Visually stunning, but overall disappointing

Rating: 6/10 (11 May 2004)

Yes, it's very beautiful, possibly the most visually stunning movie I've ever seen. But does this make it a great movie? NO, because it's really flawed in most of the other departments. The story is really boring, totally unrealistic and simplistic. The whole structure of the movie and the way in which the story is told is a complete ripoff of Kurosawa's "Rashomon". The fight scenes are way too long and so unrealistic they've got boring after 5 minutes. I mean, it's fun at first watching the fighters fly around with no explanation for it, but it gets old way too quickly.
And the message of the story is completely flawed. SPOILERS:

So it's OK to kill millions of people just to establish an empire?And the emperor supposedly does it only to make the people happier. Talk about being naive... END SPOILERS:
In conclusion, the only reason to see that is the amazing cinematography and music. But be prepared for a stupid and even ridiculous plot.