JDR Revival

JDR Revival
Directed by Daniel Martin

If characters in any PAM ever sat down to watch cartoons, they'd probably see something like JDR Revival. This is ADD on ADD -- the characters have one or two loosely assigned traits, the plot plays second fiddle to the animation ("We have to go to Factria to find Ben!" "Already found him, he isn't there." "Oh. Meh, let's go to Factria anyway."), and no part of the story exists for any reason other than to give one of the two warring sides an edge against each other. The film knows this, and delights in it, indulging in cliches so overused that you'll squirm in your seat in sheer disbelief, and it'll laugh at you for doing so. Like with Revolutions, Revival is far more concerned with what happens along the way than why the journey is being made in the first place, but the foundations behind the plot are much stronger this time, making for a much more engaging ride.

Beginning where Revolutions left off, Revival wastes no time in dispensing with the events of the ending, as Boundless Ben springs back to life, undamaged by the 500,000 bullets embedded in his chest, and returns to Earth to start his world-domination campaign. Dominant Dan, the only surviving member of JDR after the fight against Perfect Prime in Revolutions, meets up with a new addition to the series, a scientist character named Witty Waumsley. The early scenes of the movie start quietly and somewhat aimlessly, but the byplay between Dan and Waumsley is less for the laughs and more to estbalish the relationship between Waumsley and JDR. Waumsley is often what drives the plot forward; his briefing scenes are sometimes the only anchor for the film's erratic pacing, seemingly reminding the film itself of what's just happened or what's currently going on, so it can move on to the next energetic action sequence.

The animation is astounding. Sure, it comes in peaks and valleys and some stuff seems to happen just for the hell of it, but that's part of the fun as far as I'm concerned. I know from talking to him that Dan has a real passion for animating in general, as I've seen a ton of his Flash work, a bunch of EasyToon gifs, and a ton of random .3mm files. He's clearly been influenced by Maltby, but he draws inspiration just as strongly from Justin and Mike of VGN2 fame (it's no coincidence that they voice the same default actors that they do in all of their own films), and possibly even Vlarion with the way the fight sequences play out. There's a shot in the last UD fight of Jeff flying out to attack the beast and then, what's this? Jumping back into place back on the platform. A turn-based battle reference, perhaps? And then there's something in the manic energy of the way the movie is slammed together like the coolest individual pieces of more contemporary films that could not have come from any of these influences. Just as with its predecessor, Revival combines a patchwork of different styles into something too sloppy to be beautiful, but too epic to be ugly.

This is my arbitrary gushing paragraph: I got giddy watching this movie. It shifts between action and comedy so frequently and to such a great effect that they practically become one category. Jeff's return was probably my favorite action sequence of the film, building suspense through Justin's voiceover and various shots of Boundless Ben's army moving into position for.....something. It focuses on the edge of a building, and BAM. The return of Jeff and Rory was a no-brainer to be sure, but it was one of the most powerful moments of 3DMM for me, after seeing Revolutions flip gears and kill them off, apparently really meaning it. The full-on assault he delivers to Ben's stronghold builds in a fantastic way, dodging the star-cluster gun, running up the steps ahead of the automated gatling gun, and coming to a full stop at the precise moment Jeff jams his gun into Ben's mouth and pulls the trigger. But instead of ending there, it reintroduces the clone gag from Revolutions in full-on parody form, making fun of the lame humor that movie seemed to dip into at times. I was in stitches.

Quite frankly, it wouldn't have worked without voices. Revolutions somehow managed to offer an old-school appeal, like a wedge of 1998 jammed into the gears of a 2004 movie, but this installment relies on the exagerrated personalities of JDR, Waumsley, and Ben for almost any real impact it makes. The acting here is spectacular. Jon Barton never misses a beat as Dan, though, strange as it sounds, the voice was almost too good for the role, wasted on what's not really a character but a character-type. Justin gets the best lines as Boundless Ben, alternating sinister expository dialogue with stuttering yelps of surprise or annoyance effortlessly. Dan and Mike did an excellent job bringing Jeff and Rory to life, using a sort of muted tone to match the downplayed aspects of their characters, though Mike's mike (HA!) seems to make his lines either too loud or too soft at times. Jaymond nails Waumsley in the first half of the movie, but it's a little too obvious that his second batch of lines was sent so long after the first that he forgot which voice he was using. The audio in general is great -- music ranges from badass battle tunes to foreboding or even regretful-sounding quieter pieces to rockin' themes that sound so happy it's unhealthy. And while sound effects have a tendency to be repeated on occasion (or even arbitrarily chosen at times), the quality and frequency of them make up for it. This is a loud film visually, and the audio matches that in a good way.

The meta aspects probably deserve their own paragraph. An easy misconception to make is that it believes it's randomness is brilliant and clever, which I don't think is the case. There are frequent references to the fact that it knows it's a movie, but these are not usually made for their own sake, but rather used to address some other gag or character aspect. The wind noises at the beginning ("The movie is too silent and dull without it"), the scientist explanation ("Aside from scientist being magnets for pain and suffering in these kinds of movies"), and especially the explanation for how the MI training dream worked ("You and Ben haven't had a kickass final fight scene yet") are the chief offenders, but in each case it's more as if the movie acknowledges what it is as a given. It doesn't really flaunt it, but treats it with a sort of low-key side mention every once in a while. I wouldn't really call anything in the movie subtle, but most of the 'clever' aspects of Revival are underplayed for a reason -- the movie doesn't think they're clever, and neither should you. But as we see in the payoff editing sequence after the dream angle is revealed and in the final battle within the nexus, they can be fun as hell to watch.

Criticisms against Revival are not unwarranted. There's no cohesive narrative to it, no real meaning behind what happens, and sometimes it feels like it's trying to congratulate itself on being clever when it's really just fucking around for the sake of fucking around. But like I've said before: It's fun in a comic-book sort of way, learning about each character and weapon and superpower, getting wrapped up in how every little piece of the story works and then watching how it comes together in the end. You may feel silly for following it, but let it grab hold of you and you'll have a blast. I'm giving this my first 100/100 rating, which I feel like I should explain. A full rating from me doesn't indicate a perfect film -- if films could be perfect, it would no longer be an art but entirely a science, and in the end subjectivity rules the day -- but what it does indicate is that the film assumed a particular method of storytelling and used it to its maximum potential. JDR Revival could certainly have been better, and no movie is completely without flaws, but I think it achieves greatness for what it did do, even if it won't appeal to everyone. Hell, maybe even because of that.

Critical Score: 100/100.
Personal Score: 100/100.