Bayonetta: Bloody Fate is based on the Bayonetta videogame, which is apparent in the production from frame one. Its characters strike poses that would put a crick in a Joestar's neck, its narrative proceeds like an unabashed series of escalating boss battles, and its characters toss off one-liner after one-liner as they tumble across the screen. Bayonetta the film is very much like Bayonetta herself - utterly unashamed of what it is, utterly committed to its aesthetic, and, unfortunately, not really the most interesting kind of trashy.

Not to put Bayonetta's character down. She's clearly the glue holding this film together, and personally embodies the sense of style and fun the film wants to evoke. Bayonetta's twin weapons are her four pistols (two in hands, two in heels) and her extremely impressive hair, which serves as both magical summoning circle and also her clothes. Meaning that the more she powers up, the less she's actually wearing. So yeah, there's a lot of fanservice here - but that's pretty much a core piece of the package with Bayonetta, and her character certainly doesn't demand your approval. Much ink has been shed over whether Bayonetta is a regressive, sexist icon or a confident, self-defined woman (personally, she seems like a pretty strict male fantasy to me), but all you really need to know is that she's the kind of character who starts fights with lines like “naughty naughty, look what you've done to my outfit” and “bad boy, that's no way to treat a girl. I'll have to teach you a lesson.” Your reaction to those lines (handled with great personality in both languages, with Helen Taylor putting in an excellent, possibly film-saving performance) will likely dictate your reaction to Bayonetta: Bloody Fate.

Bloody Fate's plot is essentially just a prolonged excuse for Bayonetta to rampage around shooting angels, quipping, and generally having a grand old time. She sits at the fulcrum of a long war between the Umbra Witches (and their demon allies) and the Lumin Sages (and their angel cohorts), and her half-witch, half-sage blood means everyone's exceedingly interested in what she's up to. She eventually teams up with father-avenging reporter Luca, gets saddled with mysteriously familiar child Cereza, and has a hot-blooded rivalry with fellow witch Jeanne, but the plot is largely perfunctory and generally a hackneyed but inoffensive distraction from the action. Lines like “I'd be happy to explain it all… if you can defeat me” directly point to this narrative's boss-sequence origins, and most of the running time here is dedicated to the big, flashy fight scenes.

Unfortunately, for a film so dedicated to its aesthetics, Bayonetta is a visual mixed bag. The base designs and shot framing are excellent - light is used for great dramatic effect, both gothic and modern backgrounds offer excellent sets for fights, and the character designs are extremely distinctive. The characters are more evocative of late 80s/early 90s designs than most modern shows - they're all chiseled faces and elongated limbs, made to pose and flip and spin. The film relies heavily on that strong art direction to carry itself, as the animation is very poor throughout. Outside of a couple specific fluid highlights, most fights rely on still frames and occasional jump cuts - characters fly at each other in single frames, pose in second frames after a clash, and then the exchange is done. Though the fights here are more about portraying Bayonetta showing off than creating dramatic tension, the lack of consistent animation really deprives the film of what should be its greatest strength. Fortunately the music is much more consistent, with the upbeat rock tracks and occasional dramatic organs doing some work to restore the tension lost through all the still frames. And the dub is solid as well, with my only complaint being that Grant Albrecht perhaps underplays a part that really should be handled with as much theatrical villainy as possible. This is not a film where subtlety is a virtue!

Though there are no physical extras included with Bayonetta, the disk includes both storyboards for the film and a welcome commentary track, featuring both the English language voice director and Helen “Bayonetta” Taylor herself. Overall, Bayonetta offers a fair enough riff for fans of the franchise, but doesn't really stand on its own as a film, and the limited animation means the onslaught of transparent boss battles lack the excitement they deserve. Bloody Fate is flashy, but it could really stand to be a little flashier.