Tom Breed discusses the evolution of Michael in Mexico

MICHAEL SANDFORD

The name gives hope to 3dmmers everywhere. Well, at least me. He is by far the best newbie we have, and probably will have for a long while.

THE GIST: He's really really good at 3dmming.



Today I will be discussing the evolution of his work by analyzing his finest works to date: the Michael in Mexico trilogy. HERE WE GO !

And don't forget that this series is a backwards trilogy. Part 3 leads into Part 2 which leads into Part 1.

MICHAEL IN MEXICO

MiM starts us off, in full fledged PAM mode. There is no story--hence the P in PAM. A standard army attack and a standard brutal slaying of said army by the standard one man, and a standard battle between what we have to assume are two enemies. Most of the concept here is pretty standard here. But then Michael, being Michael, adds his own unique visuals, his own unique style to the whole shabang. And that's what makes this good, and better than the run of the mill PAMs. Its not just explosions and blood effects, its goddamn style in presentation. Already it is clear how he has a great grasp on good camera angles, and good visuals. He comes off as a natural. The shot with the helicopter from above is especially great.

THE GIST: He's good. He's got potential here, and its quite clear. If he spent a little more time on his backgrounds and moving said backgrounds, things would be pretty much perfect. The lack of sound is a shame, but forgivable.


MICHAEL IN MEXICO 2

An obvious improvement from the start. First off the opening is awesome, with still shots of the characters. Also there is actual Mexico-esque music!!!!

Right away we have more of a story, what with the introduction of the pet rock, and its unfortunate demise. The fight scene that follows is 12938120319x cooler than the one in MiM. So much more style. And again Mike's natural sense of visuals astounds me. One thing that made me go EHHHHH though was the scene where the guy is walking through the bar, that was really, really not good. I have noticed that Mike's only lacking quality is the ability to move scenery perfectly. The ending is fantastic, since it leads into the first film so dramatically.

THE GIST: Better. Muuuch better. The story element makes us care a little more, it becomes more than just a PAM, it becomes an AM. And that's a good thing for this series, and a good thing to show Mike's capabilities. The sound effects and voices are a welcome addition, regardless of just how prepubescent Mike is. In conclusion: MiM2 is a VAST improvement from the first installment, and showcases Mike's abilities even more than before.

MICHAEL IN MEXICO 3

The best of the series, no doubt.

For crying out loud the opening is just brilliantly stylistic. The music is fantastically fitting, the drawing is awesome, and the way it is presented to us is fantastically epic in what would otherwise shouldn't necessarily be an epic moment.

Already in the first scenes it is SEETHING with style. The visuals, AGAIN, perfection. He is an absolute natural when it comes to camera angles. The music is just so fitting to Mike's style here, it just seems like it was written FOR him. The fight scenes are great, and are the best of the series. Mike's use of shortcuts make me smile and go, "I see how he did that." This cartoony, fun style is almost too much to bear. This is why I love 3dmm, folks, movies like this. ITS JUST FUN. Mikes talents are displayed to what at the time seemed like the fullest of his capabilities, and it is glorious. Little things like stretching an actor for 2 frames and spinning the ground to make it seem like the background is moving go a long way, and Michael has a grasp on these techniques. Even the credits sequence is fantastic.

But like the rest, its not without its flaws, mostly with scene moving (as usual.) Main issue: Sniper @ 3dmm BB rip off with the "epic music" discussion. BUT THEN AGAIN, I have to laugh at the piano playing. C'mon its great.

The amount of story in this one works perfectly, no matter how stupid, because it is just silly fun. With silly animation and silly voice acting. Its just silly fun guys. I wish more movies like this would come out.

THE GIST: His animation is superb, far better than what most of us can throw out there. I've been 3dmming since the program came out in '95, and he's light years ahead of my skills (see 3dmm Gameshow). Plus, he's young, so that means he'll PROBABLY get even better.



It is clear how much he has improved, just by watching this trilogy. He still has ways to go but he can still run with the big dogs, and that is damn admirable, especially in our newbie hating community.

Some improvements that should be looked at: Scenery detail, scenery movement. There are some various points of "eh that coulda been better" in the animation. Its a double edged sword. We finally get a kid who is loaded with talent, but doesn't come off as a perfectionist. He gives us quality movies, but not perfect movies.

Throughout each, one thing is a consistent: The style. Michael, though young, has a good... no... FANTASTIC grasp on visuals and camera angles -- that is to say he knows what looks good, and he translates it well into 3dmm. BUT, he still has some kinks to work out, mainly with moving scenery. He's great, but he hasn't reached that ultra pure smoothness that Dominator Dan or Aaron Haynes brings tot he table. But he will. And I hope he does something along the lines of JDR one day, because he could definitely pull it off if he went for perfection.



IN CONCLUSION: Someone get this kid a fucking action movie script.

BONUS REVIEW!!!
GNOMES ON A PLANE
95/100.