Approaching Takashi Miike’s Terra Formars (2016) with no prior knowledge of the source material renders the viewing experience an interesting one. The plot is unarguably insanity itself, with a bizarrely assembled collection of misfits sent to Mars to combat a growing Earth-created cockroach problem. And they’re all criminals. And they’ve been injected with insect DNA to give them special powers. And the cockroaches have evolved.
Miike is often a controversial figure, with a body of work that covers a range of genres, and Terra Formars is certainly one of his most curious films. Based on a Japanese manga, Terra Formars became an anime before Miike created his version. Hugely popular in its previous forms, this live-action version feels strangely dull despite its inherent strangeness.
With a vastly growing population, Earth’s leaders send algae and cockroaches to Mars in an attempt to colonize the planet. The former is designed to purify the atmosphere while the latter feeds on the algae and spreads it. 500 years later, a manned mission is dispatched to clear out the cockroaches.
There are several issues for the casual observer. Firstly, there’s that plot. Colonising Mars? Fine. Algae and cockroaches we can get on board with, and then a mission to wipe them out? Okay, we’ll go with it. But there is something unsettling about the make up of the team. Not only are they criminals, there are serial killers, terrorists and even the head of a child prostitution ring. It’s a little difficult to root for characters that on paper are so grotesque as to be unpleasantly distasteful. Then there’s the roaches themselves. Or the humanoid, six-pack sporting muscular monsters that have evolved from the lowly insect. They are entirely unbelievable, and the ropey CGI by which they are created does little to help their cause. And they can speak and use phones… how? How??
There are other problems too: the insects that the ‘heroes’ transform into are largely ludicrous, the fight scenes go on far, far too long (much like the film itself), and there is nothing remotely engaging or endearing in any of the characters at all.
Feeling more like an episode from some fanciful futuristic adventure series than a standalone film, Terra Formars is difficult to make friends with unless the more preposterous side of Japanese manga and anime is your thing. It is a bloated blend of varying themes all fighting for air when there’s little to go around. If that’s your thing then the Blu-ray extras will be of interest. An in depth ‘making of’ feature almost as long as the film itself, alongside several interviews, provide an insight into the filmmaking process if little else.
As interesting as Miike is as a filmmaker, and there are classics in his filmography such as Audition (1999) and Ichi The Killer (2001), this is an entry in his extensive body of work that is solely for fans of the genre or the completists.
Special features:
High-Definition Blu-ray (1080p) presentation, Original uncompressed Stereo and 5.1 DTS-HD MA options, Newly-translated English subtitles, The Making of Terra Formars – feature-length documentary on the film’s production featuring a host of cast and crew interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, Extended cast interviews, Footage from the 2016 Japanese premiere, Outtakes, Image Gallery, Theatrical and teaser trailers, Reversible sleeve featuring two artwork options
TERRA FORMARS / CERT: 15 / DIRECTOR: TAKASHI MIIKE / SCREENPLAY: KAZUKI NAKASHIMA / STARRING: RINKO KIKUCHI, RILA FUKUSHIMA, SHUN OGURI / RELEASE DATE: OUT NOW
