Quite enjoyed it
Quite enjoyed it really.
It stuck relatively close to the actual story which is normally the part that most manga/anime adaptations fall flat on the face on. Obviously it missed some bits out and I'm glad it didn't try to cover the whole thing in one film.
The special effects were good and the CGI worked really well. That's not something I often say. The location shots were pretty good too.
The acting however was awful. Especially by the lady playing Winry. You can really tell the gulf in acting skill between even poor Hollywoo acting and what is of course a smaller pool of choice in Japan... But c'mon! It was bad.
The double handed slow-motion face clasp, when we are told about Hughes' wife being pregnant, was hilarious but really ruins the suspension of disbelief.
Anybody pretending to be upset by the "yellowashing" is an idiot. It's a Japanese tale, not set in the real world. The fact that everyone, even extras in the movie are Japanese, gives a better feel of continuity that you're in a fantasy world.
(and before people go on about it being a parallel word to Germany cos that's what happen in the anime, that isn't cannon. Watch Brotherhood.)