All You Need Is Kill review: condensed time-loop adaptation loses momentum

The new anime film All You Need Is Kill, directed by Ken'ichirô Akimoto and Yukinori Nakamura, condenses the logic of its time-loop premise and, according to Maya Phillips in The New York Times, undermines the story's excitement. The film follows Rita, a volunteer rebuilding Japan after the arrival of an extraterrestrial plant called Darol, who dies when the plant suddenly unleashes monsters and then wakes to repeat the same day.

She eventually meets Keiji, another person trapped in the loop, and the two train together through more than 100 repetitions to fight the threat. The story began as a light novel by Hiroshi Sakurazaka and was later adapted into a manga, a graphic novel and the 2014 American film Edge of Tomorrow.

Phillips notes that this adaptation narrows the scope by following Rita's perspective and streamlining explanations of Darol and the world's response. The movie's visual style mixes detailed 3-D backgrounds with luminous watercolor streaks across Darol's fronds, Pollockesque alien ground, multipetaled monsters and rigid, angular character designs.

Akimoto's direction is said to stand out in moments of urgency, such as an alleyway scene in an early loop. Phillips argues the film's condensation leaves the repeating action and apocalypse feeling tedious and that deeper character work—Rita and Keiji's mental health struggles and responses to past trauma—is brushed by too quickly.

Key Topics

Culture, Darol, Rita, Keiji, Kenichiro Akimoto, Hiroshi Sakurazaka