Hunter x Hunter movie could have been better.

I've been waiting for this movie for a long time so I anticipated it to be very good. Unfortunately, high expectations inevitably result in disappointment.

The movie didn't offer anything new at all when it comes to Gon and Killua's friendship. We go back again at Killua's internal dilemma which was almost the highlight of the movie. Rather than being a great story about friendship and adventure, the movie turned out to be a poorly executed film on cheesiness and shallow character development. Maybe the meager 1.5 hour screen time is one of the culprits for this.

courtesy of movieseer.com

On cinematography and soundtrack 2/5

One thing is for sure, it wasn't breathtaking or notable in any way. 

On the story and characters 2/5

At first I thought that the movie will center on Kurapica and the gang but it was more of Killua and the gang - which would totally be fine, had the story presented something fresh. Sadly, it didn't. 

Meanwhile, Retz and #4, the only new characters introduced, were not properly built up in the film. We see former Phantom Troupe member #4 as a caring brother with incredibly low EQ to misunderstood his little sister's feeling. We see Retz as a delayed hero without much character. As for the rest, they're nothing new. 

On certain scenes

1. Did Killua have to run (again) from himself/ Illumi? Haven't we seen this dilemma so many times before (Hunter exam, Greed island, Chimera Ant, etc) When will he truly resolve this? The part where he was implied to be crying while running away was absurd considering that his character is a top assassin. His devastation could have been portrayed differently and more gracefully. 

2. There is a post-credit scene so stick until the end. I can't make opinions on the post-credit because I didn't stick around to watch it, because I didn't know that there will be a post-credit :| lalala

Overall

I would not recommend the film to (1) people who are not familiar with Hunter x Hunter since they will have a hard time following the plot, and (2) die-hard fans of the story who do not want to get disappointed with the story's execution, but if you are die hard fans, then you'd rather get disappointed than ignorant of it, right? :D

Arlet

P.S.

Hunter x Hunter is my favorite anime series of all time! I even planned on getting a Hunter x Hunter inspired tattoo (silhouette of Gon fishing while sitting on the crescent moon - like that of Dreamworks production.) HAHAHA 

"So help me, Gon," became my motto during my challenging thesis days. HAHAHA