I really hope that the planned trilogy adaptation of Akira by Hollywood will be even more kickass than the 1988 Akira animated movie: the Japanese animated movie was great but there is still a lot to exploit with Akira!
The Hollywood Reporter has a quite good plot summary for Akira, the animated movie:
"The story was set in a neon-lit futuristic post-nuclear war 'Neo-Tokyo' where a teen biker gang member is subjected to a government experiment which unleashes his latent powers."
The animated movie was an explosive mix: gorgeous ethnic music, amazing graphics, interesting characters and a vivid sci-fi plot. Check some of the videos to remember what was Akira:
AKIRA TRAILERI especially like the soundtrack of Akira by Geinoh Yamashirogumi, especially the tracks Kaneda and Dolls Polyphony!
I heard that the Hollywood movie would be closer to the Japanese manga comic book than the animated version. That is to say if you pass over the relocation of the story to New Manhattan, a city rebuilt with Japanese money following a cataclysmic event in a near future....
Anyway, in 2009, I won't miss the occasion to see Leonardo DiCaprio riding an hyper-boosted and hyper-high-tech red motorbike!
:-)