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By Dan Leone

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TOKYO BAY IS beset by a series of gruesome murders and maulings that has the local police baffled. Homicide detective Kusumi and his young partner Hata start trailing several leads that suggest the perpetrator may not be human; soon enough, the trail of suspicion starts winding its way through labor-robot manufacturers, military-industrial conglomerates, and even Hata's new girlfriend, a cancer researcher with a secret past. This third film in a series based on the video-only Patlabor anime ("WXIII" refers to "Waste 13," the code for a biological experiment gone awry) has only a third-act cameo of the robot-suit cops from the popular previous outings. More of a detour than a new franchise chapter, this film plays like a day-trip tour of fan-favorite genres. The dark, moody first half would sit nicely next to Kiyoshi Kurosawa's ethereal creepfests; when the "monster" reveals itself halfway through the film, the references to Alien, various X-Files episodes, and a dozen other sci-fi/action flicks start flying fast and furiously. By the time the climactic cybernetic cop vs. armored beast fight gets underway, the familiar rock 'em-sock 'em anime delirium has reared its head. What saves Patlabor WXIII from drowning in derivativeness is director Fumihiko Takayama's mastery of dimensional space, cinematic-lighting re-creation, and thriller grammar. The animation replicates picture-perfect noir landscapes that can turn dystopic on a dime, and high-art references (a brief moment from a Chekhov play is glimpsed; the finale is scored to a Beethoven sonata) offset the gorgeously rendered urban grime. This entry in the cycle may have longtime fanatics scratching their heads, but what this Patlabor lacks in continuity is eloquently made up in the sum of its borrowed parts. (David Fear)