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+title = "Mars Express (2023)"
+author = ["Michał Sapka"]
+date = 2024-07-29T21:54:00+02:00
+categories = ["reviews"]
+draft = false
+weight = 2015
+reviewSection = ["Movies"]
+image_dir = "reviews/screenshots"
+image_max_width = 765
+abstract = "My review"
+image = "reviews/covers/mars-express.jpg"
+rating = 4.75
+alias = ["brain-rot/european-scifi/mars-express-2023/"]
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+
+On the surface, _Mars Express_ is a detective story about a female detective and her robotic partner.
+We've seen a lot of those, but they were mostly terrible.
+_Mars Express_, on the other hand, is one of the greatest SciFi movies I've seen.
+
+It is often compared to _Blade Runner_ and _Ghost in the Shell_.
+And while yes, those are the two big titles _ME_ takes from - there is so much more here to marvel.
+
+I don't want to spoil the story, but let me tell you it's great.
+This _could have been_ another limited run TV series - but luckily, it is not.
+We've got 88 minutes of great SciFi detective work which has already gone to history as a modern classic.
+Enough said that it smart, makes sense and it's worth to experience without spoilers.
+
+<div class="rating">
+
+Cover
+
+</div>
+
+However, the biggest problem with _Mars Express_ is its older peers.
+This film takes from numerous other movies - not only the _big 2_, but also 2001, _Akira_, _Armitage III_, and even some Cronenberg.
+All of this works great - never have I felt that anything is a pointless reference[^fn:1].
+The director and writer duo - Laurent Sarfati and Jérémie Périn - blend all those ideas perfectly, each borrowed _thing_ is their own in the context of this film.
+But it also creates a lot of unexpected foreshadowing.
+Now, I did not expect the ending - the film had a chance to end 3 times before the credits rolled.
+There were moments where authors could call it a day and still have a great film.
+But the story continues, becoming better and better each time.
+As a whole, I left very much surprised.
+Yet, a lot of twist and turns came as "hey, I've seen that already".
+Sometimes in better form, most often in worse.
+However, if you are the kind of person who tries to guess what's going to happen[^fn:2], you may leave unchallenged.
+
+But you will still marvel at the animation.
+The French were always the champions of European animation, and this is another proof.
+_Mars Express_ is breathtaking.
+It looks 2D, and even when the CGI rears its ugly face, it's just for a brief moment.
+We're seeing clear inspiration from _Production IG_, which is the best kind of inspiration.
+Anime no longer looks as good as it looked when _Mamoru Oshii_ ruled the scene, and _Mars Express_ fill a huge void in my heart.
+
+Not only because the animation is spot on, but also because we rarely see such a vivid SciFi world.
+It's often just a steel wall here and there, a bit massive computer, maybe.
+But _Mars Express_ fills the world with believable nuances - the "Police" tape is holographic, the roads react in a cool way to accidents, and even the gadgets are cool.
+I could not smile wide enough to show how much I loved it.
+They could have just made the bare minimum (like it often is), but they went the extra mile.
+As it stands, _Mars Express_ is one of the greatest SciFi worlds I can remember.
+
+{{< image class="centered" alt="On the left a woman is sitting on a table. Another woman is standing above her." file="mars-express-1.jpg" >}}
+It's not anime, but it's breathtaking
+{{< /image >}}
+
+This is the film to see.
+I know there is another blockbuster in the cinema you may want to watch, but please - give _Mars Express_ a chance.
+It's not a modern film, it's not an action film (even if the action is 10/10).
+It's a smart story, like we used to experience 20 years ago.
+They don't make movies like this very often, and we are lucky to have it.
+
+[^fn:1]: Hello Marvel
+[^fn:2]: I never understood that.
+    When I watch a film, I try to go into a meditative state.
+    I try not to think of the story as a jigsaw, but as an experience.