"Without their bikes, they're like fish in a meadow!"

Rating: Null/10 (3 January 2000)

I could go on about how amazing and groundbreaking this film is, but you've probably already heard it before. That having been said, it is an amazing film. It has some of the best animation I've ever seen, it has a very realistic look and feel, while having a distinctly animated style, if that makes any sense. Despite being almost 12 years old, it still looks very fresh. The film has some very impressive action setpieces, like the opening battle between biker gangs, famous among anime fans. Anyone who's a fan of 80's style "body-horror" films is sure to like this one.
One thing the film is notable for is direction by the creator of the comic that it's based on (Katsuhiro Otomo), which is pretty rare. Sure, it's not uncommon for a comic's creator to be involved with the film version, like co-writing the script or producing, but for the original creator to have this level of control over the film version is unusual. Just imagine if Frank Miller wrote and directed a Sin City film. The only other example of this I can think of off the top of my head is Hayao Miyazaki's film of his manga Nausicaa: Valley of the Wind.
On top of all that is the excellent musical score composed by Shoji Yamashiro and performed by the group Genioh Yamashirogumi. The score ranges from both dynamic pieces for the action scenes to very spooky, otherworldly music. Vocals (including Buddhist chanting), instruments, and synthesized sounds are combined perfectly. Unfortunately, this is the only film project Genioh Yamashirogumi has done.
If you can, watch the subtitled version of the film (of course, that's true for most non-English films, but particularly advisable for this one). The Japanese voice actors do a much more professional, less "cartoony" job than the American actors. You also have to take into consideration that the actors' performances were recorded before the animation was produced, to better match up the voices to the characters' lip and facial movements. Needless to say, this effect is ruined by the English dubbing. Not only that, I really prefer the translation of the subtitles to Carl Macek's "adapted" script. After having seen the subtitled version, I find the dubbed version painful to watch.
For all the fancy visuals, the plot isn't bad either, despite suffering a little from being condensed from a fairly lengthy manga series. I've seen few other films to present a near-apocalyptic world so compellingly (George Romero's Dawn of the Dead comes to mind). It also has a healthy dose of satire mixed in, which is appreciated. The scene with the council meeting around a circular table evokes the War Room in Kubrick's Dr. Strangelove. Many other reviews have made comparisons between Akira and 2001: A Space Odyssey, with it's mystical ambiguous ending.
It may not be the "ne plus ultra" of anime that some people have described it as, but I would still say it's indispensable for anyone interested in science fiction or animation.