Fullmetal Alchemist

While there are flaws galore in this live-action movie version, you get a sense that the director has a real love for the original source material. The color schemes and costumes have exactly the right hues and texture, and the ambiance is engaging overall.

Characters come and go quickly, leaving a feeling that there is too much compression of the multi-episode story.

The first live-action adaptation of the phenomenally popular Japanese manga created by female author Hiromu Arakawa proves to be a mixed bag of eye-catching visuals and uneven storytelling — rushed and choppy at times, and draggy and repetitive at others.

Instances of alchemy abound in the narrative — walls are converted into projectiles, brick courtyards into hungry beasts — but the same magic can’t improve soap opera-like theatrics, the overuse of expositional dialogue or an eagerness to flit between action scenes.

It all feels grindingly perfunctory – gloopy with jargon and lore, and with no concessions made to newcomers, the film feels less like a worthwhile film in its own right than an invitation to existing fans to buy a ticket, just to see how things turned out.