by Jayden Leggett, Editor

Having not played the Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney games but obviously being familiar with their presence and popularity, I must admit to a reasonable amount of surprise and skepticism when I first heard about the Ace Attorney live-action movie. Still, being the curious fellow that I am I decided to give it a whirl, and boy am I glad that I did.

Set in the near future where court trials can only last for a maximum of three days due to an overflowing amount of court cases, the film beings rather ominously with a spirit medium giving details to the alleged identity of a killer, before cutting to some current trials in action. Phoenix Wright is a novice lawyer who obviously has potential but his bumbling nature and his tendency to get overwhelmed by new facts and evidence stop him from achieving greatness, while his rival Miles Edgeworth is cool and collected and seems to have every possible angle covered before any trial, as his perfect win record shows.

When Wright’s friend and mentor Mia Fey is murdered shortly after announcing her discovery of some vital evidence for an important case, and her sister Maya is implicated as the murderer, Phoenix Wright is forced in to action to defend his friend without the help of his former teacher. An initial win only proves to be the tip of the iceberg as Miles Edgeworth also finds himself wrongly accused of a murder he didn’t commit, and as Wright fights to defend his former friend he finds this current case has a suspiciously large amount in common with a fifteen year old unsolved case that could hold the key to clearing Miles’ name and finding the true killer…

The story was one that was beautifully crafted and one that really commands the viewer’s attention, particularly as a sudden revelation of a new piece of evidence can dramatically affect the circumstances of a trial. Add to this Phoenix’s overarching journey to solve not only his current case but also the one from fifteen years ago, and the result is a narrative that I actually gave a damn about and one in which I wanted to know the answers to all of the questions that it raised.

Ace Attorney also succeeds on a technical level. The acting was of an excellent standard, particularly for Phoenix Wright himself (Hiroki Narimiya – Azumi), who was very convincing as an up-and-coming lawyer finally hitting his stride whilst constantly racking his brain during a trial and mentally formulating arguments based on the new pieces of evidence being revealed. Cinematography was also put to good use, with a lot of creative camera work and editing techniques used to make this film both visually and mentally stimulating.

I was pleasantly surprised by how compelling I found this movie, particularly since I am usually not even remotely interested in courtroom dramas. Ace Attorney flipped my expectations on their head, and was very enjoyable for numerous reasons. The various flashbacks to Wright’s childhood provided some great insight into his characteristics and inner workings, and I loved the various crime-scene recreations that would constantly change whenever new evidence and arguments were presented in court.

Those hoping for a straight-laced and deadly serious murder mystery will have to look elsewhere, as this film is packed with various quirky scenarios and oddball humour that at a couple of times went straight over my head. Even though I have never played the games on which this film was based, I can only assume that fans should be very pleased with the way that their beloved characters were portrayed in this movie. While the film’s running time is perhaps a bit longer than it needed to be, Ace Attorney is the best video game movie I have seen so far. ‘Nuff said.

ComicsOnline recommends Australian and New Zealand residents purchase their copy of Ace Attorney directly from the Madman Entertainment website by following this link.

Rating:

ComicsOnline gives Ace Attorney 4 out of 5 talking cockatoos in the witness stand.

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