20 Bucks Later

Another overlooked film from 2007 here, this time from no other than Eric Russoniello, the creator of the Train Tip-series from 1996. As if that is not interesting enough, 20 Bucks Later is one of the first 3DMM movies I have seen utilizing v3DMM on such a large scale.

20 Bucks Later follows the life of police officer Jordan Mackenzie (convincingly played by Catherine Nagle), who has just been suspended for ‘taking matters into her own hands’. The film opens with establishing the ongoing conflict between Mackenzie and her chief, before introducing us to her colleagues in one of the most realistic conversation scenes I have seen anyone pull off in 3DMM. The content of their conversation may not be as sharp or interesting as it could have been, but it was certainly a nice way of setting up the characters.

Obviously it is hard to judge the story as a whole, as this is just the prelude to a larger project Mr. Russoniello is still hopefully working on, namely Charlie. That was probably my main grudge with this film: it ends just as it is getting interesting, and the prologue just does not stand as well on its own. Instead we are left with a movie that has a lot of things going for it, but it is not until we get the next installment we can see if it truly lives up to its potential.

As I mentioned in the beginning, Russoniello takes full use of the possibilities given by the expansions. Not only does he modify the characters’ costumes accordingly, but each scene consists of gigantic set pieces that were created outside 3DMM. I can only imagine the time and effort spent making these, and the work really pays off. Sure, you have the occasional funny looking guy, such as the creepy ticket conductor, but all in all there is very little to complain about when it comes to looks. Animations were unfortunately not handled as well. The character animation in particular could be very crude at times.

The voice acting, on the other hand, was perfect. It is always nice to hear a female character being played by an actual female (where do you find them!?), especially when they do a good job too. The rest of the cast is just as good, playing off of each other very believably.

I can only urge Russoniello to keep on going, because if this is a taster of what is to come, rest assured that Charlie will be a great success.

7/10

Originally posted on www.3dmmspotlight.tk

[Fredrick]

This review sounds a lot harsher than I intended, and it makes me feel bad.

[Gorosaurus]

I agree with you on many points, but its groundbreaking look and the knowledge that it is only the prologue to a much bigger, more engrossing story made me rate it a good deal higher. But ratings are arbitrary, it's thoughts and words that count!

[Air Rick]

Hey, totally fair here. Well-written, and I appreciate the candor.

Animating has never been my specialty, especially when performing movements on a surface that is not necessarily flat.