REDUX

This review contains some spoilers.

Gorosaurus and Aaron Haynes, isn't that a dream combination? The maker of Ninja Gaiden and the creator of the Vlarion series work together to produce REDUX, a visually stunning piece of work. For those who are new to the world of 3DMM, this may not be the best movie to watch. It is until you really appreciate how hard it is to compete with the best movies here animations-wise that REDUX becomes a must-see.

Ask anyone who has watched REDUX and they will tell you that one of the strongest bits which really shows it off is the visual department. The expansion used in Acts II and III are used to brilliant effect and it shows what great things can be achieved with the expansion pack. There are, of course, some expansion scenes which stand out more than others, most notably the one where Gorosaurus discovers a new world. Absolutely stunning. And it's not just the use of the expansion pack which is great. The hand-made characters were animated brilliantly, including the cameos (more about that later on in the review). The Godzilla and the 3DMM Demon hand-made characters were done brilliantly and you will stare in awe when you see them in action.

Another wonderful aspect of REDUX which enhances the dramatic atmosphere is the music. It is synched extremely well and the backing tunes really do suit the events in the movie. After watching REDUX, I was even humming the more tense tunes to myself! When I first watched this film, I only saw one other movie at the time, JDR Revolutions. I was new, and I did not know much about the difficulty in producing a quality 3DMM movie. And I'll admit, I wasn't really entertained, watching REDUX. But after seeing a couple more movies, I started to really appreciate the skill in 3DMM-ing, and it was then when I decided to re-watch REDUX. The result? I loved it. And after re-watching it again for this review, I love it even more.

But what is REDUX all about? I keep going on about how visually damn good it is and how great the music is, but what is the meaning behind it? Without spoiling anything, I hope, REDUX has quite a lot of symbolism. The movie was made towards the end of 2003, and the events in this film were closely connected to what happened with the 3DMM community at that time. I won't say what I think in depth, because that would spoil it, but go on, watch and form your own interpretations.

While watching this on your computer, you will point to the screen and go "hey, isn't that Hirolix?" or "hey, those are the squirrels from NUTS!". You will also see cameos of Yeti and Squidworth, Lock and Toad, and Mr. Green. They, in my view, add to the dramatic atmosphere and it made me pretty nervous seeing those battle against the dangers.

With two directors doing a movie together, you often get a huge contrast of animating. Not REDUX. Both styles are very similar and I had a hard time trying to distinguish who did what. But that's a good thing. There was no sudden changes in animation styles, and in general, REDUX ran very smoothly. And so there you have it. Just about everything here, the animations, the music, even the story, is all up there in the "mind-blowing" category, or close to it. This is a must-see, providing you have had some experience with 3DMM. REDUX is in my favourites list, and I have a feeling it is going to stay there for a long long time.

Score: 97/100