Miyazaki strikes again

Rating: 8/10 (8 August 2005)

Alright, I'm not gonna lie to you. HMC is flawed. Then again, what isn't?
The very best thing about this movie is that you actually care about the characters.
I often end up half-rooting for the villains in most movies, but not here. Miyzaki, has created such deep and lovable characters(especially Calcifer) that every little problem they faced had me doubled up in worry.
The story is interesting too, though a little lacking. The cities are on the brink of war, due to foolishness and random gobbledy-gook that i didn't understand.
And here's where Miyazaki goofed up. While he should have made the entire war drama more, well, dramatic, he instead replaced it with cleverness. We get a serious scene that could have easily escalated into something more profound and moving with Miyazaki's talents, but rarely does. Many of the scenes (especially the ending) feel like they should end with an earth shattering bang. Instead they all end abruptly, leaving us scratching our heads and wondering what the hell was the point Miyazaki was trying to make.
Of course, Miyazaki has to be aware of his target audience, which unfortunately includes the little ones, so I can't really blame him for not going further. I would have preferred it if he went for the profound rather than the clever, but hey that's life. This is STILL a great film that everyone should see. 8/10, maybe 8.5/10