First, to get one thing clear: this is a European animated movie, done with a relatively low-budget, almost a home production (took a small team of enthusiasts 7 years to complete it).

Yeah, I know, not very encouraging. Still I was pleasantly surprised by the absolutely unique style of animation and genuine noir atmosphere it manages to create.

The story is placed in a futuristic Paris. The gist of it is that a well known scientist, employed by the Evil Corporation (TM) was kidnapped and the main character is a cop who's assigned to find her.

Everything in this movie is taken from the noir handbook, starting with characters (hotshot cop, prodigal sister/love interest, big corporate bad guy, fat mob boss), over the setting (dirty slums beneath shiny high-tech skyscrapers, constant rain, cool gadgets) and ending with standard plot elements (forbidden research, fight against corrupted corporations, espionage stuff).

So yes, the plot is rather cliched, but then again, that's a given for any animated movie - their production is usually too complicated to experiment or target a smaller audience. On the upside, the thing is saved by few decent twists and a rather un-Hollywood-like ending. So, my general impressions regarding the plot are still more positive then negative.

The most unique thing about this movie is the style of animation. Most of it was done electronically, in pure black and white technique, kinda like a noir comic book (which was the general idea, I presume). The animation of all characters is superb, obviously done by recording motions of real actors.

Camera movements are also rather good, which is very hard to achieve in realistic animated movies such as this one. Many projects are ruined by screwing up on this point (example: Final Fantasy - Advent Children). On the downside, a few scenes were cut rather badly, especially in the second part, but nothing that would irritate me too much.

Voice acting seemed rather good, but then again, I can't really judge that, considering the movie is in French.

All in all, one of the best 'adult' animated movies I've seen - not that there's a big selection in that category, but still... If you liked "The Blade Runner" or "Sin City", you should like this one too.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0386741/