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Heavy Metal Movie Review

Heavy Metal is a 1981 Canadian animated science fiction anthology film directed by Gerald Potterton. It is a very problematic, but highly memorable flick.

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“Earth women who experience sexual ecstasy

with mechanical assistance always tend to feel guilty!“

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In this five-part animated feature, an evil glowing green orb travels through space and time, spreading violence and discord. This movie came out at a time when Western animation could actually be mature and adult. I wish that they would go back to this type of movie sooner rather than later. It’s a specific type of film that is very much made for the male audience that are also fans of genre movies and rock music, but it works for everybody who is open for some unique visuals and world building.

Watching Heavy Metal for the second time after a decade, I did appreciate it more for its technical aspects and for how well the stories are connected, but there is no doubt about it – the plot is very simple and quite thin. The green orb was a solid connective thread between all five stories, but the orb still remained underexplained as did every character and plot point. It’s not a good film for viewers who need their stories properly explored and explained, but I appreciated its amazing world building and gorgeous audio-visuals, so I didn’t mind the plot all that much myself.

There has rarely been a hornier movie than this one. Gerald Potterton surely is one horny dude. He included so much female nudity in the film that it might not be for everyone obviously, but I did appreciate its daring, almost hentai approach to storytelling. Whenever a woman appears on screen, she takes off her clothes. All women look exactly the same with just a different hair color – huge boobs and perfect bodies. I don’t think I’ve seen a film with more breasts than this one.

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And that brings me to my next point – although the movie is definitely hot and sexy, it’s also rather sexist in its depiction of women always getting naked and sleeping with all the men around them. But we also have the girl in the final section being a truly badass heroine, so that balanced out the objectification at least a bit.

Speaking of that final storyline, that might be the weakest of the bunch as it’s the most drawn out and the final fight was immensely disappointing. Here, the thinness of storytelling is unfortunately on fullest display. But I still loved the dragon flight scenes that were long, but featuring an incredible world with rich backgrounds. The framing device with the girl in the house was just okay. It framed the story well, but otherwise it left me wanting for more.

Most of the segments in the second half were weaker than those in the first one with the Captain Sternn segment being particularly rushed and messy. But there are two segments that made this movie iconic and those are Den and Harry Canyon. The former features the most interesting setting of the bunch and it’s pulpy and very entertaining while the latter is the highlight without a doubt. This is where the movie peaked early by featuring a uniquely futuristic NYC, a fun protagonist and excellent humor.

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Heavy Metal should be seen primarily for its technicalities. The editing and directing are perfectly solid and the voice acting is fine, but the score is fabulous and the movie perfectly used its classic rock tunes to the fullest effect, especially during those striking transitions and driving scenes. The animation itself is stunning. The characters are designed so well while the backgrounds are constantly riveting to observe in their meticulous details and uniquely drawn objects, landscapes and tech. It’s a dazzling space opera that is so artistic and at times genuinely resembling a music video come to life.