eX-Driver the Movie
Synopsis
After winning domestic preliminary round, Lisa, Lorna, and Soichi advance to ex-Driver world race competition held in Los Angeles as representative team from Japan. Like a bad omen, they encountered a reckless AI car the first night they arrived at Los Angeles. Although they successfully stopped the car, the local police department is not very happy about that and insists to examine their car overnight. However, the problem did not stop just there. The daughter of the United States team`s sponsor, Angela, has gone missing. Lorna realized that Angela was on the reckless AI car before. Soichi who guessed that Angel could be in danger then start looking for her. But Soichi got captured by a mysterious man, and he shocked to find Angela is also there. During the confinement inside a warehouse, Soichi finds out that apparently there is a connection between the series of incident and illegal gambling on the ex-Driver world race competition. Now Soichi must escape from the warehouse with Angela... (Source: AniDB)
Audience Consensus
The movie is generally considered a step up from the original series, with a more engaging storyline and improved production quality. However, some aspects like the CGI and lack of world-building are seen as drawbacks. Overall, viewers appreciate the movie's attempt to polish and expand upon the series' potential, though it's not without its flaws.
Strengths
- More enjoyable storyline compared to the series.
- Improved animation quality compared to the series.
- Stellar sound design, especially car sounds.
- Better character relationships and interactions.
- More developed characters and plot compared to the series.
Weaknesses
- Early 2000s CGI for cars looks dated.
- Doesn't explore differences between Japan and America dealing with AI cars.
- The movie title is uncreative.
- The series suffers from it's six episode short run