The anime based on the manga Saint Seiya by Masami Kurumada is not one of my favorites, I grew up aware of it because my aunt and other members of my family were big fans. I wasn’t since my Zodiak sign barely featured in the anime and I never read the manga. So it goes without saying that I don’t know anything about the story, and couldn’t know where and if they differ from the source material. 

This live-action version was directed by Tomasz Bagiński, who executive produced The Witcher, Nightmare of the Wolf, Blood Origin, and Into the Night. Josh Campbell, Matt Stuecken (10 Cloverfield Lane), and Kiel Murray (Cars, Raya and the Last Dragon) worked on the screenplay. The film stars Mackenyu (Fullmetal Alchemist, Tokyo Ghoul: ‘S’), Famke Janssen, Madison Iseman (Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle & The Next Level), Diego Tinoco (On My Block), Mark Dacascos (John Wick 3), Nick Stahl (Fear the Walking Dead: Dead in the Water), and Sean Bean.

Premise: When a goddess of war reincarnates in the body of a young girl, street orphan Seiya discovers that he is destined to protect her and save the world. But only if he can face his own past and become a Knight of the Zodiac.

Review: Right off the bat, I thought this should have been a series because, in my experience of manga, their stories are often intricate, very complex, and not always suitable for the movie treatment. It’s the reason why the beginning of this movie is heavy on exposition. It’s executed well enough though.

The dialogues are not always good and the acting doesn’t always help it either. Some fine-tuning of the script and overall production could have helped. The movie is uneven in quality. The VFX is more than serviceable but some of the costumes don’t look too great, I’m looking at you the most silver knight.

The action scenes are well choreographed and sometimes thrilling but in the end, the whole thing is just… watchable, enjoyable, forgettable? Pick whichever one you like because in my eyes they all apply.

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