ANI-MOVIES, *Heavenly Sword

Regularly when an animated movie based on a video game is put together it's done with the idea that it would come out within a short period around the game's release, sometimes even prior to it. Heavenly Sword on the other hand didn't get an adaptation come out until seven years later. This direct to digital release was put together through Sony Animation along with the video game developers, Ninja Theory. The film is completely CGI and, in some parts, appears to be an extended cutscene from the Playstation 3 game, while other times it seems like FMV gameplay, but the entire hack and slash experience is mostly solid to the original video game with some additional characters and situations. Because the film was delayed for so long, it wasn't met with any fruitful triumph even among longtime gamers.

In an alternate timeline, the Heavenly Sword is a powerful blade that is said to imbue its wielder with power and to be able to vanquish darkness. In a previous war, the sword defeated the evil Raven Lord and its user disappeared leaving the weapon behind, eventually winding up in the care of a sacred clan lead by its head Shen. Shen's son was supposed to be the chosen one that would use the Heavenly Sword, instead his wife sired a fiery redhead girl named Nariko. Not deterred, Shen went and spawned a few other kids as backups, one of which is the young Kai who most the clan see as being someone that was adopted, although she knows that she's Nariko's sister. An evil raven spirit finds a vessel in the power-hungry King Bohan who amasses an army and sets out to capture the Heavenly Sword which could destroy him. Nariko and Kai escape Bohan's attack on their clan and go in search of their formerly unknown brother Loki who is supposed to be the genuine chosen one. They free Loki after rescuing their clan from Bohan's fortress, but the man is immediately killed by Bohan's sword master who also wounds Kai. Nariko defeats her brother's killer and eventually gets into a final battle with King Bohan sparing his life after the raven spirit abandons him. Nariko uses the sword's power to revive Kai's life at the cost of her own leaving Kai to take up the mantle of the sword's keeper.

Heavenly Sword is one of the more faithful adaptations of a video game, although the additional material does burst through plain as day. The film has a large quality of animation than what was used in the actual game, and it is possible to enjoy it as its own independent feature without playing the game at all. The cast is fair with Anna Torv reprising her role as Nariko from the game, but instead of Andy Serkis as Bohan we are gifted with Alfred Molina, Thomas Jane does a brief part as the tragically fated Loki, and Ashleigh Ball of My Little Pony fame as the mischievous Kai. This is almost one of those "so bad it's good" video game movies, but very little keeps it from being forgettable.