Manga Mayhem

Well, you could never accuse them of being unambitious. Warner Brothers have set themselves the mammoth task of producing a live-action remake of Japanese anime classic, Akira. Trust us, the effects budget for this one is going to be huge. Enormous nuclear explosions, delinquent bikers and vengeful terrorists compete for attention with visuals that make The Matrix look positively pedestrian in Katsuhiro Otomo's stunning cult animation released back in 1988. Set in 2019 in a Tokyo devastated during World War III, a bike gang leader must rescue his kid brother from getting sucked in by secret government project Akira while simultaneously battling with anti-government activists, corrupt politicians and some very crazy scientists. The normal day of a bike courier this is not. And the man foolish enough to tackle this monstrously manic manga? That would be one Steve Norrington, who has just finished directing the similarly cartoon-based flick, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen starring Sean Connery. With more anthropomorphic mutations than you can shake a stick at and a mind-bendingly weird plotline to cope with, he'd just better be feeling lucky.