Feature-length animated movie based on the television series, and Manga comic book of the same name, is like watching a Japanese video game being played on a movie screen.
With careful marketing ploys strung throughout the film, "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie" also operates as one long commercial to inspire the purchase of collectible cards that coincide with the monsters and magical forces that the characters/players use in their "Shadow Games."
Yugi is a punky "King of Games" gamer boy who holds the three strongest "God" cards in the "Shadow" game when his arch-rival Seto Kaiba attacks him in a fierce grudge battle that awakens the wrath of the evil Anubis.
The movie quickly gets repetitive as the players call monsters, spells, and traps into play, while excitedly one-upping their opponent.
Kazuki Takasashi’s "Yu-Gi-Oh! The Movie" is a well-crafted animated video game with style, humor, and a built-in mechanism to sell merchandise to kids.
Rated PG. 90 mins.
