Alice in Borderland (2020, Japan)
Original title: Imawa no Kuni no Arisu
mysterious eventsmysterious realitypsychological thriller
Running time: 60 minutes per episode
Language: Japanese
Alice in Borderland 2020 Japanese mystery classic movie review
Three friends in Tokyo, a video game-obsessed Arisu, IT technician Chōta and bartender Karube decide to hang out around the Shibuya Station, but when they hide in the bathroom from the police, the lights go out. When they leave the building, they find the streets completely empty and eerily silent. There are no cars driving around, there are no people walking, the shops and other buildings are empty, there are no sounds of any human activity anywhere. When the dusk begins to fall, they also discover it does not seem like most of the electronic devices work, except the ones not using microchips. Suddenly they notice a huge display inviting them to take part in the game. With no other options they enter a building where the game is taking place, inside they find cellphones that actually work, but only to make the face recognition and let them enter. Behind the door, they have to choose the correct doors, which will decide between life and death.
Japanese TV series, based on a manga series, about a group of people trapped in an alternative reality, in which they have to take part in deadly games in order to stay alive. While the beginning of the show was building a mysterious atmosphere around the reality they found themselves in, just like in shows like Lost, the main plot was heading nowhere in particular and was just adding elements to the already disjointed story.
While graphically and aesthetically Alice in Borderland is quite impressive, many aspects of the whole premise make very little sense, some of them feel like they were put together in a hurry, without much thought being given how does it fit into the bigger picture. Unfortunately, with time, the show only gets worse and worse when it comes to the narration - we learn the backstories of some of the characters, the games are increasingly brutal or elaborate, but most of it goes against the final logic of the whole world.
On the surface, Alice in Borderland is a mixture of Lost and Battle Royale, but in fact the show is more complex than that, but unfortunately the logic behind it is completely flawed. Several elements contradict each other, some parts play no role in the overall story, some are just there to justify the final outcome, which is a shame. The premise was interesting, the beginning was a bit rough, but intriguing, however the final solution to all of this is dragged way too long and goes more or less nowhere. The manga version of the story supposedly makes much more sense, but the TV adaptation is just messy and disappointing.
Do you like brain-teasers?
Our rating |
5.2 / 10 |
Movie value |
5 / 10 |
Realism factor |
2 / 5 |
Adventure factor |
3 / 5 |
Story complexity |
3 / 5 |
18 |
Creators of Alice in Borderland
 |
director | |
|
screenplay | |
|
screenplay | |
|
screenplay | |
|
screenplay |
Cast of Alice in Borderland
|
as Ryōhei Arisu | |
|
as Yuzuha Usagi | |
|
as Shuntarō Chishiya | |
|
as Hikari Kuina | |
|
as Suguru Niragi | |
|
as Rizuna Ann | |
|
as Morizono Aguni | |
|
as Mira Kanō | |
|
as Chōta Segawa | |
|
as Daikichi Karube | |
|
as Kōdai Tatta |
add comment