Space Travelers (2000) User Reviews

A bank heist, a terrorist and a comic book fanatic.

[kaeru-2 · 6/10 · 22 June 2000]

The dynamic animation and list of characters in this film's opening scene might lead you to believe that what you are about to view is either an animated film, or a mixture of animated and live action sequences. Neither is really true. Like 1997's Cat's Eye, the opening scene is the longest stretch of animation in the film. However, unlike Cat's Eye, this movie is not actually based on a comic. This is a classic bank heist gone wrong. Takeshi Kaneshiro, in a performance more like those in his television dramas than in his notable screen successes, leads a psychotic Hiroyuki Ikeuchi and a nervous Masanobu Ando through the doors of the bank at closing time. Their goal: to take the staff and patrons hostage, and liberate the institution of its assets. As their plan begins to deteriorate, Ando provides the team with fresh motivation by assigning them with character names from a comic book that he is obsessed with, allowing them to escape the severity of the situation (and the boredom of their own lives) by living that fantasy.

Space Travelers is a stylish action comedy with a decent soundtrack and a lot of pretty faces. It isn't exactly a brain-teaser, but that can play in your favour. If you are faced with an un-subtitled version, the visual comedy and slick action shots should be able to maintain your interest.

Good funny film is derailed by a radical shift in the final moments

[dbborroughs · 6/10 · 18 January 2010]

Takeshi Kaneshiro stars in the story of three guys who decide to rob a bank and then head for the islands somewhere. The robbery goes sideways and becomes a hostage situation. Things become complicated when several hostages join the robbers becoming a live action version of the cast of the Space Travelers anime show. Funny action comedy is a great deal of fun. Yes its silly and over the top, but you won't care because you'll be having too good a time watching it. The trouble with the film comes in the last 15 minutes or so when the film turns jarringly into left field with an ending that is completely out of place for what has gone before. Sure its real, but nothing that went before was so it becomes seriously WTF. The film is still worth seeing, but at the same time that ending may put you off the film (certainly it has to be the reason I can only find this as a region 3 bargain bin film)

It really plays around with your emotion

[tasya · 13 August 2002]

I can't believe how I've been refraining myself from watching this movie the first time I'd heard of it. From the title 'Space Travelers', I thought that it's going to be somewhat a science fiction movie. But it turned out that it had nothing to do with space...or traveling through it!

I rent this movie from a rental nearby. I rented it just because it's a Japanese movie, yes...I'm a Japan freak...nevertheless, I was the most reluctant to watch this movie, aside from my other rented titles at the time. But from the moment I started to get into the picture, I couldn't get my eyes off the TV set not for once. The comedy is really great, the pacing is great also and not to mention the ending. Although many would say that the ending sucked...but I really liked it. It really serves up to the Japanese melodramatic spirit, if you know what I mean. If you pay attention, most of Japanese drama's ended in a very unsuspected yet realistic way.

Anyhow, this movie really deserves the credit for being able to capture one's emotions and drag the audiences' feelings to it. Although you've never robbed a bank (or ever will), you're still able to relate with the characters in the movies, their dreams, their desire of doing something really meaningful, even in the most absurd ways. I'd give this movie 5 out of 5 stars! ^_^

A Fantastic Comedy about a tropical paradise, a bank heist and cosplay.

[peter_K_2001 · 10/10 · 24 July 2003]

My brother is a huge fan of Asian cinema. Every month he goes to Chinatown with a list of films he "needs" to get and returns with three new DVDs or VCDs for his collection. This is how I was introduced to Space Travelers, now one of my favorite films of all time.

I don't want to give away much of the plot, because the experience will be so much more enjoyable with the less you know. All I will say is that it begins with a stereotypical bank heist that fails only minutes into the robbery and that three orphans, a fiancée, a feuding couple, an electrician, an insecure bank teller and a terrorist will partake in cosplay* like no one has ever done before.

The film is about holding on to something. A dream. A goal. No matter how hard things get, even if the dream is ridiculous, impossible, never give up. During the film I developed Stockholm syndrome along with the other hostages as I began to believe in the three robbers dream of `paradise'. Very rarely am I so absorbed with a film.

And for what starts as such quirky comedy, ends in such dramatic and powerful climax. I've heard people consider that a negative thing, but I've seen enough of Asian cinema to realize that ¾ comedy and ¼ drama is not unusual. Such an ending could only work in this Industry; I shudder to think of how it might of ended if it followed the traditional Hollywood formula. Coupled with Faure's powerful `Requiem' and director Katsuyuki Motohiro powerful images the ending of Space Travelers is one that I will never forget.

While there are many parts of the film that could be considered flaws (such as some loose ends with certain characters, some low brow humor or some completely unrealistic situations) I found that they never detracted the experience and in my opinion were not flaws at all.

And yes there's the title. Space Travelers. What does it mean? Well it's the name of an anime series that used to be popular. One of the robbers happened to be a big fan of the series and collects trading cards for it. Still don't understand? Good, now go see the film.

*Cosplay is when anime fans dress up as their favorite characters.

Wasn't what I expected it to be at all.

[troika19 · 9/10 · 23 November 2004]

I'll be honest and say right now that I wasn't expecting much from this movie but it turned out to be one of the best movies I have seen in years and is also the best Japanese movie I have seen since Battle Royale.

SPOILERS.

The plot is basically about three close friends who in their search for paradise (a beach they don't know the location of in picture they have) decide to rob a bank to get the money to find that paradise and things quickly go wrong turning the robbery into a hostage crisis but in a strange turn of events the hostage's (ranging from a shy bank employee all the way up to a wanted international terrorist) don't seem to mind being held hostage after a while and actually end up joining the robbers and taking on the roles of characters from one of the gang members favorite anime series "Space Travelers" a show in which each character has a shocking similarity to each hostage and robber.

IMHO the basic story here is about escaping reality, the bank robbers want to escape to their paradise and for a short time the hostages all get to escape from their pasts or their boring, unhappy lives but the other side of the coin is the the dangers of trying to hard to escape reality with the tragic ending that You know is coming but still packs a hell of a punch.

A great movie filled with strong likable characters and some very touching moments which is a great way to waste 2 hours on the weekend, 9/10.

Not what I would call a masterpiece

[azpublic · 3/10 · 26 September 2005]

Well, I was pretty disappointed by this one and also pretty surprised by the ovation it received in the web sites I've been browsing after viewing the movie, and that's the main reason I react here. This is definitely NOT the outstanding movie that reviewers promise...

Indeed the characters and relationships are funny to watch, and indeed the general self-derisional plot (a movie version of a manga about the misdeeds of the manga itself, plus a bank robbery plot with hostages progressively taking the roles of the robbers themselves) could have been of great interest. But unfortunately something is missing all along the movie.

The excitement of a great robbery plot that takes the viewer in the first thirty minutes of the movie, falls down progressively all along the action slowdowns to finally drawn into inertia. Contrary to what was said elsewhere, even in some of the characters a tenderizing, most are very superficial and they don't really give meaning or bring anything special to the plot...they don't really bring us anywhere nor do they revive the action.

A last positive word though, I kind of liked the ending that really surprised me and specially the words spoken by "Black Cat" : "Life is not like in Anime!", which gives at last a final sense to the action.

To balance my views , maybe that I was induced in error when realizing this was a bank robbery movie (I had no idea what the movie was about until I launched it), and disappointed in realizing that in fact it was a movie talking about social relationships.

So to conclude, not a masterpiece, not a "must see"e, but can be somewhat diverting, specially if you're the average Otaku.

Thrilling beyond my expectations

[brainyd · 9/10 · 12 August 2000]

I was lucky enough to be in Singapore at the time of the release of this movie, and I'm certainly glad for it. The movie was one of the more artistic and stylish action movies that I have ever seen, with some libertine cinematography and a dash of the fantastic. I'm not a big fan of subtitles, but the humor shines through in any language, and it's definitely worth seeing.

Although it is a "bank heist gone wrong" movie, it is surprisingly well done, with vibrant--if slightly shallow--characters, understated and well-placed special effects, a hip, hip soundtrack, and a good sense of humor about itself. Highly recommended.

Not An Animated Movie And NOT About Space! HUH?!

[rustyangel13 · 2 March 2002]

I know... I know... this ISN'T the animated movie. But it IS a pretty good Japanese action / comedy flick and believe it or not, it really has nothing to do with space at all. I can't tell you why the name is what it is without spoiling the plot of the movie but I will say it has something to do with Ando Masanobu (of BATTLE ROYALE fame) and his favorite Anime (Japanese cartoon) series and we'll leave it at that. I can say that it's a basic bank robbery film where there are the robbers, the hostages, the police, and big "get-away" at the end but NEVER assume too much with Japanese movies. This is an extremely pleasing film to watch and I'm glad I took the chance to pick it up sight unseen on Region 3 DVD.

wonderful!

[DaADA1 · 10/10 · 19 January 2002]

Honestly, I didn't even know what the movie was about when I imported it from Japan; just that the cover looked cool. Let me tell you: this is a must-see. It starts out as a bouncy comedy; you can't really help but side with the robbers when everything goes horribly wrong. It's funny, the cinematography is great, the action is great and funny too. However, like most foreign films, there's a twist ending. I won't say any more since it might give it away but it's worth buying just to see it. The soundtrack is great. Not only is it full of orchestrated pieces by Akihiko Matsumoto, but the use of popular songs like "Now I'm Here" by Queen, and classical like "Requiem" by Fauré, really add to the movie. If you're looking for a foreign movie to see, this is the one.

Much better than I expected!!

[Psylocke83 · 10/10 · 12 January 2007]

I must be honest and say that I bought this movie only because I'm a fan of Takeshi Kaneshiro. I was buying some other movies online, and since the shipping fee wasn't that bad for another DVD, I thought, 'Why the heck not? I'll give it a shot.' After all, I made that same decision with 'Returner', which made me a Kaneshiro fan in the first place.

I won't say anything to spoil this movie for you, which makes my comments a little short. Space Travelers is filled with humor and even though my expectations weren't high, it charmed its way to my heart and I didn't want it to end! I'll definitely recommend this one for everyone with a sense of humor!

Previous knowledge about the anime Space Travelers isn't needed to enjoy this movie as the movie has nothing to do with that show, but it doesn't hurt to know a bit about it due to all the hints to the characters.. ;)

I cant find it!

[googlybup · 10/10 · 30 September 2005]

I'm a huge fan of Masonobu Ando and i cant wait to see this film. Problem is i don't know where to get it from.If anyone knows then please email me on [e-mail] I'm desperate! i cant find it anywhere. and everyone is saying such good things about it i just want to see it more! Help me please! Love Kat Ps.i had to rate it because i cant find any other comment pages and it wouldn't let me continue unless i did. Also if anyone else is an Ando fan then i would recommend Battle Royale. Its a great film that i think everyone should see at some point. But right now i just want to see Supêsutoraberâzu! If anyone has any information on where to get it let me know.

A fast-paced, often touching piece of work, with extremely well-drawn characters.

[BrianThibodeau · 30 August 2004]

SPACE TRAVELERS is a comic thriller about three men (Takeshi

Kaneshiro, Masanobu Ando and Hiroyuki Ikeuchi), orphans all,

who decide to rob a bank just before closing time to finance their

escape to a tropical paradise. Plans, as they often do, go south

and the trio ends up trapped in the locked-down bank with an

eclectic and eccentric collection of staff and customers, each of

whom corresponds to characters in an anime show adored by one

of the robbers (Ando, the psycho kid in BATTLE ROYALE). In short

order, the hostages realize their captors are actually misguided

losers and decide to help them out, adopting character names

from the anime and making the growing throngs of cops outside

think the gang is much bigger than it really is and, in the process,

discovering untapped potential and new senses of purpose in

their mundane lives. A fast-paced, often touching piece of work,

with extremely well-drawn characters.

Wickedly Cool (SPOILERS!)

[silverhawk · 29 August 2000]

Perhaps one of the most stylishly made action films to come out in a long time. Tired of watching the same old Hong Kong action films that has recently become all the rage in the US? Watch this! This Japanese film pays homage to Hong Kong action films and does one better. It's entertaining. Something that is sadly missing lately. Don't worry that it's in Japanese. There are English subtitles. It also tips its hat to Hollywood films such as Al Pacino's Dog Day Afternoon.

It begins much like Dog Day Afternoon, three bank robbers led by the Japanese heart throb Takeshi Kaneshiro. A colourful cast of characters make up the rest of the hostages. It pokes fun at everything from the Japanese police department to the J-pop scene. All this interspersed with an animated movie called Space Travellers. But the animated movie is used to aid the bank robbers who have bungled their operation. With help from the hostages, they all soon learn to believe in themselves and reach for their dreams no matter how high they are.

It's a wonderful movie. A must see!

Cool, Funny, Action Packed...Satirical

[papahan · 7 December 2000]

What a great film this is! The director of Bayside Shakedown returns with this fantastic movie which will bring out the kid in all of us.

The film's action sequences are top notch, at times even better than Hollywood. The comedy level in the film is very, very high.

Now, it seems for a moment that this is a regular action comedy but guess what - apart from the action and comedy, the film is also a pinching satire on Japanese media, police force and the entertainment industry.

I would give this film a perfect 10 if not for the end.

The film opens up giving us a feeling that this is one roller coaster ride we'll never forget. But then in the end, the film suddenly goes into a very sad mode. My God - it disappointed me!!!!!!

Screw the ending. Check this film out. You'll love it!

Fantastic movie

[steve_a_woods · 14 July 2004]

This movie was an unexpected gem. It is one of those rare movies where after just a few minutes you forget that it is sub-titled and are fully absorbed into the plot.

The film is very funny. The laughs are spread around and there are some great performances. I especially liked "Crusher" who had a dead pan life weary outlook that shone through.

I won't go into the plot other than it involves a simple bank robbery where everything goes wrong and the outcome is unexpected.

This is a truly wonderful movie well worth watching and great entertainment.

The Worst movie ever made?

[ayoayo · 24 January 2003]

I bought the dvd after reading a couple of good reviews and a interesting synopsis. I like the idea that instead of a live action anime that would never work (like Dragonball live action) they instead had a character resemblance movie. That was a clever idea to execute the movie and at the same time make it closely based on a Japanese animation. However 30 minutes into the movie it became a disaster case. It was unbelievablely corny. Anyone who finds this movie good, has serious problems and has absolutely no taste in movies what so ever.