Reviewed by Ben Lee
This
review contains some spoilers.
Gorosaurus and Aaron Haynes, isn't that a dream combination? The
maker of Ninja Gaiden and the creator of the Vlarion series work
together to produce REDUX, a visually stunning piece of work.
For those who are new to the world of 3DMM, this may not be the
best movie to watch. It is until you really appreciate how hard
it is to compete with the best movies here animations-wise that
REDUX becomes a must-see.
Ask anyone who has watched REDUX and they will tell you that one
of the strongest bits which really shows it off is the visual
department. The expansion used in Acts II and III are used to
brilliant effect and it shows what great things can be achieved
with the expansion pack. There are, of course, some expansion
scenes which stand out more than others, most notably the one
where Gorosaurus discovers a new world. Absolutely stunning. And
it's not just the use of the expansion pack which is great. The
hand-made characters were animated brilliantly, including the
cameos (more about that later on in the review). The Godzilla
and the 3DMM Demon hand-made characters were done brilliantly
and you will stare in awe when you see them in action.
Another wonderful aspect of REDUX which enhances the dramatic
atmosphere is the music. It is synched extremely well and the
backing tunes really do suit the events in the movie. After
watching REDUX, I was even humming the more tense tunes to
myself! When I first watched this film, I only saw one other
movie at the time, JDR Revolutions. I was new, and I did not
know much about the difficulty in producing a quality 3DMM
movie. And I'll admit, I wasn't really entertained, watching
REDUX. But after seeing a couple more movies, I started to
really appreciate the skill in 3DMM-ing, and it was then when I
decided to re-watch REDUX. The result? I loved it. And after
re-watching it again for this review, I love it even more.
But what is REDUX all about? I keep going on about how visually
damn good it is and how great the music is, but what is the
meaning behind it? Without spoiling anything, I hope, REDUX has
quite a lot of symbolism. The movie was made towards the end of
2003, and the events in this film were closely connected to what
happened with the 3DMM community at that time. I won't say what
I think in depth, because that would spoil it, but go on, watch
and form your own interpretations.
While watching this on your computer, you will point to the
screen and go "hey, isn't that Hirolix?" or "hey, those are the
squirrels from NUTS!". You will also see cameos of Yeti and
Squidworth, Lock and Toad, and Mr. Green. They, in my view, add
to the dramatic atmosphere and it made me pretty nervous seeing
those battle against the dangers.
With two directors doing a movie together, you often get a huge
contrast of animating. Not REDUX. Both styles are very similar
and I had a hard time trying to distinguish who did what. But
that's a good thing. There was no sudden changes in animation
styles, and in general, REDUX ran very smoothly. And so there
you have it. Just about everything here, the animations, the
music, even the story, is all up there in the "mind-blowing"
category, or close to it. This is a must-see, providing you have
had some experience with 3DMM. REDUX is in my favourites list,
and I have a feeling it is going to stay there for a long long
time.
Score: 97/100
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