Parasyte, Part 1
(Kiseiju):
Written by Ryota Kosawa and Takashi Yamazaki, directed by Takashi
Yamazaki. Starring: Shota Sometani, Eri Fukatsu, Ai Hashimoto, Masahiro
Higashide, and Tadanobu Asano. Running Time: 108 minutes. Based on the manga of the same name by
Hitoshi Iwaaki.
Rating: 3.5/4
Parasyte,
a two-part film adaptation of a manga with the same name, is an action/sci-fi
story about an army of parasites that rise up from the depths of the ocean to
take over human society by infecting our brains. Where they originated, who sent them, and for
what ultimate purpose is kept deliberately vague, in a possible metaphor for
the nature of life itself. An opening
sequence suggests that their appearance may be nature’s vengeance upon us for
the environmental damage we have wrought, but that too is left open to
interpretation.
This, of course, heavily implies
that the end result of the parasites fulfilling their instinctive mission will
mean the destruction of the human race, and herein layeth the central conflict
of our story. One parasite, who
eventually names himself Migi, attempts to seize control of a normal, angsty, mostly
immature teenager named Shinichi, but, through a great gag involving an iPhone,
is only able to take over his hand. This
creates a….unique situation, since Shinichi is still himself, with full control
over his brain and body, with the exception of the upper half of his right arm,
which is no longer “his;” it is now, for all intents and purposes, Migi’s
body. It seems that the parasite
effectively “becomes” whatever it infects, although on a purely physical level
they remain human.
A key physical feature of the
parasites must now be mentioned- although they initially appear as a sort of
crawling, insect-like creature, once they have taken over a body they can
twist, bend, and stretch the body’s limbs and shape like silly-putty, and also
develop superhuman strength and reflexes.
This is usually utilized by either turning the person’s head into a
terrifying mass of moving jaws and teeth, perfect for chowing down on unknowing
human victims, or weaponizing their hands Terminator-style by morphing them
into huge razor-sharp blades, which conveniently make for some flashy fight
scenes later on.
Part
1 of this story focuses on how Shinichi and Migi slowly find ways to
coexist with each other and learn more about the motives of the different
parasites, who seem to be as divided in their tactics and goals as humans tend
to be. The first group of fellow
parasites they encounter are led by Ryoko, who took over the body of a well-regarded
Chemistry teacher at Shinichi’s school.
As emotionally cold and she is brilliant and powerful, she is purely
experimental in her approach, hoping to find an optimal way for the parasites
and humans to coexist. Her tactics range
from monitoring two fellow parasites, one a fellow student at the
aforementioned school, and the other a policeman who may be a bit more
blood-thirsty than your usual parasite, to seemingly more radical measures like
eschewing the usual parasite diet of human flesh for vegetarian food, or even
getting herself pregnant, just to see what sort of qualities a child conceived
by parasites might possess. Shinichi is
at first determined to ignore the events this sets off, but is drawn farther
and farther into the web parasite’s plans until their presence begins to
directly threaten the lives of his friends and family.
It is, in short, very much a tale
from the world of Japanese superpower-action manga, in ways that are either
strengths in the film’s favor or critical strikes against it, depending on
where you’re coming from. All the usual
story/world tropes are present- bizarre tonal shifts from wacky comedy to
terrifying gore-fest, out-of-left-field character/monster designs, the main
character suddenly being the only person who can save everyone, and unbelievable
superpowers or reveals of alien or mythical life forms that are accepted all
too quickly by the human characters, among many others. None of this will be anything particularly
new for regular readers of manga, but for the uninitiated, it just might prove
impossible to overcome or ignore.
The biggest issue in this regard is
the design of Migi himself, consisting of two subble points as legs, thin, wavy
arms, a wide mouth with very prominent lips, and a single, bobbing
eyeball. It’s one of those designs that
probably looks fine in the black-and-white, simple-line pages of a manga, but
always seems terribly off when directly copied into a live-action setting. This extends to the rest of the parasites as
well- it’s not bad CGI, and it’s not
nearly as egregiously over-present as it is in most modern American
blockbusters, but it does take effort, at least at first, to get past how clearly
fake Migi and the other parasite forms look.
That said, once you get past all
that, a lot of people will find this first part immensely entertaining. While it’s not necessarily anything new, the
comedy they mine from Migi’s and Shinichi’s first efforts to live together is
very well-done, and when shit hits the fan in the second half we get some great
bits of action that make full use of the powers the parasites bring to the table. It paces itself well, and by the end I was
quite eager to get my ass back in its seat for Part 2. Which is, of course, the whole purpose of a
film with Part 1 attached to the
title.
-Noah
Franc
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