Vlarion 1 - The GOOD Review

In 2004, I reviewed a small, little-known film called Vlarion 1. Small being the operative word here because by comparison the remake is a monster, stamping all over the community with huge tiger paws and a growly tiger face, smoking as well probably. The point is precisely this: After calling the original retro (a trait the remake lacks completely save for Dask’s bizarre get-up), I went on to say that Vlarion was “a movie that had been made before its time. If it were made today it would be a far more powerful movie.” I was right: it was made before its time. And Aaron being the workaholic drone that he is has strived to update it, turning into that powerful movie I’m referring to. And he does it with the kind of panache Roger Moore wished he had in the eighties. In other words, Vlarion 1 is the SEX.

A paragraph describing Aaron Haynes is no longer required at this point in his career, the director clearly holding the entire 3dmm empire in the palm of his manly hand. My advice to him is if he needs any introduction at all to read my reviews for any of his other films as it wastes time for me to keep writing about his skills, and in any case he’s having his ass sucked on a daily basis. This of course is thanks largely to the overload of 3dmmers that are currently fuelled either by Prozac, Caffeine or illegal probing. But enough of that: the point is that sooner or later I begin to wonder whether even he will be satisfied with how far he’s raised the bar, or if indeed he’s adamant enough to raise it higher than he has done with this reincarnation of his original baby, Vlarion. Seven years old but showing no signs of age, Aaron has manipulated the wonders that v3dmm has to offer to the max with this one, pushing himself harder and longer than any normal human being.

A couple of years back I sat down and watched the originals, and while I had deep reservations about them (deep enough not to hurt Aaron’s feelings by expressing them); I recognised that they were constructed well enough to show a decent enough intelligence on the director’s part. And however unsophisticated they were, back in 2000 I was making the same kind of films, so it was an irrelevant point to make considering I saw them in 2004. Aaron has wisely and skilfully taken everything that was wrong with the original film and improved on it tenfold. This includes both the obvious changes (custom scenery, updated animation, a scripted tighter narrative and voice-actors) to the advanced (a renewed seriousness in the plot, long-running epic themes and even complex story ladders that will conclude in future episodes). In short, Vlarion the remake works. And it works because of the care and obvious love the director has for his own material which is deeply admirable. So on one hand I watched it with nothing but respect for Aaron Haynes. On the other I watched it and felt a deep sense of regret that he has not only raised the stakes permanently but has also effectively condemned the rest of us wannabe good directors to making sub-par movies. Before Vlarion these would probably have been considered quite good. An analogy if you will: every 3dmm director is a tramp, scraping by on what we can make. For the most part, we’re doing alright until a tramp like Aaron turns up with the promise to drop his pants for money. Effectively the rest of us are critically screwed. This is not criticism as such, more me expressing my desire for him to slow down, because we’re all trying to catch up. It’s a lethargic request anyway; chances are I’ll spend two of the twelve months in a year catching up and the other ten making these same complaints known to him. In short: Aaron you are both a genius and a bugger at the same time and I don’t know whether I want to hug you or kneecap you.

Now then, it occurs to me that everyone (and having viewed the thread, I wasn’t wrong) has instantly hailed him as the ‘greatest director ever’ without really evaluating the film as such. Generalised statements such as ‘it looked beautiful and the action was great’ are al dandy in the thread. But he’s reaped what he’s sewn. Let me explain. 3dmm is a movie making program and does not in any way reflect how a director may make the film in reality. Rather you direct according to the strengths of the program. Subsequently I’ve reviewed with a certain leniency in the past bearing this in mind. But with Vlarion, Haynes has pushed his skills to the point where it’s as close as you’re going to get to the real thing. So too then does the bar for reviews raise higher, especially with Aaron’s films. The short answer is the critical evaluation gets more in depth and more critical as the director becomes more sophisticated. Ironically it’s mostly v3dmm to blame for this, but in any case I’ll leave the wordy hailing to the audience unwilling to write a full review and give you some honest thoughts.

That’s the ridiculously lengthy introduction out of the way, now I’m going to actually talk about the film. Unlike the original, which had more plot holes than your average golf course, the remake focuses more on the character of Dask and his journey, as the seven sleepers reveal themselves, Rosal comes into possession of the vials and ultimately the war begins. Much like the Fellowship of the Ring, the action is light-hearted, epic and enjoyable plot-focused. Darkness levels are kept to a minimum (clearly another lesson learned from Peter Jackson here) until the very end, the best of this being the third act is arguably the most cinematic 3dmm experience ever committed to the community. This is fitting of course because talking in technical terms the elemental war in question doesn’t actually break out until the AT liquidation. It is because of this that Vlarion 1 works better as a tense, sometimes high-octane thriller than an action fantasy. It is a testament to the director’s skill that he can not only alter every angle of the film technically and visually but he can actually change the genre of the film. But this is largely due to Aaron’s exploitative methods (and to be fair it’s one of his greatest weapons): we already know the story, or know the gist of it from the original. In the same way as Lord of The Rings translated to screen however, it’s the way Aaron’s done it that puts it into perspective. Watching the Hirolix battle in 2006 is a very different experience from 2000, or example. The fact that there have been so many advances in animatics in the last six years have also given rise to the catharsis of the story, and this reveals itself in key sequences such as Lisa’s death and most of Dask’s developmental scenes. It also allows Aaron to improve on the original’s complete lack of tension where it should have been by adding new material, including the appearance of Rasklain and Kriven at the film’s climax, which is a brilliant cameo to reclaim the audience come the second film of the saga.

Basically as far as the narrative goes, Aaron’s struck oil. Vlarion 1 does everything The Phantom Menace didn’t and more, and this of course is what the remake had to do to work. Much to my delight he’s included whole new sequences purely for the purpose of developing Dask as a character, and it is because of this device that distracts you from the very little padding that can be found in the film. While Lucas later condemned Episode I as padding full-stop, Vlarion 1 stands alone and rightfully so. Moreover if anything it provides the vital endoskeleton of the series without making it ever seem like exposition; save for some occasionally slow briefings with Adrack and Chadran. It’s the fastest eighty minutes you’ll ever spend though, which says something about the film’s pacing. It has been fine tuned to timing perfection, keeping the audience interested throughout, thrilled in the action sequences and on the edge of your seat at the end. Indeed by the credits I’d broken a leg and had to sit down. It works, and it is because of the speedy nature of the story as it unfolds. But this never seems like a rush-job, and thus the narrative excels as a stand-alone episode. The knowledge that the film will become even deeper and richer as we explore the rest of the characters through the remaining six films makes the pay-off even greater.

[Jon Barton]

Visuals are something Aaron has clearly missed out on, the original film having to suffer either incredibly simple handmade sets or default scenery. No longer, because at last he’s allowed to run wild with Terrania, Ceveron, the AT, Ocia… to all of it, Haynes adds a superior level of detail that makes the movie not only very beautiful but very romantic. Sunrises and sunsets over the city are the kind you only see in your dreams. So too is the clear blue skies of the Terrania capital, children running by fountains and hot air clocks making sure wealthy businessman have absolutely no excuse to be late in the morning. There is a deliberate sense of idealism about the settings in the film, and it makes the third act’s turn for the worse all the more heartbreaking for it. True to intention the audience do indeed sit up and wish Rosal would just bugger off and leave the AT alone. Of course the visuals would be nothing without Aaron’s always idealistic directorial method, and that is to make the shots as interesting (in context) as possible. No shortage of that here, except for his liking for low to the ground shooting. Nonetheless, his choices coupled with the film editing itself make for some of the most enjoyable movie-going experiences I’ve had with 3dmm. Scene 112 in the hilltops for example is especially noteworthy, because it captures both the charming fluidity of the world Aaron’s created and the style of relaxed directing he’s chosen to adopt in this film. There is almost a sense that he’s given up having to prove anything to anyone. Redux was an animation pipedream and Pamela was so full of stylistic method, it’s nice to see that the director has opted for by the book visuals that are perfectly in context. As if he for once is making the movie for himself. This gives the whole film a sense of glorious freedom, again ironic considering the events of that ending. Film editing as previously mentioned plays a huge role in this of course, voices overlapping and music intertwining, making it a rich watch. In other words, it isn’t a shot for shot account of the narrative but rather the editing adds to that idea that the narrative is a constant concern for the characters. And like Ramisar observes, the threads of time are converging on a single spot and this thread of time is now ordained to take this route. Needless to say, it works.

It’s the care that the film has been treated with that makes the film what it is. Little details are what are important in the grand scheme of it all. Even minor notes, the weirdness and subtle whininess of Dask as the film progresses an obvious nod to the alternate events of the AV sequels. This continues on to the bigger grander ideals of the film, including some of the highest-octane action seen in the Vlarion battles themselves. And again the fact that rather than a film par-say it feels very definitely like a chapter, an episode to what’s to come. So I could in theory spend all day praising the sound, the animation, the story and all else. But I’ll leave that to the rest of the community, who clearly have the monopoly on shitting themselves come the release day. I myself chose to take on a more critical approach if not to give Aaron a full low down from a critical basis. At this point I must stress that unfortunately the immature kid inside me has one completely irrelevant gripe, and that is that instead of a handshake, Dask seems to enjoy the primitive high-five. Whether this is an ode to the retro feel of the originals or just social ineptitude on Aaron’s behalf, it is unforgivable as a farewell bond and I will forever smirk at the layer of cheese that surrounds it.

Vlarion 1 is a powerful film, as powerful as it needed to be to work. It has everything that needed so desperately to be in the film and more. It’s a breath of fresh air to see that Aaron has on occasion taken my advice. It’s also brilliant to know that a director I respect and consider a good friend has passed the vicious test with flying colours. So all in all, a fine, fine, fine piece of modern 3dmm cinema and clearly it’ll lead the new revolution. 2002 had one with Doom 2 leading way, now 2006 will have one. If anything else I would be most proud of this knowledge alone. So the wait for V2 begins and I’ll end the review on the same note I did the original. This is just the sweet beginning….



PS. In reaction to the thank-you note Aaron, it was my unprecedented pleasure to give you that guidance and advice. I won’t reveal my true feelings for you until a later AIM conversation when fellatio will be involved and hopefully, some cookies. X

[Travis Wells]

UnderworldSoup: I ENDEAVOR TO SOMEHOW WORK "FELLATIO AND SOME COOKIES" INTO AS MANY CONVERSATIONS AS POSSIBLE
Aaron: hahahah
UnderworldSoup: POSSIBLY MORE

[Aaron Haynes]

Holy Christ, I cannot believe how long this turned out. Oh well, here goes. The FIRST POST (of two) for the FIRST HALF of the review.

Originally Posted by Jon Barton

I went on to say that Vlarion was “a movie that had been made before its time. If it were made today it would be a far more powerful movie.” I was right: it was made before its time. And Aaron being the workaholic drone that he is has strived to update it, turning into that powerful movie I’m referring to.

Awesome. This is, in a sense, what the remakes are all about; giving this series a chance to reach an audience at the highest quality standard I'm capable of, at the peak of my 3DMMing ability, and with the finest toolset we'll ever have available bar the release of MM+. Going in, I thought, maybe it will be worth it, maybe it won't, but at least I'll know that this story I've been revising and contemplating for going on seven years now got its shot at being developed to that level. I'm glad it lived up to the vision that the 2000 version suggested to you.

A paragraph describing Aaron Haynes is no longer required at this point in his career, the director clearly holding the entire 3dmm empire in the palm of his manly hand.

Hahahah, I really like this image. I see my face in silhouette under the cowl of my robe with dark circles under my eyes and a feral grin. WHO WILL BE MY PUPPET TODAY

the point is that sooner or later I begin to wonder whether even he will be satisfied with how far he’s raised the bar, or if indeed he’s adamant enough to raise it higher than he has done with this reincarnation of his original baby, Vlarion.

It's weird, but I never think of it in terms of raising the bar, for animation or for direction or for story or whatever. I don't really even lay down a uniform vision and work to fill all its requirements. The original vision is often much less than the eventual result. Even when I was sure that it was REMAKES I was doing and not just special rereleases to hype people up for AV4, I still had in mind far less ambitious ideas than what ultimately came together here. I have a way of repeatedly trying to better myself, of taking whatever my expectation or plan is for a shot, imagining it one better, and then unconsciously doing one better than even that. The results of this method of animating and directing surprise me as often as anyone. My plan is always to go in and do a specific thing, and somehow it just expands beyond my control, because I start thinking, "you know what would be really cool" and it just snowballs. I'm surprised my movies turn out to be anything other than one long string of neat things that happen. As for Vlarion 2, well, I'm already imagining some pretty grandiose stuff, so we'll see what it balloons out to by the time I start really moving on it.

A couple of years back I sat down and watched the originals, and while I had deep reservations about them (deep enough not to hurt Aaron’s feelings by expressing them); I recognised that they were constructed well enough to show a decent enough intelligence on the director’s part. And however unsophisticated they were, back in 2000 I was making the same kind of films, so it was an irrelevant point to make considering I saw them in 2004.

I haven't been able to watch them since 2003. I mean physically. It was actually painful to see the kinds of things I settled for and assumed I couldn't expand beyond. The limitations of 3DMM at that point (not to mention my own skill) forced me to choose a film structure that I could actually complete the story in, and by the third movie I was already recognizing that I could branch out, but to stray too far from that format would make the series incredibly uneven and draw unfavorable comparisons to the first two movies. It was one full story, so I felt locked in, I couldn't have two seperate halves for people to instinctively compare and choose from. I'm not sure I realized this consciously back then, but it's certainly clear now.

Aaron has wisely and skilfully taken everything that was wrong with the original film and improved on it tenfold. This includes both the obvious changes (custom scenery, updated animation, a scripted tighter narrative and voice-actors) to the advanced (a renewed seriousness in the plot, long-running epic themes and even complex story ladders that will conclude in future episodes).

I'm relieved that the Ramisar thing came to me in the late stages of the project. It creates at least one real connection to the themes and resolutions the story will eventually reach, of which the first movie has historically been isolated from. Certainly moreso than any of the others.

So on one hand I watched it with nothing but respect for Aaron Haynes. On the other I watched it and felt a deep sense of regret that he has not only raised the stakes permanently but has also effectively condemned the rest of us wannabe good directors to making sub-par movies. Before Vlarion these would probably have been considered quite good. An analogy if you will: every 3dmm director is a tramp, scraping by on what we can make. For the most part, we’re doing alright until a tramp like Aaron turns up with the promise to drop his pants for money.

Hahahahaha.

This is not the first time an analogy involving me as a prostitue has been made. It will not.....be the last.

Now then, it occurs to me that everyone (and having viewed the thread, I wasn’t wrong) has instantly hailed him as the ‘greatest director ever’ without really evaluating the film as such. Generalised statements such as ‘it looked beautiful and the action was great’ are al dandy in the thread. But he’s reaped what he’s sewn.

The movie has gotten a few somewhat short and general responses summing up the story, animation, direction, etc. into one "it was great" statement, but I'm not sure this means recognition of what I was trying to do is absent. A lot of people have commented directly on how much the story actually moved them, inspired them, involved them. Occasionally I get a little more "OMG" from the visuals or the grandiosity of a project than I'm really comfortable with, but this time I didn't really feel that. I thought most people responded more strongly to the heart of the film instead of it's visceral (and visual) punch.

Subsequently I’ve reviewed with a certain leniency in the past bearing this in mind. But with Vlarion, Haynes has pushed his skills to the point where it’s as close as you’re going to get to the real thing. So too then does the bar for reviews raise higher, especially with Aaron’s films. The short answer is the critical evaluation gets more in depth and more critical as the director becomes more sophisticated. Ironically it’s mostly v3dmm to blame for this, but in any case I’ll leave the wordy hailing to the audience unwilling to write a full review and give you some honest thoughts.

v3dmm's flashiest and most obvious contribution is undoubtedly the visuals, but you're right, its more subtle applications have pushed the bar forward in the categories that might make this a movie that calls for more in-depth criticism. I can't think of a single shot offhand that doesn't use it at least a little bit. Maybe some of the early Terranite Labs stuff before I cannonballed in. I wasn't making tools simply to create action scenes, but to enhance and establish my own unique world, style, and characters. Anywhere I felt like I could bolster the film's impact from any standpoint, visually, stylistically, dramatically, I tried to do so, in the most appropriate way to the movie's vision that I could. And of course, some if it is experimenting, and not all of these experiments went as well as they could have. That's an inevitable outcome of trailblazing; you're gonna get burned once or twice.

Unlike the original, which had more plot holes than your average golf course, the remake focuses more on the character of Dask and his journey, as the seven sleepers reveal themselves, Rosal comes into possession of the vials and ultimately the war begins. Much like the Fellowship of the Ring, the action is light-hearted, epic and enjoyable plot-focused. Darkness levels are kept to a minimum (clearly another lesson learned from Peter Jackson here) until the very end, the best of this being the third act is arguably the most cinematic 3dmm experience ever committed to the community.

Orcus pointed out something in response to Advamc's review that I rather liked the idea of, and it does draw inspiration from Jackson's vision of FOTR: I wanted to show this world before the shit really hits the fan. This is never really done in the originals, but then the world is never really explored in depth at any point. In doing this movie I had the challenge of developing what Vlarion's world is all about largely from scratch; I had ideas, and some of these ideas were hinted at in the movies, but none were ever committed to film in a meaningful way. I didn't want a completely idyllic state, there is always a degree of cynicism in Vlarion's world, but being in Terrania feels good, it's familiar, it's comfortable.

[Aaron Haynes]

This is fitting of course because talking in technical terms the elemental war in question doesn’t actually break out until the AT liquidation. It is because of this that Vlarion 1 works better as a tense, sometimes high-octane thriller than an action fantasy.

Always another aim of mine, even back in 1999 when I wasn't sure where the series was going to go. Vlarion attempts plausible explanations for many of its phenomena or at least tries to imply that there's an understood structure behind what's happening. This is derived largely from the Final Fantasy games, notably FF7 and FF8, which were big inspirations when I started on this (for reasons beyond the obvious RPG fixation). Uprising tended a lot more towards the more "mystic fantasy", but Vlarion starts out ironically the same way Pamela does: with an extended criminal investigation.

It is a testament to the director’s skill that he can not only alter every angle of the film technically and visually but he can actually change the genre of the film. But this is largely due to Aaron’s exploitative methods (and to be fair it’s one of his greatest weapons): we already know the story, or know the gist of it from the original. In the same way as Lord of The Rings translated to screen however, it’s the way Aaron’s done it that puts it into perspective. Watching the Hirolix battle in 2006 is a very different experience from 2000, or example. The fact that there have been so many advances in animatics in the last six years have also given rise to the catharsis of the story, and this reveals itself in key sequences such as Lisa’s death and most of Dask’s developmental scenes. It also allows Aaron to improve on the original’s complete lack of tension where it should have been by adding new material, including the appearance of Rasklain and Kriven at the film’s climax, which is a brilliant cameo to reclaim the audience come the second film of the saga.

Throwing out the old script was inevitable six years later and six years more advanced, but it also served as a splash of cold water to the audience; nothing is completely sacred this time around. Things are actually being retconned rather than just tweaked, while the themes and core plot stay largely the same. Being able to play with peoples' expections is devilishly fun.

Much to my delight he’s included whole new sequences purely for the purpose of developing Dask as a character, and it is because of this device that distracts you from the very little padding that can be found in the film.

One of the most common complaints I got during the early testviews was that we really had no idea who this guy was or why we should identify with him any more than the other characters that were still popping up for the first time. I came up with the Masali Fields scene, got skittish about it, then came up with the apartment scene, weighed them out, and ultimately decided to go with both. It extends the opening scenes and postpones the action, but I have to say it was one of the best choices I made.

Shortly after finishing V4 in 2000 I was already getting ideas of what might've happened before Vlarion 1, or what's going on just offscreen, what kind of world this is and what Dask was doing before he showed up in Terrania (god, was it even Terrania back then? So embarrassing). For years I've had this image of him arriving by ship at the beginning of the story. When I decided to do this project I was ecstatic about finally getting to make that scene, and promptly realized a) why does he have a car if he arrives by ship, and b) I've been designing the the physical world of Vlarion for years and it's geographically and thematically important that the Terranian capitol is not a coastal city. So that got scrapped and I forgot about giving Dask that kind of backstory (it was implied in the Adrack conversation at the beginning and I assumed that was enough). When you mentioned how little we know about him I considered it and brought back the arrival by ship, turned it into a departure, took away the ship, and set it in Ocia, where the second movie will take place. I'm really glad I did, because Masali Fields is so essential in setting up Dask's emotional journey for Vlarion 2.

[Aaron Haynes]

Originally Posted by Jon Barton

Visuals are something Aaron has clearly missed out on, the original film having to suffer either incredibly simple handmade sets or default scenery. No longer, because at last he’s allowed to run wild with Terrania, Ceveron, the AT, Ocia… to all of it, Haynes adds a superior level of detail that makes the movie not only very beautiful but very romantic. Sunrises and sunsets over the city are the kind you only see in your dreams. So too is the clear blue skies of the Terrania capital, children running by fountains and hot air clocks making sure wealthy businessman have absolutely no excuse to be late in the morning. There is a deliberate sense of idealism about the settings in the film, and it makes the third act’s turn for the worse all the more heartbreaking for it. True to intention the audience do indeed sit up and wish Rosal would just bugger off and leave the AT alone.

There's something very sobering and oddly surreal about the animation and direction process in anything remotely like the last 5-10 minutes of Vlarion. I grew attached to the world I was creating, enjoyed it when I came up with some new way to expand upon it or add some extra detail to give it depth and resonance. When it comes time to thoroughly and mercilessly destroy all that, you sit down and savor the good times up to that point, because as soon as the liquidation is under way, you won't be able to see it the same way again. The final act of V1 is the first in a series of crushing blows to come, and Dask and company still have a long way to fall before the end, so in a sense it's just the first blow. But that moment at the very end with Dask looking back at Terrania, with the context of what he'd gained in his life since leaving Ocia and then swiftly lost fresh in mind, you realize what's been taken for granted and how precious that time really was. Things won't be the same again.

Of course the visuals would be nothing without Aaron’s always idealistic directorial method, and that is to make the shots as interesting (in context) as possible. No shortage of that here, except for his liking for low to the ground shooting.

Hahaha, which parts? I'll try to think about this for V2, but nothing's sprining immediately to mind here.

There is almost a sense that he’s given up having to prove anything to anyone. Redux was an animation pipedream and Pamela was so full of stylistic method, it’s nice to see that the director has opted for by the book visuals that are perfectly in context. As if he for once is making the movie for himself. This gives the whole film a sense of glorious freedom, again ironic considering the events of that ending.

I was thinking along similar lines in the final hours of the project. The ending feels like an inevitability in context of the whole movie, but up to that point somehow you just don't or at least don't want to see it coming. I could have stayed in the tone and feel of that first 70 minutes forever and been content, but the ending is always going to be there or there's no story.

At this point I must stress that unfortunately the immature kid inside me has one completely irrelevant gripe, and that is that instead of a handshake, Dask seems to enjoy the primitive high-five. Whether this is an ode to the retro feel of the originals or just social ineptitude on Aaron’s behalf, it is unforgivable as a farewell bond and I will forever smirk at the layer of cheese that surrounds it.

Hahahahahah, this still makes me smile. Just think of it as being an unfortunate side effect of living in the rough lands of Ocia for three years. Besides, considering what's ahead, a handshake now would have been the wrong tone for that scene.

Yeah, yeah, I can't rationalize it. You're going to shake your head at it until the end of time. Well, I'm not proud of it, it's just there.

Vlarion 1 is a powerful film, as powerful as it needed to be to work. It has everything that needed so desperately to be in the film and more. It’s a breath of fresh air to see that Aaron has on occasion taken my advice. It’s also brilliant to know that a director I respect and consider a good friend has passed the vicious test with flying colours. So all in all, a fine, fine, fine piece of modern 3dmm cinema and clearly it’ll lead the new revolution. 2002 had one with Doom 2 leading way, now 2006 will have one. If anything else I would be most proud of this knowledge alone. So the wait for V2 begins and I’ll end the review on the same note I did the original. This is just the sweet beginning

Huge, huge thanks for that review, man. There have been a lot of ups and downs on this project, but with the first one out the door I think the series will begin to take form much more freely and quickly now.

PS. In reaction to the thank-you note Aaron, it was my unprecedented pleasure to give you that guidance and advice. I won’t reveal my true feelings for you until a later AIM conversation when fellatio will be involved and hopefully, some cookies. X

WILL HOLD YOU TO THIS.

Thanks again, and your particular interest and theories on Vlarion 2 are definitely being taken to heart as I try to shape my plan for the film. This is indeed just the beginning.