigation progresses the tone shifts from a mystery to a character study. We learn much more about Dingo and the present state of Earth than Angela who sticks to her belief that DEVAs way of life is superior to fleshandblood humanity at least outwardly. When were introduced to Frontier Setter their twist reveal as an AI exposes us to their loneliness their motivations and a love for rock music so powerful it made them selfaware. 400https://verniedk.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/efp4.jpg Peak character design These revelations and more are somewhat held back by the tellnotshow approach the movie takes. The first half of the movie feels incredibly long as the mystery is interrupted with Angela working herself to exhaustion and getting a fever. Meanwhile DEVA is left behind fairly early in the movie so most of our knowledge of it comes from dialogue between Dingo and Angela. We do find out that DEVA prides itself for individual freedom while peoples actions are limited by their governmentassigned processing power but Angela isnt there nearly long enough for more than a few of the cracks to show on their own. The climactic mecha scene runs in the opposite direction with a lot of action and not much talk. The attacking DEVA agents arent interested in anything besides getting their job done and leaving Earth and so Angela never speaks to them or vice versa even as they face off against one of their own. Its fitting enough but it could have been a moment for us to see how the rest of DEVA would react to Angelas experiences. In spite of the presentation the movie has a fair bit to say. Its not particularly standout as a metaphor for authoritarianism and meritocracy in general but apply it directly to the digital world today and its awfully close to the mark. Corporations are getting bigger and bolder with their totally original metaverse plans and their spaces marketed as paradise are the same ones where your presence can be erased on a whim by patternmatching AI. If the EFP teams next project is a direct sequel Id love to see them double down. Expelled from Paradise is not the worst movie you could watch on a weeknight. The English and Japanese voice work is solid the bookending mecha scenes are a blast and its shockingly easy to resonate with for a movie from 2014 as long as you can get through the slow patches. https://verniedk.files.wordpress.com/2022/02/efp2proc.jpg