By the beginning of the 23rd century androids have saturated human society, which has extended from Earth to Mars and a collection of extra-solar colonies. Private detective Aline Ruby (Léa Drucker) travels to Earth with her android partner Carlos Rivera (Daniel Njo Lobé) – a replica of her dead human friend – to apprehend a robot-hacking criminal. Once back on Mars, however, the hacker’s warrant is deleted and she is released. Diverted from their old mission to a new one, Aline and Carlos attempt to track down missing cybernetics student Jun Chow – only to realise the two cases are connected.

Co-written and directed by Jérémie Périn, Mars Express is an animated science fiction thriller, co-opting inspiration and an aesthetic from a range of popular sources – particularly cyberpunk icons Ghost in the Shell and Blade Runner. The broadly derivative nature of the set-up is what prevents the film from making the fullest impact possible; quite simply we have seen a lot of these beats before. That in mind, there is a hell of a lot to recommend. This is still a smart, mature, and intelligent science fiction film. It surprises more than once, and provokes thought.

The animation is rendered in 3D but given a flat two-dimensional sheen. It lacks the warmth of properly drawn art, but does approximate it sufficiently to immerse the viewer in the story – which is where the film’s greatest strength lies. What begins as a neo-noir expands as it goes, until the film that concludes seems much greater and impactful than the one that began. Périn may be working under the shadow of Scott and Oshii, but brings enough new and innovative ideas to the table that Mars Express can comfortably stand on its own.

The character of Carlos is particularly fascinating. A replica of a real man, the artificial Carlos still loves the real version’s wife and daughter – even after said wife has moved on and remarried. There is a particular sort of impotent, tragic tension at play, as the android by design pines for a love that he can never receive. Great voice acting by Daniel Njo Lobé accentuates the sense of loss beautifully. The voice cast overall, which includes award-winner Mathieu Amalric, is top notch and very effective.

There is some wonderful world-building that enhances the film, whether it’s students building android replicas to work while the student studies, or memory-enhancing drugs, or even the idea that robots that are ‘jailbroken’ – freed of human control – almost all immediately turn into intoxicated party monsters. It all adds up to an excellent science fiction film: intelligently composed, attractively depicted, and boasting enough original concepts to overshadow the derivative ones.

Mars Express has recently received a DVD release in Australia, courtesy of Madman. It deserves a high profile.