Critic Reviews

It’s one of the best, most deeply felt and most gorgeously animated features of the year. On this or any other planet.

The adaptation stumbles in its third act, but before that, Akimoto builds a killer video game-like time loop with striking imagery and a heartfelt depiction of loneliness. The action is tremendous, and the character of Rita provides an excellent viewpoint for watching an alien attack play out over and over again.

There are technical blips. Occasionally, the 3D character animation and frame-rate stutter in the margins. But the film’s approximation of temporal confines never leaves the viewer feeling stuck in a moment.

Thankfully, Studio 4°C’s sumptuous animation and sound design still make “All You Need is Kill” a vivid and worthwhile do-over.

All You Need Is Kill might not be as impactful as the Takeuchi / Obata manga, or Tom Cruise’s live-action update, but it does make some intriguing choices that will absolutely be worthwhile for fans of these other versions to check out.

Judged both in a vacuum and against its source material, All You Need Is Kill is a rare retelling that finds its own tenor.

While there is undoubted visual spectacle to All You Need Is Kill, Kido’s rewriting of Rita and Kaiji as just ordinary people stuck in extraordinary circumstances is grounded in their mundanity.

All You Need Is Kill isn’t as tight or fun a film as Edge of Tomorrow, but the visuals are stunning, and the moody tone makes it easy to get immersed in the world, even when the story doesn’t fully deliver on the premise.

ALL YOU NEED IS KILL is not a film that'll have you scratching your head for meaning. It wears its empathy and its plea for life on its sleeve like a badge of honor. Admirable though that is, that directness does translate into threadbare writing.

Retaining its narrow action-mechanical focus, the film struggles to paint a convincing interpersonal relationship as much as demonstrate the value of a co-op partner.