DVD review – Appleseed: Ex Machina

From Friday’s The Oklahoman:  

The futuristic world of “Appleseed” is further explored in “Appleseed: Ex Machina,” a computer-animated sequel to the 2004 film. The films are based on characters created by Masumune Shirow (“Ghost in the Shell”).

After a non-nuclear war wipes out half the world’s population, humans turn to the artificial intelligence of Gaia to guide them. Led by bioroids, humans genetically engineered to avoid warlike emotions, the city of Olympus is a beacon of hope to the world. Still, unrest remains, and both the human and cyborg officers of the special weapons and tactics force on
Olympus are needed to quell disturbances.

Deunan, a human, and Briareos, a cyborg, are partners and lovers. Briareos, like other cyborgs, is a human who received severe injuries in the war and required robotic parts to repair him. Briareos is perhaps the top officer of the squad. When he’s injured, he’s replaced, essentially, by himself —  a bioroid named Tereus, engineered from Briareos’ DNA. When Tereus is selected to be Deunan’s new partner, it causes confusion among the three heroes.