Sleep Deprivation
by
What could've been an exciting, neon colored psyche trip of an anime flick is ruined by lame psychobabble, uninteresting characters, and a plot that goes nowhere. Since there are only about five characters in the entire movie, it was painfully obvious who was pulling the strings, so there was no drama. The most likeable character, the nymphy Paprika, isn't in the film nearly enough. Most of the film consists of the team standing around talking about who's invading people's dreams, so it's extremely dull in spots. More than a few people left the theater and never returned during a couple of these scenes. What's so disappointing is that the final twenty minutes of the film is exceptional, and it shows what could've been, but ultimately this film will only appeal to hardcore anime enthusiasts.