Animated ‘Sakura’ keeps its energy on low

Take Charlie’s three angels in triplicate, give them anime makeovers -- the large reflecting-pool eyes, tiny triangular nubs for noses and impossibly long limbs -- and you have a rough visual of the ladies of the Imperial Operetta Troupe, the heroines of the duller-than-dirt, animated Japanese import “Sakura Wars the Movie.”

The operetta performers certainly sing like angels, but the movie centers on their other careers as the Imperial Fighting Troupe, Flower division, an elite combat force charged with defending Tokyo. The women, led by Maria, Sumire, Leni and, of course, Sakura, can do all the things that Cameron, Drew and Lucy do, such as fight hand to hand with the meanest of meanies and look good doing it. But the promise of beautiful (albeit animated) women performing wizardly martial arts is a bit of a cheat because they do most of their battling in giant robot suits that allow them to fly, shoot ray guns and generally blow stuff up.

Which all comes in very handy in 1926, a time of great fear after a destructive war between humans and demons, with the current threat coming from mutating monsters known as the Kouma. Flower division’s position as protector of the city is threatened by the arrival of a nefarious U.S. company that is attempting to market a new defense weapon, and complicated by the arrival of Lachette, a member of the troupe when it was the Star division.

This may have seemed exciting on paper, but with endless exposition, less than riveting characters and visuals that are only intermittently interesting, “Sakura Wars the Movie” is a bore. The real hero on this project may be whoever decided to keep this turgid beast under 90 minutes. The only apparent reason for the “movie” to exist, based on its origins as a popular video game and short-lived animated television series, is to reach that segment of alienated youth who possess neither a PC nor any other type of interactive gaming device.

While the film could have used a dose of the excess energy of “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle,” at least the ladies of Flower division won’t have to worry about Demi Moore stealing the thunder at their premiere.

*

‘Sakura Wars the Movie’

MPAA rating: PG-13, for images of violence.

Times guidelines: Lots of things blowing up, but not much worse than Saturday-morning TV fare.

A Production I.G. production, released by Pioneer Entertainment. Director Mitsuro Hongo. Executive producer Toshimichi Otsuki. Screenplay by Mitsuro Hongo, Hiroyuki Nishimura, Nobutoshi Terado, Ohji Hiroi; story by Ohji Hiroi. Cinematography Tanaka Kouji. Original character designer Kousuke Fujishima. Animation character design Hidenori Matsuhara. Editor Junichi Uematsu. Music director Kohei Tanaka. Art director Yusuke Takeda. In English and Japanese, with English subtitles. Running time: 1 hour, 25 minutes.

Exclusively at the AMC Galaxy, 7201 Hollywood Blvd., Hollywood. (323) 957-9246.