This movie is quite the mixed bag which absolutely needed a bit more polish!
I usually know where I want to start with a review but this one was hard. Nothing is so horrible that it jumps out at you, but also nothing so good that it elevates the film. If you want to see a very condensed FMA in real-life form, then here it is!
As the flick condenses a huge manga and anime down into a very long feeling 2 hours, it does a commendable job hitting the key points and dropping the dead weight that isnt needed for the story. That isnt to say that those unfamiliar wont be confused, because they will be for sure! There's just too much lore to go over, and terminologies, for the movie to cover for the average audience viewer.
And those who love FMA will also feel disappointed, but again not in any one thing. The acting ranged from terrible to good, as do the sets, outfits, and actors. Everything is *HERE* but there is a lack of polish, as stated earlier, to the whole thing that will make you wish for someone to have gone over the movie for all the little details that mar this movie, so I'll start there.
The sets and outfits are all a bit *too* perfect, as in they look like stage pieces as opposed to something in a real world. Unfortunately, even when things happen which should impact these sets, such as Lust shooting her fingers out and impaling someone against the wall, there is nothing left behind. No holes, no blood, no damage, nothing at all. That pretty much bleeds into every visual aspect of this film. Its a hallow kind of substance. The few real world locations used, such as the outside of a large house, stand in stark contrast to the rest of the "clean as a whistle" aesthetic that other locations have. It all has a bit of a feeling of a live-action stage play.
The acting is all over the place as well. It is clear that the creators of the film wanted the characters to have the same quirks as their anime counterparts, but in doing so they made some characters over-act so badly that it feels out of place. They made Winry into basically an unnecessary character, there to exchange exposition in one of the numerous info dumps that happen throughout, which is a disservice to her character. Contrasting both of those is that a majority of the class is playing it VERY flat, so it makes any overacting stick out even more. The acting overall has a very 'teen flick' feel to it.
It hits story beats fine but at the same time it feels like you have been watching this movie since the beginning of time when the 60 minute mark hits. There are some major story moments that broke your heart the first time around that are still here to gut-wrench you once more.
The CGI isnt the best, but outside of Hollywood it rarely is. You get the feeling that things have the wrong weight or consistency quite frequently. Even though hes a suit of armor, Ed feels very stiff when moving as well, but he looks spot on!
There was a constantly droning "theme"? running throughout the movie, and they tried to make the strings sing at the right moments but the music felt like a blended mess of nothing that didnt help anything.
The movie gives you just enough of a taste that you'll wish it was something you stole that was still in pre-production as opposed to the final movie. Its not bad but it feels like more of a rough draft than a final release.
