Well, you'll probably have hard time believing me but I've finally brought myself to watch the movie.
My overall impression was pretty good, slightly better than of Roots, and I'd like to list some peculiarities I've noticed... First, the film is quite unorthodox in the sound department. The director certainly had no fear of using silence where appropriate or letting the dialogue be inaudible because of music. A very Bee Train-y decision. However, a hardcore BTF like me cannot forgive the stupid facial expressions (though they may have been an attempt to emulate the original games' style) and the fact that the character shout so much. Well, the authors probably wanted to make damn sure that this movie is marketed as shounen.
I've mentioned the music before but actually, I cannot recall any remarkable instrumental pieces right now. There are some nice songs, such as in the Haseo-Atoli-and-bubbles scene or in the very end. Speaking of Atoli, I found it extremely difficult to concentrate on her character rather than on her perfect zettai ryouiki.
I mean, boots that seamlessly go over into white knee-highs? ZOMG O__O Anyhow, I found it a bit unsatisfactory that the whole plot basically boiled down to Haseo-vs-Ovan clash and Haseo-Atoli romance. From what I read on .hack//Wiki, there were more to G.U. games than that but I guess that was to be expected from a movie...
The film is very insider-ish (see the other thread): you'd probably go WTF every 30 seconds without knowing the entire background. For one, it doesn't even really explain what The World is and why is everyone playing it. Of course, that's a game adaptation. Also, the entire party concept of the original games is totally gone, I assume the directors didn't have enough screen time for all but the main characters. I like the graphics and the special effects, though. Still, that stream of blades of Haseo's is sooo a ripoff of Vexille and Fate/stay night.
Lastly, I loved the fact that Aura was never shown on screen albeit present. Leaves a nice sense of noble incompleteness, suggesting that there is much more to explore. What I didn't get, however, was the part after the ending credits. Is that a hint at a sequel? Was it in the original games at all? And, for crying out loud, wasn't that Hisakawa's voice? Kobayashi doesn't sound like that IIRC...
