Ace Attorney (2019 film)

Ace Attorney, known in Japan as Gyakuten Saiban: The Movie (劇場版 逆転裁判), is a 2019 American animated legal comedy-drama film directed by and written by Emmerich,  and, with Ace Attorney creator  serving as a story consultant. Based on by, the film follows , a rookie defense attorney who attempts to have his clients declared "not guilty". Among other characters are Phoenix's boss, ; his assistant and Mia's sister, ; and prosecutor.

Ace Attorney was released in the United States by on October 12, 2019, just in time on the franchise's 18th anniversary. It was an unexpected box-office hit, grossing $500 million against a $65 million budget. It then received generally positive reviews from critics and fans of the video game series, praising the animation, visuals, tone, humor, voice performances and the soundtrack.

Plot
Based on the first three video games in the series, Ace Attorney takes place in an alternate world where the court system has been changed to the point where trials held in first instance and courts must reach a verdict within three days. Phoenix Wright is a rookie defense lawyer who works under his mentor, Mia Fey. When Mia is murdered, Phoenix befriends her younger sister Maya, a spirit medium-in-training who can channel the spirits of the dead. Joined by Maya, Phoenix heads up the Wright & Co. Law Offices and stands up to defend his clients in court, often butting heads with several prosecutors, most notably his childhood friend Miles Edgeworth.

Rookie defense attorney Phoenix Wright faces his first trial in which he must defend his childhood friend Larry Butz, who has been accused of the murder of his ex-girlfriend, Cindy Stone. Prosecutor Winston Payne brings out the key witness, Frank Sahwit, who claims to have seen Larry leave Cindy's apartment after the murder. With help from his mentor Mia Fey, Phoenix spots a contradiction between Sahwit's testimony and the time of Cindy's death, to which Sahwit responds that the time he heard came from the murder weapon: a handmade alarm clock modeled after The Thinker. This leads Phoenix to deduce that the only way Sahwit could have known The Thinker was a clock was to use it himself to kill Cindy. Receiving advice from Mia, Phoenix finds that the discrepancy between the time of death and the clock's time is due to Cindy having come home from an overseas trip in another time zone. Larry is acquitted and gives Mia another Thinker clock as thanks. Some time later, the clock becomes the center of another incident.

Mia calls her younger sister, Maya, inviting her to hold onto some evidence she has hidden inside the Thinker clock. That night, Phoenix arrives at the office to discover Mia has been killed, with Maya nearby. Discovering a receipt inscribed with Maya's name in blood, police detective Dick Gumshoe arrests Maya under suspicion of murder. Phoenix speaks with Maya, who reveals herself to be a spirit medium in training. Doubtful of Phoenix, Maya declines his offer to defend her in court and instead requests the service of Mia's mentor, Marvin Grossberg. The next day, after finding Maya's phone containing a recording of her conversation with Mia, Phoenix learns from Gumshoe that Maya's prosecution is being handled by Miles Edgeworth, an alleged genius who has never lost a case. While investigating the key witness, April May, Phoenix discovers a screwdriver, cuff link, and wiretap in her hotel room. Grossberg then suddenly informs Phoenix that he can no longer take Maya's case. Phoenix refuses to give up on Maya, who is moved by his dedication and agrees to let him defend her.

During the trial, Phoenix points out that Mia could not have written the bloody message as she died instantly, but Edgeworth presents an updated autopsy report that negates his theory. April is called to the stand, claiming to have seen the murder from her hotel room. Phoenix counters that she could not have heard the time from the clock as its clockwork had already been removed, proving its time of removal through Maya's phone recording. Phoenix then presents the wiretap found in April's hotel room, to which April angrily reveals she was ordered to place the wiretap in Mia's office. After the trial is extended due to the new facts presented, Grossberg explains his declination of the case to Phoenix, revealing that he is being blackmailed by company president Redd White, whom Mia had been investigating for corporate crime before her death. Matching White's cuff link with the one found with the wiretap, Phoenix accuses White of murdering Mia. In response, White implicates Phoenix for the crime and has him arrested instead.

Phoenix stands to defend himself in court, with Maya acting as his assistant. Taking the witness stand, White claims to have heard a glass light stand shattering from his hotel room as the murder occurred, but Phoenix and Maya deduce that the only way White could have known about the stand was if he was in the office. Edgeworth posits that White saw the light stand while planting the wiretap months before the murder, which Phoenix cannot refute. Desperate, Maya awakens her power as a spirit medium, allowing her to channel Mia's spirit. Under Mia's guidance, Phoenix finds that the receipt with the bloody message dates the light stand's purchase as the day before the murder. Edgeworth attempts to extend the trial further, but Mia forces White to confess his guilt by threatening him with a list of White's blackmail victims. Following Phoenix and Maya's acquittal, Mia arranges for Maya to stay with Phoenix at the newly renamed Wright & Co. Law Offices.

Will Powers, the star of the television drama Steel Samurai, is arrested for the murder of his co-star Jack Hammer, who portrayed the show's villain. Deciding to defend Powers, Phoenix and Maya visit the show's studio to interview witnesses and search for evidence. During the trial the next day, the studio's overly talkative security guard, Wendy Oldbag, presents a photo that allegedly shows a fully costumed Powers en route to the crime scene, identifying him via a sprained ankle he sustained during rehearsal. However, Phoenix points out that because the photo subject's identity is concealed, someone else could have worn the costume and imitated Powers' injury to frame him, implicating Oldbag as a suspect. Outraged by the accusation, Oldbag confirms that others were present at the studio during the crime.

Court is adjourned after Oldbag names studio director Sal Manella and producer Dee Vasquez as potential witnesses to the murder. Resuming their investigation, Phoenix and Maya go to Studio 2 to meet with Manella and Vasquez, who claim they could not have gone to Studio 1 where the body was found because the path was blocked by a broken mascot head. Later, after hearing Oldbag mention an accident that took place five years ago, Phoenix and Maya come across Cody Hackins, a boy who claims to have witnessed the incident. The next day, after Phoenix spends the entire night watching Steel Samurai DVDs for clues, he deduces from Cody's recollection of the day that the costumed figure is actually Jack Hammer. Cody then explains what he saw and shows Phoenix a photo of the incident, showing that Hammer had gone to Studio 2, leading Phoenix to suspect Vasquez as the murderer. Vasquez summons a group of mobsters to silence Phoenix and Maya, but when Gumshoe comes to their rescue, she agrees to testify in court.

Voice cast

 * as
 * as
 * Christopher Wehkamp as
 * as
 * as
 * as
 * as the Judge
 * as Dick Gumshoe
 * Josh Martin as Larry Butz
 * Gregory Lush as Winston Payne
 * as Franziska von Karma
 * Whitney Rodgers as Lotta Hart
 * as Wendy Oldbag
 * as Redd White
 * Phil Parsons as Marvin Grossberg
 * as April May
 * as Will Powers
 * as Dee Vasquez
 * Gordon Edwards as Cody Hackins
 * as Sal Manella
 * as Yanni Yogi
 * as Ini Miney
 * as Morgan Fey
 * Aaron Roberts as Max Galactica
 * as Regina Berry
 * as Moe
 * as Benjamin Woodman
 * as Acro
 * Dave Trosko as Matt Engarde
 * Mallorie Rodak as Adrian Andrews
 * Marcus Stimac as Shelly de Killer