Mobile Suit Gundam Movie III

It’s easy to see how Yoshiyuki Tomino created a benchmark for Japanese animation with Mobile Suit Gundam. Strip away everything that Gundam is now famous for; namely its imaginative giant robots and ambitious science fiction setting and what remains is still a wonderful story filled with realistic and compelling characters; all set against a strong undercurrent of political upheaval and fighting against a fate tinged with impending tragedy.
Watching these fantastic movies will force you to forget everything you thought you knew about these revered Gundam series; quite frankly Movie III had me enthralled from start to finish, interested as much in the trifles of Amuro Ray and Char Aznable as the brilliantly realized, intricate space adventure.

While Amuro is the undoubted hero of these movies, Char is by far and away the most interesting character. Despite all those around him being locked into their respective sides of war, Char’s ambiguous morality and unpredictable personality make him a consistently exciting and volatile presence. Out of all the characters in Mobile Suit Gundam, Char is one of the few people who actually give the impression of being in control of his life; he is neither a typically good or bad person, he is not blinded by arrogance or a notion of mental superiority and yet he will do anything to achieve his sworn ambition; to avenge his murdered father. Suffice to say, Char is a compelling shade of grey that has gifted these movies with a third dimension of intrigue and sophistication.

If you had considered the prospect of jumping into the Gundam franchise with this specific movie, forget it! Since this is the final part of an epic trilogy, it is the fulfilling and dramatic climax of 5 hours previous development. That said…, what a film!
From the moment it begins, Movie III refuses to let up the pace; massive space battles ensue as White Base and the improving Amuro skin the dwindling Zeon forces with frightening ease. Amidst the twisted metal and unforeseen carnage of space battle, the weaknesses of the Zeon dictatorship further divide the “nation”. Petty squabbles and bizarre ideas of domination are banded around the upper echelons of the Zeon political sphere and with no-one around who is able to challenge the tyrannical rule of the controlling Zabi family; it appears the Zeon war effort is doomed to failure. Blind hope is being placed in their so-called “Newtype” units; evolved humans with strong psychic potential who have been trained for combat.
There is so much going on in this movie that it would be unfair of me to spoil it for you. The space battles reach a near mind boggling scale and unravel at a brutal pace. Collisions of giant warships and smaller dog fights provide us with spectacular glimpses of massive military clashes but don’t shy away from illustrating what is ultimately the sheer cheapness of war. Hundreds of frightened lives are extinguished as our so-called hero Amuro takes down yet another Zeon juggernaut.

This subversive tone is tempered our the growing attachment to the White Base crew; romance, loyalty and friendship all play a strong part in anchoring the epic adventure with touching human emotion. In particular, the White Base navigator Mirai finds herself at the centre of the romance- but it wouldn’t be Gundam if it didn’t end with tragedy.

Again, I have to praise what on first glance is dated animation. Between the soulful character designs and Tomino’s eye for unique mechanical design, the Gundam universe comes to life. Despite the obvious Star Wars influences, his ideas and concepts about the future of mankind have been wonderfully realized through the nostalgic animation that gives the whole presentation a vivid sense of realism. It’s this engrossing and imaginative way of thinking that allows the viewer to fully engross themselves in every intricate detail of the Gundam universe without feeling like pandering to specific fan-bases of, for example, mecha fanatics.

When I come across something I love as much as this, I find it hard to accurately explain exactly what I enjoyed so much- mainly because I enjoyed everything! On so many levels, Mobile Suit Gundam Movie III is a wonderful film.
Science fiction fans will fall in love with the detailed universe and great eye for futuristic combat. Tomino’s complex vision of the future is brimming with ideas of politics, technology and power without ever losing sight of more human qualities like arrogance, racism and greed.

In Summary

For a series as synonymous with mecha as Gundam, it’s fitting that the inevitable final confrontation between Amuro and Char is fought out man to man, sword to sword. It’s exactly this kind of unpredictable twist that makes me so interested in Mobile Suit Gundam; aside from the sci-fi setting, this is a riveting, fulfilling and completely unforgetable character drama.