Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is perhaps the only cinematic entry the Bayonetta fandom is going to see, and for that, it has some extra if not somewhat undeserving merit. Competently animated and smartly voiced by the game’s original English voice actors, the anime seeks to adapt the original Bayonetta game’s plot line while formatting it in a way that can be consumed in an hour and a half. The results are mixed, to say the least.
A key element of the Bayonetta franchise is it’s empowering, unapologetically feminine soundtrack — one that brilliantly mixes Japanese hyper-pop with a unique jazz twist that encapsulates the series’ emphasis on reclaiming sexual femininity in a way that upholds its central characters rather than demeaning them. When that soundtrack is stripped away, the result is a lackluster story that is deeply in need of that key stylistic element.
Another issue this adaptation fails to tackle is the kink factor that the original plays into. In the game, the gratuitous camera angles and lingering shots add to the stylized absurdity of the story. Here, that style is replaced with typical anime fan service - still pervy, but not in a way that feels campy or boundary-pushing. If anyone knows what the first appearance of Joy is like in the original, you’ll know what I’m talking about. That element simply is not here.
Then there’s the action itself - closely mirroring the game, yet without the gusto, camp, and speed of the original. Missiles are launched with relative apathy, Jeanne’s gloriously fun-to-watch combat sequences are reduced to exposition dumps, and the epic galactic sized climax is traded for one that feels more at home in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure than a Bayonetta adaptation.
The one thing the film does do better is establish Bayonetta as a motherly figure. Her mean behavior towards young Cereza is toned down in a way that makes her more readily accessible, despite costing the script a lot of the original game’s humor in the process. There’s also something to be said for trying to tackle this difficult of a story, given its bizarre lore and unapologetically mature yet gleeful content and humor. I doubt an American studio could have done any better, though there’s a part of me that wishes we could see a Tarantino or Wachowski take on the characters, at least in live action.
That all being said - there are worse ways to spend a Monday evening, and Bloody Fate keeps things fresh enough to make it a worthwhile investment for Bayonetta fans. It’s just a shame that it couldn’t capture the charm, camp, and excitement of the original - the lightning in a bottle is gone in this installment, despite remnants of its genius being still there.
Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is perhaps the only cinematic entry the Bayonetta fandom is going to see, and for that, it has some extra if not somewhat undeserving merit. Competently animated and smartly voiced by the game’s original English voice actors, the anime seeks to adapt the original Bayonetta game’s plot line while formatting it in a way that can be consumed in an hour and a half. The results are mixed, to say the least.
A key element of the Bayonetta franchise is it’s empowering, unapologetically feminine soundtrack — one that brilliantly mixes Japanese hyper-pop with a unique jazz twist that encapsulates the series’ emphasis on reclaiming sexual femininity in a way that upholds its central characters rather than demeaning them. When that soundtrack is stripped away, the result is a lackluster story that is deeply in need of that key stylistic element.
Another issue this adaptation fails to tackle is the kink factor that the original plays into. In the game, the gratuitous camera angles and lingering shots add to the stylized absurdity of the story. Here, that style is replaced with typical anime fan service - still pervy, but not in a way that feels campy or boundary-pushing. If anyone knows what the first appearance of Joy is like in the original, you’ll know what I’m talking about. That element simply is not here.
Then there’s the action itself - closely mirroring the game, yet without the gusto, camp, and speed of the original. Missiles are launched with relative apathy, Jeanne’s gloriously fun-to-watch combat sequences are reduced to exposition dumps, and the epic galactic sized climax is traded for one that feels more at home in Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure than a Bayonetta adaptation.
The one thing the film does do better is establish Bayonetta as a motherly figure. Her mean behavior towards young Cereza is toned down in a way that makes her more readily accessible, despite costing the script a lot of the original game’s humor in the process. There’s also something to be said for trying to tackle this difficult of a story, given its bizarre lore and unapologetically mature yet gleeful content and humor. I doubt an American studio could have done any better, though there’s a part of me that wishes we could see a Tarantino or Wachowski take on the characters, at least in live action.
That all being said - there are worse ways to spend a Monday evening, and Bloody Fate keeps things fresh enough to make it a worthwhile investment for Bayonetta fans. It’s just a shame that it couldn’t capture the charm, camp, and excitement of the original - the lightning in a bottle is gone in this installment, despite remnants of its genius being still there.
