You Know What They Say About the Third One: X-Men: Apocalypse Review

The complaints that the cinema is overloaded with high-budget, superhero, CGI-fest, films is not entirely unfounded. Audiences have received Marvel Studios' films especially well to the point where even if one of their films does not do especially well, everybody goes to see it regardless. Superhero films have become near cultural events in popular culture and are surprisingly the films that are likely getting the most talk at water coolers. The films that really started it all was the original X-Men trilogy, directed by Brian Singer. Previously, superhero films had been campy and ridiculous. This isn't to say that the Tim Burton Batman films are bad or that your nostalgia towards the Christopher Reeve Superman films is unfounded. This points more blame at Joel Schumacher, who set superhero films back several years with both of his installments into the Batman lore. Singer's films were both excellent, though they seem dated now and were followed by Bret Ratner's Last Stand. While Marvel has dominated the superhero cinema scene, the X-Men franchise, owned by Fox, has slowly been getting life breathed back into it. First Class was well received, same with Days of Future Past. Feburary's Deadpool also counts as an X-Men film, though it may be stretching a tiny bit. This now leads us the newest installment into what is becoming a more and more bloated franchise: X-Men Apocalypse.

The new X-Men films have this obsessions with decade long time-skips which confuses the audience because nobody in the cast appears to have aged twenty years. This can possibly be marked down to something in the mutant gene that keeps mutants looking beautiful forever. Anyways, its been about 11 years since the events of Days of Future Past but...nothing has really changed. Mutants are still largely outcasts, the original X-Men team remains scrambled. Charles Xavier is running the school at least, so that's a plus. The plot gets going when the ancient evil, Apocalypse, wakes up, recruits some buddies including Magneto who has been trying to lay low in Poland, and decides he needs to destroy everything and rebuild it anew. It's up to our favorite mutants to go out and stop him. They certainly take a rather roundabout way to do it. The first hour of the film is remarkably slow as it needs many scenes to bring all of our characters into the fold. The plot moves forward strictly out of necessity more than anything and by the time it hits its stride, its about two hours in and you still have around half an hour to sit through.

Luckily for our heroes, Apocalypse takes his time really doing anything. It's actually rather good for us too because we get introduced to Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler, all staples of the X-Men universe. We see a young Scott Summers discover his powers, deal with the ramifications of not being able to control them, and bond with Jean Grey over the fact that their peers fear them. It's all pretty well done. We even get an appearance from Jubilee. However, the problem that the plot has is that it struggles to balance its ensemble cast. The main cast from the previous two films has returned, then you have the introduction of about eight new characters, not to mention fitting in Quicksilver. There's a lot of jumping around and it can be difficult to keep track of everything, even when the film "trims the fat". There's not even enough time to really flesh out the film's titular villain, Apocalypse, whose appearances onscreen are all rather one note. Rather strange for such a long film.

The newest members of the cast are easily the film's most engaging

If Batman v Superman is the lowest on the "funny" scale and something like Guardians of the Galaxy ranks near the top when judging superhero films on this category, then Apocalypse falls squarely in the middle. The previous two installments were fun in their own way. Matthew Vaughn was able to make First Class truly a fun film that also managed to have its serious moments. Days of Future Past was able to strike a delicate balance that managed to highlight the seriousness and severity of the plot. Apocalypse has no idea where it is tonally in any sense. Moments that are meant to be funny some during times that are a little too serious and Singer just can't seem to let any scene play out naturally. Take for example Quicksilver's rescue scene in this film. While technically its brilliant, it comes at one of the film's most serious moments and is followed by another serious moment. The tone whiplash is evident as after his whimsical run through the school to save everyone, we find out he didn't save everyone, and we're supposed to feel sad but how can we after a rescue sequence to the tune of "Sweet Dreams"? This isn't an issue with superhero films specifically, I personally thought that the criticism of BvS "not being funny enough" to be absurd. It's more of a complaint about the tone of films in general and some confusion about why certain decisions were made here. Most notably, the whiplash caused by the Quicksilver scene.

<Spoilers> Then, of course, once you're all out of options you jump the shark by shoehorning in a Wolverine cameo into the middle of the film. The three young X-Men find Weapon X while searching for a way to free their older counterparts. Jean Grey lets Wolverine run loose and he conveniently murders everyone in the facility. We get a touching moment between him and Jean and then he runs off into the distance. Then after that "fun" little diversion, we're taken back to the main plot wondering why exactly we went there aside from that little touch of deus ex machina. This also opens another giant plot hole as to why exactly Wolverine was even at the facility since the last film established that Mystique was posing as Stryker when Wolverine was recovered from the river. Anyways, the whole scene at the Weapon X facility is also rather puzzling and feels uneccessary, though it does give us Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Nightcrawler being awesome, which was entirely welcome. <Spoilers End>

It's unfortunate that the film's villains are so un-engaging

But herein lies the film's biggest problem is that I just didn't care about Apocalypse or his Four Horsemen. They just exist onscreen, their motivations (aside from Magneto and, if you're stretching, Psylocke) are non-existent. For the most part they've just been beaten down and abused and they're looking to strike back. Rather than channel this into something meaningful, the film instead just has them window dress for the whole film, simply just appearing where Apocalypse is, striking poses as he lectures Charles Xavier. Their existence in the film feels frivolous. Angel and Storm are truly wasted as characters but only because the film has to introduce three major X-Men while also balancing out the pre-existing, already rather large, cast from the previous two films. Maybe someday we will get a film that actually does Angel justice. Then of course we come to the film's main villain. Apocalypse is here because the film needs a villain and he decides to insert himself into the plot whenever he feels the need to move things forward. The problem is that often times he doesn't. Isaac's scenes as Apocalypse are plodding and you can feel the pain of a truly fantastic actor as his talents are wasted merely talking in cryptic language for a plot that feels truly played out and boring. Ancient evil wakes up and wants to rule the world, seen it before. Lots of building destruction with no emotional resonance, it's all played out really. Compare this to Civil War which actually took the plot to a more personal place with its villain. While saving the world level stakes are nice, it ignores the personal touches that comic books can have with their characters. What made the previous X-Men installments so good was that they were more grounded.

What really should have been focused on are the new X-Men: Cyclops, Jean Grey, Nightcrawler, Storm, and even Jubilee. The film's best scenes are the one's spent at Xavier's school as these teens begin to bond and come to terms with their powers. It makes you wonder if the film would have been better off without its boring villain and would have been better served bringing things back to a smaller scale. A film that focused on these young versions of familiar characters, learning to master their powers and finding acceptance with who they are has always been at the core of the X-Men as a group and comic book. This does all come together at the climax and, to be honest, the final battle sequence is impressive, if not undermined by the fact there's little buildup to the unleashing of these powers. This, added to the fact that the film makes zero attempt to capitalize on the time period in which the film takes place. I'm told that the film took place in the 80's but aside from some costume choices and one Return of the Jedi reference (which was clearly meant to be a  shot at Ratner's Last Stand and instead ends up reflecting the audience's feelings to this "third" film), I couldn't exactly tell the difference between the world of this film and 2016. Apocalypse struggles to balance its ensemble cast. It functions well enough as you get to see all the characters you've gotten to know. However, despite an eleven year timeskip, nobody has really changed. The character arcs don't move forward for any characters, unless you count Magneto though his entire character arc feels contrived and the film does a very poor job of resolving it. The young cast does show enough promise and the next film looks like it will focus on them, so that's at least something to look forward to.

There's a lot packed into the film, even if sometimes it doesn't seem like it takes full advantage of the talent of its cast

What makes the underwhelmingness of Apocalypse so difficult to take in is it is a really well-made film. The cinematography is fantastic, the musical score is brilliant, and the visuals are, for lack of a better word, slick. The fight choreography towards the end is great and the casting of the film is dead on. It's unfortunate that this is undermined by the film's plodding pace and some actors just appearing bored with their roles (looking at you J-Law).

X-Men: Apocalypse falls into the unfortunate category of not being a bad film while not exactly being a good one either. For films like this, I usually just put them into the category of "aggressively average" in which I film really doesn't do anything to be much better than it currently is. There's action, there's plenty of X-Men being awesome, the cast is truly fantastic even if not everybody really shows up. It introduces some of the most iconic X-Men characters and does a decent enough job world-building. At the same time, its poorly paced, the villains are terrible, and it lacks the charm of the previous two films. It all comes together into a film that's just "fine" or "ok".

My Score: 2/5

RWBY Is Finally the Dark Fairy Tale I've Always Wanted It to Be

It has been at least two weeks since I digested the fallout from the season finale of the latest installment of Rooster Teeth's RWBY series. I'm going to be honest, those two weeks I took to truly digest the finale, discuss it with friends, and speculate on where the series is heading, it was all for the best. Had I written a piece on the finale in the hours following my first viewing of it, it would have been filled with tears, too many feels, and an overall sense of waywardness. So instead, we have my measured reaction to the latest season which I will aim to keep somewhat concise.

A common criticism of RWBY is that its first two seasons are devoid of significant plot elements. Those seasons placed more of a focus on world building and getting to know the characters rather than the underlying plot, which surfaced occasionally. This was honestly for the best. It is clear that creator Monty Oum had a vision and wanted to create a vibrant and immersive world filled with lore. For the diehard fans, the show succeeded even if there is still so much that we don't know. Also, the cast of characters has gotten so large that more emphasis on character development was good because it gave us an understanding of who these characters were and their motivations. Had time not been spent on this, the payoff of this most recent season would not have been nearly as significant.

The third season (or volume, if that matters to you), instead drove the series down a new path, much darker than anyone had anticipated. There have always been hints of this, the second season questioned the motivations of the members of Team RWBY but ultimately never followed up on the dark lyrics that the season 2 theme posits:

Are we heroes keeping peace? Or are we weapons, pointed at the enemy so someone else can claim a victory?

Those themes instead manifested themselves into the third season where clearly, something bigger than petty thieves and fighting Grimm is going on. The show briefly touched on the above lyrics, with Cinder indicting Beacon Academy Which brings us to the end of the season where the status quo has completely changed. It is clear now that the first three seasons were meant to be a prologue to the main plot, which has now been set in motion. That the finale was titled "The End of the Beginning" is indicative of this. Even at the end, where Salem (the Big Bad) revisits the monologue from the very first episode, implies that what we had been seeing up that point were flashbacks. Especially since that 'monologue' is more like a conversation between her and Ozpin. The lyrics of 'Time to Say Goodbye' seem ever more relevant now as each member of Team RWBY  has seen their motivations or "idealized" versions of themselves torn down. Everybody except for Ruby herself of course. Despite the plot finally kicking into gear however, we are still in the dark about a number of different elements.

What has been brought to light though is what I'm most excited for, most of all the sub plots for the members of Team RWBY. Blake is finally going to face down the demons of her past or at least that is what we think will happen. She clearly feels guilty for Adam's dismemberment of Yang and her powerlessness to stop him. Not wanting to drag other into her own battles again, she ran away. This once again falls into the character dilemma that has plagued her since the start of the series, running away from her problems. While she might be finally looking to face her past head on, it comes at the cost of deserting her team and running away when they most need her. 

Weiss' plot arc for the next season is finally going to explore the relationship that she has with her family. Weiss has always struggled with the weight of expectations, some is placed on her by merit of her family name and others she places on herself. While she is probably in the healthiest mental state of the the main characters by the end of the season, it is clear that she has a tough road ahead. I'm also looking forward to finally meeting her father and seeing the conflict between him and his daughter. 

Yang meanwhile must now struggle with a world that now sees her as a monster. Also for the first time as a character, she was beaten handily by an opponent. The worst part of it for her is that it is her fiery and impulsive nature that not only drove her to recklessly attack Adam and 'defend herself' against Mercury. For Yang, her character arc will see her try and come to terms with how the traits that made her such a strong fighter may also be her biggest weaknesses. Not only that but she is now feared as the prototypical child soldier that Ozpin was breeding at Beacon. However, while the other characters are facing challenges in characters, Ruby's character development may revolve around her character sticking to her previous convictions.

The dark tone was largely to the show's benefit as the stakes were certainly raised as early as the season's 5th episode. However, RWBY is now walking a fine line. While the darker and more mature tone was a welcome change this season. It remains important that the show maintains the same levity in the dialogue that has made it a favorite of mine. Dialogue is another heavily criticized part of RWBY but I've always been a huge fan of the show's writing style. This is where Ruby comes in as a character. Since the opening monologue that preceded Ruby's very first appearance where Ozpin suggests that what the world needs is a "simpler and more honest soul". The show is certainly setting up a scenario in which Ruby's ideals are going to be put to the test against a cynical world that would tell her otherwise (Torchwick's berating of her in the penultimate episode being an explicit reference to this). Now, this sort of protagonist is not uncommon (see Shirou, Emiya) but has to be done well or they just come off as a stubborn or naive idiot (see Shirou, Emiya). What RWBY must do, while keeping the tone dark, is show us that Ruby's idealism is needed in the world. Balance is required to do what the show is attempting. In doing so, that means that as long as Ruby remains true to herself (and Nora exists), there will continue to be levity in the series.

I suppose that this article does at least have to touch on the biggest moments of the season, the deaths, a facet that had not been a part of previous seasons. Four named characters die in the seasons, all during the last two or so episodes (Penny, Torchwick, Amber, and Pyrrha). While the initial shock of these deaths is immense, the reality is that, aside from Penny, these moments serve more as a cleaning house. Torchwick as a villain had reached his end, especially since he is now outlcassed by at least three levels. Cinder, Adam, and Salem all rank above him, not to mention Mercury, Emerald, and Neo also out rank him. The series has gone beyond his petty thievery and as it shifts more towards global threats, there are just too many higher villains for him to fit. Amber, aside from being introduced as the Fall Maiden, was more of a plot device than anything, so her death was almost expected. Pyrrha is the most significant of the four as she's been a central character since season 1. This season adequately wrapped up her character arcs and unfortunately filled her role as an allegory for Achilles. Her death does pave the way for Ruby to step into the "Chosen One" role. It's unfortunate but Pyrrha's death was in the making since she was designed and named. It is hard to imagine a scenario where Pyrrha does not come back in some capacity, at the very least to continue Jaune's character development. Penny's death likely is not permanent given that she is in fact, a robot.

If I can pick out negative elements of this season it would be that the absence of show creator Monty Oum, who passed away around this time last year, was noticeable. The fight choreography was lacking the ingenuity and style that Monty always took with his work. This by no means implies that the fight choreography was bad but instead it felt as if it was simply imitating Oum's work rather than channeling him. Simply put, the fight choreography and Monty's name is what brought a lot of people to the show. Without his influence, there is little to distinguish RWBY from other shows in the same vein. Does this keep RWBY from being entertaining? No. Does it keep it from being a genuinely good show? No. However, this is something I felt was worth touching on.

Overall, RWBY's third season was a smashing success. The story is ambitious, the darker tone a welcome change, and the animation has never been better. Monty Oum would be proud to see what Rooster Teeth has done with his project. Of course, it all depends on where the show goes from here but I will await Volume 4 eagerly.

Just a Hero for Fun - One-Punch Man Review

Oh boy, its that time isn't it. In my lengthy absence from writing on this blog, I watched plenty of good anime from 2015. The anime that I am about to discuss was certainly the most talked about anime in 2015. Now of course, when something gets so much hype it can be hard to make up your own opinion about something. Everyone is obsessed with telling you how good the show is that by the time you watch it, it suffers from those heavy expectations. The show that this article is about is not one of those shows. One-Punch Man has dominated the fall anime scene and for good reason. What you have with One-Punch Man is everything that the show implies. This show manages to take a rather simple premise and turn it into a parody and denunciation of the entire shounen anime genre. Let's get to it.

Describing the plot of One-Punch Man is essentially a pointless endeavor because it lacks a real plot. Sure there is an aspect of continuity, recurring characters, and some semblance of an overarching plot but for the most part, episodes are largely self-contained, villain of the week style. One-Punch Man takes place in a world where alien invasions and kaiju attacks are frequent. As such, cities are protected by an association of heroes. Our protagonist is Saitama, a rather ordinary looking and bald man. He was an ordinary everyman until a run-in with a crab monster inspired him to become a hero. The result of his dedication was to lose all of his hair...and become the world's strongest hero who can defeat any enemy with one punch. However, rather than this being a point of pride, it is a source of distress as our hero has become bored with nobody to challenge him. With no challenge in life Saitama resigns himself to a small apartment, living an incredibly boring lifestyle. The other important plot point is that he takes on, almost unwillingly, an apprentice, a cyborg named Genos. Episodes revolve around the two's exploits together, which are largely uninteresting. However, its this ordinariness that One-Punch Man derives its strength from. Episodes play out in a straightforward way, enemies will present themselves only to be defeated, almost anticlimactically by just one of Saitama's punches.

Get used to this, it will happen EVERY episode

One would think that this would make One-Punch Man anticlimactic. However, it only serves to be one of the show's strengths. See, Saitama is simply a deconstruction of the invincible shounen protagonist. However, while other shows would chose to take a less straightforward way towards the protagonist becoming invincible (ex. facing challenges, we see the progression from weak to becoming strong), One-Punch Man simply plays this trope straight...always. It strips down what many of these shows are; predictable. We know how every episode will end and we know that Saitama will never lose a fight to anyone. However, instead of this being a weakness, this is One-Punch Man's biggest strength, how it openly mocks shounen anime with its over the top voice acting, ridiculous characters, and insane plot threads. It never sells itself as anything different than what it is and that straightforwardness is weirdly refreshing in a genre where shounens sometimes take themselves a bit too seriously. Even though we know what will happen, what is happening onscreen remains compelling. This is only helped by some excellent fight choreography. At the same time there is a common theme of what exactly it means to be a hero which manifests in the show's more serious moments. Once again though, that is not what we're here for.

What One-Punch Man does is it entertains you greatly for twenty-plus minutes without doing anything truly new or inventive, aside from being a fantastic satire of the shounen genre. However, this can all be forgiven because the show is just so damn entertaining and comical and its honesty with how overtly predictable and trope-heavy it is only makes this better. The level it takes itself seriously (and by no means are you supposed to take it seriously) is part of the charm.

One-Punch Man is not without its weaknesses of course. It is true that the inevitability of every episode ending with Saitama defeating an enemy with one punch can be tiresome for some people. The lack of a real overarching plot may also be where some people have a hang-up with the show. However, it is really hard to call these kind of things weaknesses when the show is so intentionally hanging a lampshade on all these tropes. These weaknesses are self-inflicted if anything. This is not a thinking mans anime like Bakemonegatari or Mawaru Penguindrom, its entertaining more than anything else and better off for it.

One-Punch Man has a diverse cast of characters who all manage to leave a lasting impression

The real meat of the show lies within its characters. Saitama himself is rather bland both in character design and in personality. However, I'd like to think of this as the writers taking another shot at the kind of protagonist that we see in anime nowadays. It's that blank slate kind of character that shows up in every shounen anime nowadays that the viewer is supposed to project themselves onto (like a certain bland piece of cardboard who will not be named). He's mocking these wish fulfillment characters and while the intent is to make him boring he ends up being a remarkable character, which was the real intent. We get real insight into his life and his struggle with dealing with a society that despite his power, refuses to appreciate him. While Saitama never struggles with anyone he fights, it is instead the society around him which is his true battle. When Saitama gets serious, is when the show really kicks into overdrive. Even so, its his moments of boredom, like thinking about sales at the supermarket while fighting monsters, that truly makes his character. Its his ordinariness, the show's insistence on trying to make him that blank slate, all while keeping him several levels higher than the rest of the cast. Where Saitama possesses the power of the traditional protagonist, it is his apprentice Genos who possesses the stereotypical character traits. He's young, impulsive, and looking to become stronger. Slap him and Saitama together and you've got yourself the typical shounen protagonist.

The rest of the characters fall into a series of tropes: you have serious kung fun characters, ninjas, Japanese high school gang members, psychics, arrogant bishounens, just about every anime character trope under the sun. The sheer number of named characters is exhaustive and they all manage to leave a lasting impression on you, even the rather ordinary Mumen Rider who has zero powers or strengths. Like I said in the last paragraph, the show throws out many different interpretations of heroism and that each character has a different motivation for becoming a hero. Some characters have firm beliefs in justice, others have a strong sense of duty, and others do it for the fame and wealth that it brings. The doesn't exactly beat you over the head with the question of what makes a hero and instead just provides a diverse number of characters to demonstrate this.

Yes that's his default look...it gets better

For the most part, the animation in One-Punch Man is good. The moments when it decreases in quality are usually intentional and only serve to hammer home Saitama's ordinariness and boredom. Any time that he's drawn with any sort of detail, you know that the fight will soon be over.The action is fluid and it is really nice to see a show not rely on CGI for these scenes, something that anime nowadays has a real problem with. It is nice to see a show not cut corners. Of course, it is not like this is the Fate series or anything. The soundtrack requires very little explanation beyond being simply fantastic. The OP sets the mood for the show and is a real earworm especially the first time you hear "OOOONNNEEEE PUUUUUUUUUNNNCCCCHHHH!!!!!!".

So the question here at the end is: should you watch One-Punch Man? The answer is unquestionably yes. It is really hard to describe any weaknesses that this show has because any weakness could just as easily be described as a strength. I hesitate to say that it is one of the best animes I've ever watched but it is definitely one that I could recommend to anyone. It is only 12 episodes, remarkably entertaining, well-animated, and just downright hysterical, most of the time not even trying to be. Go out and watch it, I promise you, you will not be disappointed.

My Score: A solid 5/5

If you liked One-Punch Man, then what exactly is the next step?

Continuing with the "parody" aspect and trope-heaviness, a logical next step would be another popular anime, Kill la Kill. If you can get beyond the...uh...lack of clothes, you'll find an incredibly entertaining show with action of similar if not better quality.

Continuing with the zaniness theme, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure hits on the same keys as One-Punch Man. If you're looking for a wacky, large but memorable cast of characters, look no further than this franchise.

A Return to the Digital World - Digimon Adventure Tri. 1: Seikai Review

If my last post was any indication, it is difficult to pick a franchise back up years after it ended. Franchises are tricky things after all because different people have different kinds of attachments to them. For things like Star Wars and Digimon, you're dealing with people's childhoods. Its a matter of managing everybody's expectations, all while trying to preserve the nostalgic images that remain in the head of the viewer. Digimon Adventure Tri is no exception to this, airing 14 years after the Adventure series concluded in 2001. For those who watched it back then, we're all grown up now and in comes Toei Animation looking to capitalize on our feels from back in the day.

Digimon Adventure Tri is the third season of the original incarnation of the Digimon TV show. However, rather than air like a traditional TV show, the series is playing out in movie form, with six installments that are about four episodes apiece. This structure results in some of the problems that the series has in terms of how to judge it. Can we really judge something that clearly needs to have all of its pieces together to make sense? Well, I suppose I will have to decide that myself in the next few passages. Without any further ado, lets dive into it.

Digimon Adventure Tri picks up where Digmon Adventure 02 left off and I'm not talking about the big timeskip ending of 02. It picks up three years after the defeat of BelialVamdemon (Malomyotismon for dub watchers) and focuses on the characters from the original Adventure series. So immediately one of the big questions people had about this series is answered, yes Digimon Adventure 02 happened, deal with it. Anyways, Tri puts the focus back on the original cast as all of them have gone on to simply live their lives in the absence of their Digmon partners. The cast has begun to drift apart as each of them are now older and getting to that point where their lives are beginning to less and less involve each other. Our protagonist, Tai, is lamenting that fact as none of his friends will be able to attend his soccer match due to other obligations. As for the cast of 02, they seem to meet an unknown fate at the hands of a powerful Digimon, more on this later. This montonous life this interrupted by the emergence of a rogue Kuwagamon from out of nowhere which attacks Tai at his soccer game. This leads to our cast all reuniting with their Digimon partners, trying to figure out just what the hell is happening. It turns out that "Infected Digimon" are making their way into the real world. There's a mysterious organization that has been tracking this phenomenon and a mysterious and powerful Digimon that is interested in a new member of the DigiDestined. The DigiDestined are reunited with their partners and they defeat the threat but are aware that their battle is only beginning.

The biggest problem with the plot of the film is that we get very little in the way of explanation. The characters themselves don't even seem that interested in figuring out what's going on themselves. What is this mysterious organization? Why did our partners mysteriously return to us? What actually happened to the 02 characters? Nobody seems intent on finding out what is going on, which means as an audience, we're in the dark as well. This is not a bad thing necessarily as its clear that these things will be answered later on and no story that consists of multiple pieces should answer everything in the first film. However, it is a little frustrating to see the characters just roll along with these unexpected events and not question what is going on around them. Like, if the the 02 characters have gone missing, then why do the main cast not even mention them. It is particularly confusing for Takeru and Kari to not even mention the teammates they fought alongside with for a whole season. This also brings up the potential for events that happened during the 3-years between 02 and this series. If this turns out to be the case, these events better be explained in the next few movies, though some fans may prefer the 02 group to be kept out. Regardless, things just happen and the characters barely seem to comment on the irregularity or the seriousness of the events that are happening.

However, there is a lot of good about the plot as well. Since all the characters are older, they have more mature problems to deal with. The central character dilemma falls with Tai who is the first to realize the collateral damage that their battles cause. While the rest of his teammates are willingly to get back into the fight and accept their duty, Tai is more apprehensive. What seemed so easy as a child: beat the monsters and save the world, is now more complicated as an adult.  It is not the most original of plotlines but its executed rather well in the short time that we have. Its fitting for the the more mature feeling that the show has. The character arcs we see introduced are also fitting for the series itself, problems that come with growing up. As a result of this, some characters realize that they can see other members of the group are members of the opposite sex and they are attracted to them. Such a concept threatens to change the entire dynamic of the DigiDestined as they begin to transition from childhood friends into adults. It carries with it a sense that these characters are growing up and maturing with their lives changing to match that. There is a sense of these characters looking upon the past fondly but many of them are unsure about what the future has in store for them, not rare for people their age.

This brings us to the characters themselves. The focus is primarily on Yamato (Matt) and Tachi (Tai), which is fitting for anyone who has seen the first season. Tai and Matt are always opposed and in this one its no different. Tai is wrestling with what the DigiDestined are doing and whether it is right for them to fight because of the collateral damage. Matt thinks that the DigiDestined have a responsibility to fight. It continues the character arcs that the two were on from the first season. Sora provides some of the comedy here as she seems unconsciously troubled by which friend she should favor between Tai and Matt. Sora does her best to support both while trying to remain ignorant of the romantic feelings both may have for her, as if she is clinging to their childhood friendship. Izumi (Izzy) is also present and is there to explain all the techno-babble and serves as the explicator for the little exposition that we're given. He's also there to indicate the general theme of growing up and moving on. A potential pairing of him and Mimi seems predestined which makes Digimon shippers everywhere squee with joy. Mimi is the provider of most of the show's comedy as expected. Takeru and Kari seem to be the most joyful of the main cast and are nearly unchanged from the series. However, it is clear that their dynamic as friends is going to undergo some changes as the series moves on as well. Joe gets a smaller amount of screentime than the other characters but his scenes speak volumes. He feels the strain of trying to succeed in his own life but also the need to help his friends and is clearly split between the two. We also see him potentially reach his limits with his grades and he seems torn between what he perceives himself to be and what he should be. While he's onscreen for a relatively short period of time, we definitely know where Joe is. The important thing is that these characters look and feel like the ones we got to know in the first season and they've managed to keep those traits while maturing. If the movie seems shallow in terms of character development, its probably because there are so many characters and only so much screentime to go around.

The characters who get the biggest shaft are the Digimon themselves. While the original show went through great lengths to show you the important bond between the DigiDestined and their partners, the partner Digimon here seem almost surplus to requirements and only show up when something needs to be beat up. Even Agumon seems to get it with a "we'll be here when you need us" quote that feels like even the character himself recognizes their reduced role in the film. We also get a new member of the Digi-Destined, Meiru but she's kind of just...there. Sure, we figure out that her partner Digimon is pretty important to the supposed villain but aside from that...nothing else.

The animation seems to be the most divisive and negative thing about Tri so far. The goofy animation style of the first two seasons has been replaced by a more mature look here. The characters themselves look great and the mature look suits the series. However, this isn't what has people angry. The Digivolution sequences and the use of CGI have some people up in arms and it is certainly jarring to an extent. When the Digimon evolve it looks like they belong in a video game, the CGI really sticks out. The action scenes suffer as well from some poor animation as well. We don't get digivolution sequences for Ultimate or Mega forms of Agumon or Gabumon. In the sound. department the show should be lauded for excellent opening and ending songs. For extra nostalgia factor Tri also recycles the digivolution background music from the original series. The soundtrack, unfortunately, is not anything to write home about.

It is hard for me to truly pinpoint the quality of the first installment of Digimon Adventure Tri because it is clear that: 1.) this film is meant primarily for Digimon fans and is not really accessible for anyone else and 2.) its the first in what will eventually be a series of six-films. As of right now it is really hard to give a true rating. However, I will say this. If you were a fan of the first two seasons of Digimon, you should be satisfied with the first installment of Tri. It is a good, not perfect, check in to where the characters you remember are and a gateway for a new plot. It is a good bridge to bring the series to a more mature setting. If you never watched Digimon, then it is too hard to overlook this film's shortcomings. All this being said, Seikai is a good enough base for the new series to start from, shortcomings and all. It provides enough new questions to spurn us on to a new series while making us remember what we loved about the original. If you're a Digimon fan, this is a love letter to you.

My Score: 3/5

(Dislcaimer: these photos are taken from Richard Eisenbeis' review on Kotaku. There was a lack of quality images on Google Images so I used these instead.)

A Response to Those Force Awakens Critics (And a Little Bit of Agreement)

So in case you hadn't noticed, maybe you live under a rock or something, the new Star Wars came out last month. I can't remember a film that has had more build-up, hype, and speculation as this one. So much pressure to live up to, especially the expectations of just about everyone. "It has to be good!" we said, in order to wash the toxic taste of those pesky prequels out of our mouths. Luckily for us, the new film: The Force Awakens, actually ended up being pretty dang good...depending on who you ask. Despite the high amount of praise that the film has received it has also been subject to a decent amount of criticism as well. Some of this criticism is fair but some of it seems a bit unfair and that brings me to the purpose of this article. This article is meant to analyze these criticisms and encourage people to look at the film in a new light. I'm not trying to put down anyone's opinions. So, the only left to do is to get started then. Lets go:

"The Film Leans Too Much on Our Nostalgia"

There is a fair bit of nostalgia thrown around in The Force Awakens. We have the Millennium Falcon, Han Solo, references to Darth Vader, Princess Leia, and a whole slew of other nostalgic references to the previous films in the series. So to break it down; why exactly are people so mad? For some, throwing in these nostalgia pieces speaks to a lack of creativity or leaning too much on the accomplishments of what the film has done in the past. It would be one thing if these old bits had just been shoehorned in or if Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher simply mailed in their performances. However, none of these references ever felt forced or unnatural and in fact most of them were cleverly placed around the film. What these pieces of nostalgia do is link the new film back to a history that came before it, an entire universe that the film is trying to immerse you in. Star Wars will forever be linked with lightsabers, X-wings, the Millennium Falcon, and Darth Vader. Also, most of these references are plot points more than anything, as a sequel you have to explain what happened to these old characters. Star Wars has an entire history and universe to reference and these keys enable us to connect with the film.

In reality, what these "nostalgia pieces" do is serve as a bridge to the bigger universe and history that came before. They're little easter eggs for us Star Wars fans to appreciate and get giddy over whenever we see them onscreen. As long as the film doesn't bash you over the head with these references (which The Force Awakens definitely does not) then all is good. The most surprising thing about his to me is that there is another popular film franchise that does exactly the same thing that The Force Awakens did every single film...hmmm who could that be? Oh...right, the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel's universe is the king of the easter egg, planting them into every single one of their films. There are throwaway lines in every film that reference characters and places in the Marvel universe, cameos in every movie (tell me how necessary it was for Chris Evans to be in Thor: The Dark World or Anthony Mackie to be in Ant-Man as entertaining as those scenes are), and lots of shameless self promoting for the next film in the series. Not to mention Marvel's obsession with intensified continuity which means missing one stand-alone film could leave you in the dark about certain parts of the Avengers films. However, when Marvel does essentially the same thing that The Force Awakens does they get lauded for making smart references rather than for leaning on them. Why the double standard? I as a comic book fan can appreciate many of these references that Marvel makes in the same way I can appreciate a quick line about the Falcon making the Kessel run in The Force Awakens. If Marvel (and other franchises, it's not only Marvel that does this) is allowed to reference the content of its own universe; why can't Star Wars?

Lastly, solely leaning on nostalgia does not make for a good film especially when you look at Hollywood's obsession with reboots. Take the most recent Indiana Jones or last summer's Jurassic World. Sure, nostalgia sells tickets but just because a film has those nostalgic references, it doesn't mean that the audience is going to overlook the flaws the film has because of it. Jurassic World in particular was a terrible film, even with its abundant references to Jurassic Park. Now of course, this brings us to another argument about how Hollywood is starved for creativity. That, however, is a discussion for another time.

"I Wanted a Sequel...Not a Reboot"

This second criticism goes hand in hand with the first one and seems to be the most constant one that I've seen of The Force Awakens so far;  that it possesses so many parallels to A New Hope that it is almost the same movie, albeit with a new coat of paint. We have a protagonist swept off of a desolate, desert planet through some twists of fate, gets swept up into the Millenium Falcon, the evildoers are looking for a MacGuffin (Death Star Plans, Skywalker map both in droids), there's a big planet destroying super-weapon, a trench run to destroy it, and of course a mentor character dies. What it also does is press a giant reset button on the universe by nuking the New Republic. At the end of The Force Awakens we're back where we began in a New Hope: the Resistance vs the First Order as the new Rebels vs Empire. Reboot indeed so it would seem.

However, classifying The Force Awakens as a reboot is a disservice because it contradicts something that has always existed in Star Wars. Star Wars is always about good vs evil and people having to answer a call to action. The Force Awakens feels like a remake because it recycles the same "hero's journey" style of plotline but it also follows the vision that George Lucas wanted for his films, to rhyme with each other. If you're criticizing this film for being too much like another film in the franchise, maybe you need to rethink what you expect from Star Wars. Every Star Wars trilogy is going to follow the "hero's journey". Star Wars has always been a mythological fairy tale with characters filling specific roles, it cannot exist any other way. There is a bit of symbolism implied with these similarities and the similarities between these characters is not due to lazy writing or a lack of creativity but instead a necessary part of linking the films together. There are several parts of the film that are more guilty than others but look, if you were expecting a Star Wars film not to rhyme with the rest of the films, then buddy, you just don't know Star Wars.

Plus, all of the homages in the plot to A New Hope instead are overshadowed by the loads of new questions that A Force Awakens brings up: Who are Rey's parents? Who exactly is Snoke? How is Kylo Ren going to complete his training? How is Luke going to train Rey? Will he even agree to train Rey? That's not even half of the questions I had. Also, for those who also complain about The Force Awakens not giving us enough information; what fun would it be if the film revealed everything right away? It's part of a trilogy and believe me, had they added pieces of exposition those same people would be complaining that there was too much exposition. Part of good storytelling is not overplaying your hand and J.J. Abrams played the right cards for the most part.

(Back to the point):

These parallels are what cause people to say that J.J. Abrams played things a little to close to the chest, not rocking the boat, producing the safe, Disney-approved film that would please everyone and make money. Well, that argument doesn't exactly hold up either. Upon re-examining the film its actually more apparent that J.J. Abrams took bigger risks than people give him credit for. In fact, most of what is considered "playing it safe" is actually pretty risky Let's start with the obvious one.

Killing Han Solo. Its obvious that when Han steps out onto the bridge to confront his son that he's going to die. In fact, its obvious throughout the film that its going to happen since he's ushered into the Obi-Wan role. So let's take a step back: J.J. Abrams killed Han Solo, you know, the franchise's most popular and quotable character. Even if everyone "sees it coming" there is the matter of doing it in a way that is fitting. I mean, this is killing Han Solo people. He can't just die in a random firefight or die offscreen. Considering that the Star Wars fanbase is one of the most impossible to please, don't underestimate how big of a choice this was for the director.

Second is the entire characterization of Kylo Ren. The character himself has gone through a bit of Memetic Mutation because it is easy to dismiss Adam Driver's performance as "angsty" or emo". However, Driver's performance has been lauded by most critics and to tell the truth, Kylo Ren is such a fantastic villain because he's not a finished product. He's emtional, angsty, and unstable. Hell, he's not even that great with a lightsaber! These flaws are what make him such a compelling villain. Every Star Wars villain is held to the gold standard of Darth Vader. Abrams already had a huge standard to live up to, especially since the prequels failed to produce a villain even comparable to Vader, just one of their many shortcomings. Not only that, but Ren's character has a similar temperament and attitude as Anakin Skywalker did in the same prequels and we all know how that turned out. To pursue that route again was an incredibly ballsy choice and Abrams pulled it off. Adam Driver was fantastic in the role and there is so much more to be fleshed out in the next few films. Also, every Star Wars villain has to live up to Vader, so it was a cool meta choice to have a villain in universe who is actively trying to fill that role.

Focusing on what this film does similarly to A New Hope does a disservice to everything that The Force Awakens does differently than any other Star Wars film. How about establishing the film's first true female protagonist along with a strong level of diversity among the main cast? That's a big one! How about the decision to make a runaway Stormtrooper a main character? There are plenty of new things to enjoy in this film that focusing on the tropes that are the same (and ones that Star Wars invented nonetheless and has every right to recycle) is a waste and a disservice to the new film.

But what is so funny about this claim is that at its core, this argument is essentially "Its too much like the first one". Considering the amount of flak the prequels got for straying from the Star Wars formula, this argument is just so bizarre. What The Force Awakens did is restore the series to how its supposed to be: a fast-paced and thrilling space adventure. The Force Awakens captured that same feeling that many people felt when they saw Star Wars for the first time. Had the film gone in another direction, fans would be ready to burn J.J. Abrams at the stake for not making a Star Wars film true to the series. The lesson is that it is that everyone has their own expectations for what they expect something to be and can have trouble accepting it when it doesn't fit their vision. The Star Wars you know and love is back! That should be enough.

"Rey is a Mary Sue"

This criticism, I find, is one of the harder ones to argue against because Rey is, for the most part, a Mary Sue. At the same time, it is probably the criticism that makes the most angry. In case you're too lazy to click on the hyperlink I so graciously provided; a Mary Sue is a derogatory term used in fiction to describe a female character who is "exceptionally talented in an implausibly wide variety of areas." The piece of this term that most applies to Rey is that a Mary Sue typically does not possess any realistic character flaws and if she does, those flaws are seen as endearing rather than crippling. Mary Sue is the most talented wizard at Hogwarts and does unheard of acts that reduce even Harry Potter to an admiring fanboy. Odds are, Mary Sue and Harry get together at the end. The Mary Sue is derogatory because its places the character on an unrealistic pedestal and it prevents the audience from being able to relate to them.

All of this does apply to Rey. Over the course of the film Rey displays an impressive array of skills. She's a mechanic, a pilot, can fight well with a staff, she uses a blaster to lethal efficiency the first time she (that we know of) uses one. Whenever she gets captured she is able to free herself, she displays zero learning curve with her force powers, and she defeats a trained Dark Jedi during her first time using a lightsaber. Some of these strengths are self-explanatory, her mechanical skills obviously come from her time as a scavenger on Jakku and her ability in combat also stems from her time of Jakku as well. The sources of her other strengths however are a little more vague: her piloting skills and her immense latent force potential as of right now are difficult to trace back. There is plenty of speculation to her origins and certainly when we find out more about her, which we surely will, all will be explained. For now, she remains an impressive talent for reasons. Rey operates on an unheard of level throughout the entire film without displays any real, crippling flaws and she never struggles at any point throughout the film (aside from her first matchup with Kylo Ren). She wows just about everyone she meets: Han Solo wants her to work on his ship, Kylo Ren and Snoke notice her immense power, Maz Konata is drawn to her latent force potential, and Finn is immediately drawn to her and perhaps a bit smitten (which is mostly because she treated him with kindness he'd never received before). Her only flaw seems to be her insistence on waiting for her family on Jakku but that flaw is portrayed to be sympathetic and noble as it implies a strong sense of loyalty and duty. All of these things add up to make Rey a Mary Sue.

Give you some guesses what these three have in common.

So yes, Rey is a Mary Sue. However, is this truly a bad thing? For one, the idea that a character has to be flawed is a tad sadistic when we think about it. We want characters to struggle and suffer because that is how life is I suppose. The lesson is simple however, things rarely come easy, nobody is perfect, and that the protagonist's ability to overcome adversity is endearing to us. That sort of thinking applies and works in films that take place in our reality like modern day dramas. However, this is Star Wars we're talking about, a franchise that sweeps us up from the world we live in and drops us into the middle of an epic space opera. Star Wars has always been a form of escapism. Simply labeling Rey, a character who lives in a world of starships and supernatural powers, as a Mary Sue ignores the fact that fiction is supposed to be about exceptional people otherwise its not interesting. The counterpoint to this is that Rey breaks the suspension of belief even in the Star Wars universe. This is not a strong argument either, particularly when comparing Rey to other characters in the film and in the Star Wars film universe as a whole. What Rey is not, is any more implausible than any of the other characters in the film or when it comes to Star Wars protagonists.

Rey follows the line of protagonists in the Star Wars films who have all been "Mary Sues". Luke Skywalker in A New Hope puts nary a foot wrong. The biggest criticism you can say about him is that he's whiny and a bit impulsive. Both of those traits are what eventually puts him on the path towards rescuing the Princess and blowing up the Death Star. Anakin Skywalker in The Phantom Menace is the same way. He's a prodigy in just about everything, wins the pod race with a junker of a speeder, has a Midicholorian count higher than even Yoda, and blows up a Trade Federation ship in his first time flying a starfighter. It is not until the second films of their respective trilogies do Luke and Anakin face adversity and shockingly fail. If anything, all Rey is guilty of is being the latest in a line of "Mary Sue" protagonists. She's following the same tropes that are expected of a Star Wars protagonist and if that is really such a problem, reference my response to the second criticism. The sticking of Rey with the label of "Mary Sue" seems like a disservice and an attempt to tear down the first strong, female character that the film franchise has had. In fact, J.J. Abrams should be applauded for not having Rey fall into the worst of modern movie tropes which is to have a strong female character only for her to lose all that competence in the film's final act. Lastly, considering she's about to undergo Jedi training with Luke Skywalker in the next film, don't expect her to succeed right away.

Alright, so those are the three points that I mostly disagree with. However, The Force Awakens, while a very good Star Wars film, is not perfect. There are a few criticisms that I do actually agree with.

"The Third Death Star Was Stupid"

So yes, this one is pretty indefensible but at the same time, I didn't really care. Regardless, it makes little sense for the First Order to build another one of these things after the previous two suffered the exact same fate. On the other hand, Starkiller Base was a plot device that set up some of the best moments of the film's final act. This one I guess just gets signed away to Star Wars villains' obsession with building giant superweapons with tiny but fatal weaknesses.

"Finn's Plotline is Bulls****"

Let's get one thing straight here, I thought Finn was a great character. John Boyega put in a really strong performance. It's the first time that we've ever seen a Stormtrooper humanized onscreen and it really is a big moment. Fin''s characterization was done very well, except for one part. A big part of Finn's character was his reluctance to kill for the First Order and the moment that tells us so much about him is his reaction to watching a fellow Stormtrooper die. It's a powerful scene that told us so much without having to actually shoehorn some lines into the script about how Finn felt during that scene. (side note: that's actually another complaint people have, apparently people can't deal with "show don't tell" anymore) However, this all gets undone about ten minutes into the film when Finn is gunning down his fellow teammates to help Poe escape and has no hesitation later in the film gutting Stormtroopers with Luke's lightsaber. It's a huge character-plot disconnect that heavily undermines Finn's characterization, despite how strong of a character he was in other scenarios. It's like playing Grand Theft Auto and the main character whines about how he wants to be a better person and not kill anymore. Meanwhile, on the way to wherever the character is, he probably murdered several civilians and blew up a building because the player ordered him to do it. Fans have been trying to explain away Finn's disconnect but it still feels like a poor fit given Finn's role in the film. I guess the simplest way to describe it is that Finn has a problem with killing innocent people like the villagers at the start of the film but I suppose he has less of a hang up killing stormtroopers because...they're bad people?

"Rathtars"

I sort of forget about the Rathtar scene to be honest because it was such a goofy scene. It does the film some good though, its a rather cheeky scene for Han Solo that let Harrison Ford convince us the character was back. At the same time though, it seems to serve little purpose aside from being the one space monster scene that pretty much every Star Wars film has.