Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles.
January 17th 2008 02:41
Category: Videos
Story by: Tommy Yune, Thomas J.Bateman & Steve Yun.
Directed by: Tommy Yune & Dong Wook Lee.
Screenplay by: Ford Riley & Frank Agrama.
Producer: Jason Netter.
Starring: Richard Epcar (Vince Grant), Tony Oliver (Admiral Rick Hunter), Eddie Frierson (Louie Nichols), Mark Hamill (Commander Taylor/Haydonite), Greg Snegoff (Scott Bernard), Yuri Lowenthal (Marcus Rush), Chase Masterson (Janice), Kari Wahlgren (Ariel), Iona Morris (Jean Grant), Edie Mirman (Maia Sterling), Dan Woren (General Reinhardt), Alexandra Kenworthy (The Regis) & Arthur Santiago (Alex Romero).
Produced by: 2006 Harmony Gold in association with Tatsunoko Productions & DR Movie.
Released by: Madman Entertainment.
Running Time: 88 minutes. Rating: PG.
Years ago when I was a kid at high school (yep I was once a kid) I can remember rushing home to catch the latest episode of this totally way out cartoon show that was on TV at the time; the show was called Robotech. At the time I had never heard of the term anime or manga; to me anything animated was simply a cartoon though Robotech was like nothing I had seen at time, definitely not your usual fare. It went through three different seasons and religiously I watched as many episodes as possible, catching up with those that I missed on videos rented from the local video store. Ah such halcyon days, the weather was milder, Bob Hawke was prime minister, the Cold War was ending and it seemed to me that the world was destined to be a far better place filled with endless potential; especially when they where showing something like Robotech on TV. And then it all ended and there was no more Robotech, which was to be expected after all.
Now Harmony Gold, the company responsible for the TV series of Robotech, has released a Robotech feature length movie called Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. After an absence of over twenty years giant transforming robots (also known as Mecha), weird aliens pursuing even weirder agendas and that truly unusual power source known as protoculture returns to the screen. This particular DVD came into my hands via the agency of a long time friend (muchas gracias Steve) who like me was a fan of the original series and reckoned this would capture my attention. It sure did, and once I’d watched it I found myself wondering whether or not this is a sign of things to come, a new Robotech series to grace our screens. Or even a sequel film.
Originally when it was first made in Japan the three series of Robotech were all three separate series, there was no really significant linkage between them. That all changed when Harmony Gold got a hold of the franchise and decided to release it for the English speaking market. They effectively did a complete rewrite of the entire franchise so that each series was effectively a part of an ongoing epic saga. The focus of this saga was the science of robotechnology and its mysterious power source, protoculture. At some time in the distant past a group of beings later called the Robotech Masters discovered the secret of protoculture and robotechnology on a world inhabited by a peaceful race known as the Invid. Zor, the individual who discovered protoculture and robotechnology realised that his fellow Masters would use these discoveries to conquer and enslave other species, so he decided to hide them on board his spaceship the SDF-1 which he launched into the interstellar deeps hopefully putting its contents beyond the reach of his brethren. Certainly this objective was achieved for a while, but the main problem was that the SDF-1 landed on Earth and thus began a series of calamities for the planet and its inhabitants.
Three times the earth is attacked by aliens, the first being the Zentraedi who are pawns of the Robotech Masters then the Masters themselves attack and though they are defeated their attempts to seize the protoculture matrix on board the ruin of the SDF-1 leads to the events that cause the third and final invasion of Earth. Protoculture is tied into a plant form known as the Flower of Life and the matrix contains numerous amounts of seeds of this flower, the attack by the Masters on the ruined SDF-1 shatters the matrix causing the numerous seeds to spread throughout the world which then germinate and grow into the Flower of Life. One would think this not such a bad result, unfortunately the Invid; the alien species that the Masters stole protoculture from can sense the emergence of the Flower of Life anywhere in the universe. And they seek to remove all protoculture from the hands of non-Invid, so the sudden germination of countless seeds effectively decides the world’s fate and once again Earth is invaded.
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles opens with the climactic final battle between the Invid and the Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF) over Reflex Point, the location of the primary Invid Hive as well as the former site of the ruins of the SDF-1. This where the last series of Robotech ended all those years ago, with the final cataclysmic battle over Reflex Point so it serves as a fairly useful point in which to resume proceedings. The bulk of the characters in this tale are new, though there are a few old timers from the previous shows such as Scott Bernard and Admiral Rick Hunter who was the protagonist of the first series that spawned it all. In terms of plot as far as the various members of the REF know all is going to plan, there are no hitches and the liberation of Earth seems assured, what they don’t realises is that the plan they’re following isn’t exactly theirs. It seems that there is someone else who has an interest in how the upcoming conflict pans out and their interest is definitely not benign.
The Invid are able to sense protoculture, its part of their makeup that they can do this so anything that actively uses robotechnology and protoculture is like a bright light to the Invid, they don’t need to use sophisticated scanning devices or targeting they can literally ‘smell’ their enemies fighters and vehicles. At some point though the various scientists of the REF made contact with an advanced species called the Haydonites and from them they gained what became known as shadow technology, this technology meant that they could cloak their fighters, weapons systems and vehicles from the Invid. What they don’t realise is that this technology does have its drawbacks, though only as the drama unfolds is this made apparent.
Eventually Reflex Point is captured, though it is not through the efforts of the various fighters on both sides involved in the conflict, rather it all comes down to the love between an Invid and a Human as well as the love of a mother for her child that determines the outcome. The Regis, Queen of the Invid species withdraws herself and her race from the world of the Humans assuming a luminous form and streaking out into the deeps of the cosmos to a new world where her species can exist in peace. As she does this the Regis takes all the remaining sources of protoculture with her, thus leaving humanity with little to power their fighters and other vehicles. So in one way the battle for Reflex Point is a victory whilst in another it is a crippling defeat, as Earth and the REF may not have any significant resources to fight any future conflict.
No doubt about it this show certainly took me back; and as I sat watching it on my computer I began to think to myself is their going to be another film? Is this but the precursor to a new bold exciting Robotech series? If the ending is anything to go by that seems to be a possibility, it was open ended enough not to be annoying but to hint at future adventures and escapades. And let’s face it the title itself speaks of something that is more than just a one shot piece. The animation in this film is streets ahead of what was on offer all those years ago when Scott Bernard, Rick Hunter, Max Sterling and the various other protagonists of the Robotech universe battled their way across our TV screens. CGI has given Robotech a really slick, and dare I say it, awesome look to its battle sequences as well as the various shots of space flight, space folding and the various facilities such as Moon Base Aluce and Space Station Liberty. The only anime that can compete with these kinds of graphics that I’ve seen recently has been Appleseed but like that movie funky graphics are not really the strength of this film. Instead it is the great acting and the great story that make Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles a joy to watch.
Directed by: Tommy Yune & Dong Wook Lee.
Screenplay by: Ford Riley & Frank Agrama.
Producer: Jason Netter.
Starring: Richard Epcar (Vince Grant), Tony Oliver (Admiral Rick Hunter), Eddie Frierson (Louie Nichols), Mark Hamill (Commander Taylor/Haydonite), Greg Snegoff (Scott Bernard), Yuri Lowenthal (Marcus Rush), Chase Masterson (Janice), Kari Wahlgren (Ariel), Iona Morris (Jean Grant), Edie Mirman (Maia Sterling), Dan Woren (General Reinhardt), Alexandra Kenworthy (The Regis) & Arthur Santiago (Alex Romero).
Produced by: 2006 Harmony Gold in association with Tatsunoko Productions & DR Movie.
Running Time: 88 minutes. Rating: PG.
Years ago when I was a kid at high school (yep I was once a kid) I can remember rushing home to catch the latest episode of this totally way out cartoon show that was on TV at the time; the show was called Robotech. At the time I had never heard of the term anime or manga; to me anything animated was simply a cartoon though Robotech was like nothing I had seen at time, definitely not your usual fare. It went through three different seasons and religiously I watched as many episodes as possible, catching up with those that I missed on videos rented from the local video store. Ah such halcyon days, the weather was milder, Bob Hawke was prime minister, the Cold War was ending and it seemed to me that the world was destined to be a far better place filled with endless potential; especially when they where showing something like Robotech on TV. And then it all ended and there was no more Robotech, which was to be expected after all.
Now Harmony Gold, the company responsible for the TV series of Robotech, has released a Robotech feature length movie called Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles. After an absence of over twenty years giant transforming robots (also known as Mecha), weird aliens pursuing even weirder agendas and that truly unusual power source known as protoculture returns to the screen. This particular DVD came into my hands via the agency of a long time friend (muchas gracias Steve) who like me was a fan of the original series and reckoned this would capture my attention. It sure did, and once I’d watched it I found myself wondering whether or not this is a sign of things to come, a new Robotech series to grace our screens. Or even a sequel film.
Three times the earth is attacked by aliens, the first being the Zentraedi who are pawns of the Robotech Masters then the Masters themselves attack and though they are defeated their attempts to seize the protoculture matrix on board the ruin of the SDF-1 leads to the events that cause the third and final invasion of Earth. Protoculture is tied into a plant form known as the Flower of Life and the matrix contains numerous amounts of seeds of this flower, the attack by the Masters on the ruined SDF-1 shatters the matrix causing the numerous seeds to spread throughout the world which then germinate and grow into the Flower of Life. One would think this not such a bad result, unfortunately the Invid; the alien species that the Masters stole protoculture from can sense the emergence of the Flower of Life anywhere in the universe. And they seek to remove all protoculture from the hands of non-Invid, so the sudden germination of countless seeds effectively decides the world’s fate and once again Earth is invaded.
Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles opens with the climactic final battle between the Invid and the Robotech Expeditionary Force (REF) over Reflex Point, the location of the primary Invid Hive as well as the former site of the ruins of the SDF-1. This where the last series of Robotech ended all those years ago, with the final cataclysmic battle over Reflex Point so it serves as a fairly useful point in which to resume proceedings. The bulk of the characters in this tale are new, though there are a few old timers from the previous shows such as Scott Bernard and Admiral Rick Hunter who was the protagonist of the first series that spawned it all. In terms of plot as far as the various members of the REF know all is going to plan, there are no hitches and the liberation of Earth seems assured, what they don’t realises is that the plan they’re following isn’t exactly theirs. It seems that there is someone else who has an interest in how the upcoming conflict pans out and their interest is definitely not benign.
The Invid are able to sense protoculture, its part of their makeup that they can do this so anything that actively uses robotechnology and protoculture is like a bright light to the Invid, they don’t need to use sophisticated scanning devices or targeting they can literally ‘smell’ their enemies fighters and vehicles. At some point though the various scientists of the REF made contact with an advanced species called the Haydonites and from them they gained what became known as shadow technology, this technology meant that they could cloak their fighters, weapons systems and vehicles from the Invid. What they don’t realise is that this technology does have its drawbacks, though only as the drama unfolds is this made apparent.
Eventually Reflex Point is captured, though it is not through the efforts of the various fighters on both sides involved in the conflict, rather it all comes down to the love between an Invid and a Human as well as the love of a mother for her child that determines the outcome. The Regis, Queen of the Invid species withdraws herself and her race from the world of the Humans assuming a luminous form and streaking out into the deeps of the cosmos to a new world where her species can exist in peace. As she does this the Regis takes all the remaining sources of protoculture with her, thus leaving humanity with little to power their fighters and other vehicles. So in one way the battle for Reflex Point is a victory whilst in another it is a crippling defeat, as Earth and the REF may not have any significant resources to fight any future conflict.
No doubt about it this show certainly took me back; and as I sat watching it on my computer I began to think to myself is their going to be another film? Is this but the precursor to a new bold exciting Robotech series? If the ending is anything to go by that seems to be a possibility, it was open ended enough not to be annoying but to hint at future adventures and escapades. And let’s face it the title itself speaks of something that is more than just a one shot piece. The animation in this film is streets ahead of what was on offer all those years ago when Scott Bernard, Rick Hunter, Max Sterling and the various other protagonists of the Robotech universe battled their way across our TV screens. CGI has given Robotech a really slick, and dare I say it, awesome look to its battle sequences as well as the various shots of space flight, space folding and the various facilities such as Moon Base Aluce and Space Station Liberty. The only anime that can compete with these kinds of graphics that I’ve seen recently has been Appleseed but like that movie funky graphics are not really the strength of this film. Instead it is the great acting and the great story that make Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles a joy to watch.
| 63 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
