Common Sense Media Review
By Brian Costello
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Overly complex threequel has strong fantasy violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 14+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST: THE FINAL ALCHEMY picks up where the previous movie, The Revenge of Scar, left off, with Edward (Ryosuke Yamada), Envy, and Ling trying to find a way out of Gluttony's stomach. Meanwhile, Mustang is trying to start a rebellion against the officers of the empire, who aren't actually human but are homunculi plotting against humanity. After breaking out of Gluttony's stomach, Edward must continue his quest to rescue his brother Alphonse from the afterlife; this takes him on an epic journey that intertwines with the battles the others are fighting. One by one, Edward and the other alchemist warriors must dispatch the demons who represent the seven deadly sins, rid the world of homunculi, and restore peace to the kingdom.
Is It Any Good?
So much telling, so little showing. Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy is a truly maddening experience in that it pulls off the miracle of being a blockbuster action movie that mostly lacks action. Instead of action, the viewer is subjected to endless scenes of exposition: backstory after backstory after backstory. This is followed by brief action and conflict, and then it's back to explaining everything. Even those who have seen the first two movies in the trilogy will have a difficult time following the dozens of story threads that distract from the central (and most interesting) story of a man trying to rescue his brother from the afterlife.
If the action revealed the characters and their motivations, this could easily have been a 90-minute movie instead of two hours and 23 minutes of mostly talking and explaining. The best that can be said is that the surreal settings and monster attacks are often creative and inspired. If only some of that creativity could have been applied to telling a straightforward story.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about sequels like Fullmetal Alchemist: The Final Alchemy. This is the third in the trilogy. Why are sequels almost always never as good as the original?
Was the story easy or difficult to follow? Why?
Does the fantasy violence feel necessary? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : September 24, 2022
- Cast : Ryosuke Yamada , Dean Fujioka , Tsubasa Honda
- Director : Fumihiko Sori
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Fantasy
- Run time : 143 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : October 11, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate