The only reason to watch this film is because it has three hot Japanese babe in it.

Sadly, they are given very little to do. The plot is I guess is that for some reason, three babes are in this Virtual reality game because the world outside has been largely wiped out, but apparently, the game merely consists of hunting CGI sand-serpents with elaborate weapons. Or something. Let me know if you figure it out...

The special effects aren't bad, but the characters are so dull, and there are such long gaps in action, such as long shots of a huge snail before the male lead eats it....

Maybe this is a treatment for insomnia in Japan.

I'm a fan of Oshii's Avalon. The haunting music, the subdued colors, the quiet, restricted lifestyle of the main characters, Oshii's quirky little games of putting things like dogs and statues through the film, making you wonder why they're there. Not to mention the scene where Stunner chows down on eggs and sausage, and we watch the whole meal.

It's all there in Assault Girls! This seems to be a direct sequel to Avalon. Same haunting music, subdued colors, quiet characters... yep, there's a dog, a statue, and now, a snail (poor snail goes through a lot!) Of course, there's a scene where someone's chowing down on eggs and sausage.

Yes, the pace is slow. But beautifully colored skies, people meandering around the landscape, solemn music, really gets you into a contemplative state. If that's all there was to the movie, I'd agree, it's a boring way to spend 70 minutes. But there's a point to this.

**SPOILER ALERT** The bulk of the movie has the 4 main characters pondering having to work as a group to get to the next level of the game they're playing. They can't do it individually. So, near the end of the movie, they get together.

They kill the monster.

Here's the best, and I swear, most unexpected ending. It all happens in the last couple minutes of the flick All the players are racing to get out of the game, first one out gets all the spoils of war. But the main player with the big gun, doesn't have a way out of the game. Everyone's laughing at him. You think to yourself, what a way to step on someone that helped you out. He agreed to split the reward, but looks like he's getting nothing for his efforts.

Then he blows a fuse, and shoots down all the other players, yelling that he's going to become a player-killer! So in the end, everyone gets screwed, and it's an all out war between the players.

A quiet, slow-paced film with a hell of a twist in the end that made me laugh so hard my sides hurt! The guy's 'I've had it with this game!' face as he unleashed his ammo on everyone was just so funny, I kept rewinding and laughing.

EDIT: If you haven't watched Avalon (you don't have to) you might have a harder time tolerating the utterly strange elements in the film. Why use Japanese actors and force them to speak English? What's with the semi-cheesy cgi? Here's a little trivia. Director Oshii has a long-standing peeve about Japan's insistence that movies from their country should be in Japanese language. Why he's over the top about this, I don't know. But he purposely made the film Avalon with Polish actors speaking Polish, and now this follow-up with Japenese actors speaking English. I think it's great.

My one complaint about this film, along with Avalon, is that they're both poorly marketed and advertised. Very misleading. Both films should be packaged together, along with a short documentary or interview with the director, explaining the mysteries of the films.

Avalon and Assault Girls, my 2 favorite movies of all time. Can't wait for Oshii's next meditative sci-fi adventure!

For those who enjoy the work of Mamoru Oshii, you needn't read this review, for much like his previous ventures, including Ghost in the Shell, its sequel Innocence, and the Sky Crawlers, this particular feature is one that is sure to captivate and enthuse.

Separated into chapters, Assault Girls takes place in Avalon (F),a virtual gaming world where the avatars of real people must do battle with massive carnivorous monsters in order to score points. Those familiar with Role Playing Games will especially understand the importance of scoring points in order to successfully level up to gain better defensive and offensive capabilities.

Assault Girls focuses on three competitive women, vying for ascendancy in the virtual arena. Meissa Kuroki steals the show as the skilled tactician Gray, not least of all because she's more gorgeous than Aphrodite. Colonel, portrayed by Hinako Saeki, who viciously attacks with proficiency, is far nicer than her title might suggest, while Rinko Kikuchi as the skilled magician Lucifer, is easily the cutest character of all. Deserving a larger role, she dances across the battlefield, having, what could be assumed, the time of her life.

Despite the film's title suggesting the cast is comprised of women, joining the ladies in this adventure is Yoshikazu Fujiki as Jager, a glorified nomad with a violent temperament.

Although the visuals are not Hollywood standard, they are certainly engaging, while the additional sound, and Kenji Kawai's score (not to mention the Kotoko single Screw) project the viewer into an environment, that although desolate, is as engrossing as it is alive.

Despite each character's ability to use the English vernacular is well achieved, and listening to them occasionally poke fun at each other is enjoyable, it is plainly obvious that none of them are natural speakers. On the occasions when characters speak with masks covering their faces, the dialogue becomes less audible, and thus, subtitles are perhaps a good investment throughout the entirety of the film.

With the exception of the narrator, dialogue is seldom used in many instances. This aside, the director and actors alike are able to efficaciously express the character's motives and desires through their actions. Despite the ideas transcribed upon the screen at the start of each chapter being as thought provoking as they are entertaining, the way the character's use the game's environment is one of the most uniquely satisfying focuses of the picture. Where some characters respond to the environment by beneficially assisting it, others play with it, while others see it as a source of food, or destroy it completely.

Relying on neither intense violence or coarse language to tell its story, this entertaining, gripping, and occasionally laugh out loud funny feature proves that Mr. Oshii is a director whose work is as satisfying, as it is worthy of watching. With unfathomably beautiful women, captivating action scenarios, and intellectually stimulating ideas, Assault Girls may not appease everyone, but for fans of the director's previous work, this is certainly not to be missed.