Altered Carbon is another series is on Netflix in which I watched whatever is available, which is two seasons. It has been cancelled and honestly, this series was never amazing to me. While the world was interesting, it felt a little too ass pulley to be a good series even if the reason why was apart of the plot. It was just an ok watch in a science fiction setting that was wholly unique. This is a world that reminds me of Kaiba in which people don’t die but can have their entire personality placed into a body of not their own choosing. Especially if they are poor. The elite can do what they want because they have the power and money. Put in a detective story and you have something interesting. Too bad the show never went with that because it had other bad stories to tell. But anyway, here is the movie that actually is a lot more of a detective story then the series.
Altered Carbon is a series focused on a character by the name of Takeshi Kovacs. Years before Resleeved or any of the other series appeared, Takeshi was a part of the Colonial Tactical Assault Corps in rebellion to the current planet Harlan’s World. He is rather infamous for being the last one because he carries the reputation of his unit and its training on his shoulders. However, Takeshi Kovacs is always brought back by a rich billionaire or similar to solve a detective case for them. This allows him to be somewhat Doctor Who in that each season he can have a new body so he’s easy to cast for different situations or with whatever happened with the last actor. It also reminds the viewer that, once again, any person can take whatever person/sleeve in the entire series. Resleeved happens when he is in the body of Ken Kakura of a Yakuza gang.
The story of Resleeved seems simple at start. On a planet called Latimar, A tattooist by the name of Holly who seems like a younger girl is trying to escape from one branch of the yakuza. (Apparently, they are still around in the future). Takeshi, who is hired by a major benefactor in this case for one reason or another, finds Holly before she is killed by the ninjas sent by the Yakuza to drag her back. The two also are forced into a mixed conflict from the bad ass women working for the UN CTAC named Gena who is also being tasked to investigate the situation. What is happening that is making Holy run away from everything that is going on? Well Takeshi and Gena work together to solve this case or not? A lot of things to consider.
From a detective story stand point, Resleeved is alright. Much better focused then either of the seasons on Netflix right now. Mainly because the story didn’t once again dig into Takeshi’s backstory instead of actually doing something interesting with the setting. I love that Resleeved is centered on the yakuza with a ceremony about transferring to the next host. Gena and Takeshi also act like proper detectives while staying at the hotel that the Yakuza are staying at. The little of play with the sleeves adds a twist to the story which makes a lot of sense too. Because a lot of work was put into the show because the sleeves and body changes are a part of the show, none of what can be presented can be considered asspulls. Otherwise, the entire series might as well be called an Asspull. This time, at least we don’t have to be involved with Takeshi’s sister again because god that plot is so boring.
I’m pretty surprised by how great this film just plans with expectations in the short amount of time it has. Some hints to spoilers, but that is the case here. The film feels like a forged together mom and pop working with their daughter who ran away from the building around them. Same with the usual drama centered around the characters that are being investigated. The only obvious people we can trust in this series are Gena and Takeshi because of how suspicious everyone is around them. Well, besides the hotel they are in controlled by an Ai. An Ai that is based on Ogai Nori just like how the one in the series is controlled by Edgar Allen Poe. Such good constancy with the world itself which shows how this Altered Carbon is more Japanese than the TV series ever is. I mean, makes more sense then the series because the name of the main character is Japanese and his sleeve is never Japanese until now. Hmmm…
On a visual level, Altered Carbon: Resleeved is pretty good. It looks a lot like the video game series like Border Lands with a little less cartooniness to it. Just a little bit, so it takes some getting used to. The settings and backgrounds are well realized, the film has some stellar action scenes, and I love a lot of things into it. With that stated, I think that Altered Carbon: Resleeved is a good movie. I will honestly state that liked it a little better then the tv series which was cancelled. I think that has to do with the show being much less focused despite all the acting talent and visual distinction put into this. Resleeved is a stand out in a lot of ways while also having some issues and flaws in the time that is given since it is 73 minutes in length. Then again, that might be why its better.
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