Mamoru Hosoda's follow-up to the critically acclaimed The Girl Who Leapt Through Time, Summer Wars is a sci-fi tale set against the world of social networking and the effects it has on society. Quickly in the film we are introduced to the virtual world of OZ, a larger and more advanced version of online societies like Facebook and Second Life that incorporates shopping, finances, and even production and services as well as networking and gaming with virtual avatars. The system is so advanced and safe (through its "strongest in the world" security encryption) that even major civil systems like traffic lights and power are hooked into it and controlled remotely by employees using OZ. So, when a hyper-smart "learning" AI being developed for the US Military is "test drove" by dropping it into OZ, it quickly begins to hack and hijack accounts, leading to a worldwide crisis that could have devastating effects on both the virtual world and the real one. The story is told at a crisp pace, with imaginative action scenes inside the world of OZ balanced with the real world drama of a family coming to grips with tragedy and it's own image.
Our protagonist, Kenji, is the kind of kid you'd expect to be in OZ. Lonely and awkward, but brilliant, he spends most of his time in the film coming to grips with what it means to be part of something bigger than himself, and what it means to sacrifice for it. Coming from a home with mostly absentee parents, he is a stranger to family as anything other than a concept, and uses his role as a moderator and "code monkey" for OZ to substitute. It's only after he is dragged into a large, proud family by his classmate Natsuki (who is trying to pass off Kenji as her fiance to make her Grandmother proud), and he endure trials and tragedy alongside them does he fully embrace his abilities and faults to the benefit of all.
The AI, named "Love Machine" by its creator, is a compelling antagonist for Kenji and the denizens of OZ. It is literally a faceless entity without personality, designed to aggressively learn everything it is able to, and modify itself accordingly. In a world like OZ, it is able to battle, hack, manipulate, and wreak general chaos and havoc in both worlds. Kenji, who at first sees himself as only an avatar, has that stripped away by Love Machine when his account is the first to be hacked. Suddenly, the only identity Kenji is comfortable with has been stolen and twisted, and because of the events and experiences he has with Natsuki's family, does he discard the avatar and become the person. It becomes a virtual David vs. Goliath as Kenji pits his wits and anger and passion against a construct that sees it all as nothing more than a game.
The animation, as to be expected from studios like MadHouse, is top-notch. The design of the virtual world is quirky and imaginative, and full to the brim of unique little nooks and crannies. The art of the real world in the film is also quite good, with many long, wide shots of the family used at different emotional peaks of the film, at first setting up Kenji as an outsider, but as time goes by, showing the change in him and those around him. The attention to detail inSummer Wars is also excellent, especially in the scenes where Love Machine has literally become a giant composed of hundreds of millions of smaller avatars of the accounts it has stolen (see above picture for a small glimpse). Every scene of the film, though, was finely-crafted and I found rewarding to take in.
In the end, I feel Summer Wars had a much more interesting lesson than just warning against relying too heavily on technology, which is where it seemed to be going at first as the AI took over. But, as the chaos begins to clear, and people band together, we see the true message at the heart of the film. Family. Not just the physical one we live as part of, but also the virtual ones we create with games and social networking and instant messaging. The stronger our ties to those around us, the stronger our resolve to protect and enrich one another becomes. And, in the final scenes of the film, Summer Wars shows us that these principles apply to any community and family we belong to, not just our flesh and blood relatives. 9/10
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