(This review may contain spoilers).
I saw trailers for this movie so many times, I actually got really hyped up and excited about it in preparation to watch it. And I did really enjoy the movie. It was a really interesting concept and it was also good to see that each of the dogs had their own personality.
I did question why there were translators throughout the movie, as it took place primarily in Japan and showed very little of the outside world, apart from the American exchange student – but there didn’t seem to be anyone else apart from her would have needed translating, especially in the meeting at the beginning, which had a very secret feel.
I did like seeing the colonies formed by the dogs on Trash Island, but this was definitely not a child-friendly movie, as there was a lot of dark subject matter shown.
One of my favourite parts of this movie was the friendship that formed between Chief and Atari, although I did feel that Chief changed his tone rather quickly – and although he warned that he bit, there was nothing to indicate he’d carry out that threat, whether unconsciously or not.
I also felt that this movie wasn’t long enough to need to be separated into parts or chapters. And though it was good to see the legend of the boy samurai at the start of the movie, I was expecting it to be more utilised through the course of the movie.
I did like the idea of Oracle, the dog who could understand the television, but I was left somewhat confused by the way the languages worked, as by the end of the movie, it seemed like Atari could actually understand the dogs.
I enjoyed the small elements of humour in this movie and I did find it really engaging to watch. While I wouldn’t rush out to buy it on DVD, it’s a movie I wouldn’t mind watching again in the future.
Ink of Blood 