It's fun. Of the pluses: awesome character design and animation. The quality of classical animation: 10 points out of 10. I haven't seen one in a while. Of course, 3D inserts are also sometimes found (for example, dragons), now almost nowhere without them, but the animation itself is the top.
Of the minuses: the plot is somewhat simple and straightforward. I'd like to see more of these turns. There are a couple of twists, of course, too, but still in general everything is quite predictable and initially it is clear where and where it goes and what will end.
According to the recommendations: I definitely recommend to those who liked the recent movie "Dungeons and Dragons": Honor among thieves. Here is the "spirit" - very strongly transmitted. It's like they made a movie. Well, in fact, maquina vox and created on the basis of D&D. And to be more precise - based on the podcast, how seven dudes (actors of the game voiceover) got together and play D&D (wishers can Google on YouTube the source).
A very high-quality project, from the picture can not come off.
The series opens without a long exhibition, and immediately an interesting sub-plot. With the help of which it is clear how the characters live in this world and what problems they face. We are very quickly introduced to the bright main characters. Since one of the characters is a fun and vulgar bard, there will be a lot of humor, music and songs. But first impressions can be deceptive. Real characters begin to reveal through events that put pressure on the characters. Funny scenes where the protagonists find themselves in an awkward position, as well as in battles that are magnificently staged and do not leave any of the team members in the shadows. Selected a great moment for a dramatic motivating incident that makes the heroes make moral choices. What touches the soul of the viewer and brings you closer to Vox Machina.
Antagonists are diverse, not template and impressive. They throw very complex challenges to the heroes, surpass them in different aspects, which makes their conflict even more interesting. In several episodes there are elements of a detective, you can think about who the villain is and what his motives are. What leads to unexpected plot twists is not even the twists in battles, and they will. In one series, the authors managed to weaken my vigilance several times and surprise me. When this happened, I remembered that there were hints and I could have guessed earlier. This is a special praise for the authors. Not every detective work manages to do this so skillfully.
At some points, it felt like the characters were teetering on the verge of breaking the fourth wall. It changes the feeling that this is a fantasy hero to the fact that this group of friends from our world got there and had fun. This is suitable for the adaptation of a board role-playing game. It is amazing why there are so few works of this type. I hope this will change and then we are waiting for a lot of adventures Vox Machina and other interesting companies of heroes in their worlds.
You are waiting for charismatic heroes and villains, plot twists, original and exciting battles, vulgar and refined humor, cool music and songs. It is recommended to watch for fans not only role-playing games, but also art in any of its manifestations.
10 out of 10
This review is impossible without a little backstory, since the world has seen many adaptations of books, comics, and games, but who would have thought that we would ever come to the film adaptation of role-playing roles? And not in terms of adaptation on the screen of the board role-playing game "Dungeons and Dragons" (because this has happened more than once and, by the way, will soon be) but the film adaptation of one of the famous game companies Critical Role.
Critical Role is an American web series in which professional voice actors play board role-playing games, primarily in DnD, which begins in 2015 with their first campaign called Vox Machina. Over time, the show became incredibly popular, the guys launched a whole line of side projects, released several more campaigns, where various celebrities often ran to them for several issues, created books, comics and merchandise, and in 2019 a crowdfunding project was launched on Kickstarter to raise money for a 22-minute animated film that would tell about one of the stories before the start of the first campaign. However, the required amount was collected not in the appointed 45 days, but in 45 minutes, and as a result, instead of 750,000, the project raised 11.3 million. And it became quite obvious that you can release not a 20-minute short film, but a full-fledged animated series. By the way, this project to raise money on Kickstarter is still the most successful in the category of “films and videos”. Then this story lit up Amazon Prime, who not only signed a contract to broadcast the future series, but also financed the creation of another season, and now we are at this point – in winter the world finally saw the Legend of Vox Machina.
The series tells the story of the mercenary squad Vox Machina, who (as usual in D&A) kill monsters to order and in the process save the world / kingdom / each other. Usually for the series, the seven main characters can become a problem, because if one overshadows the others or they are poorly worked out, then the viewer will not be able to penetrate them, the plot will not work properly, and the project as a whole will not succeed, but already from the first series it is noticeable how all the characters of Vox Machina are different and alive, how well the actors know their characters and how much they invest in them. If you forget, then all the participants of Critical Role are professional voice actors, and, of course, each of them voices their hero along with friends with whom they have defeated game monsters for many years. The heroes of Vox Machina are just the best thing in the series. Only looking at the team immediately notice the classic division of characters into classes, the external differences of each, their special characteristics, but even if you find your favorites, it is impossible not to impress the rest.
The series has a beautiful animation (except for the appearance of 3-D, someone fix this animation in cartoons), in which they do not hesitate to show literally nothing (the cartoon is clearly not for children), a pleasant sound (the screensaver I just love), dynamic and spectacular action scenes, an interesting plot and tantalizing humor. Although the latter can become a stumbling block - obscene jokes in the series for someone can be a lot, and the first series shows the characters not in the best way, but it is worth continuing to look further and you will be dragged into the whirlpool of adventure. Yes, sometimes the plot develops very concisely, the enemies stand still, as if they are waiting for something, the heroes are slowed down by the doors, and sometimes it seems that someone clearly threw the cube out for maximum luck, but this is the film adaptation of DnD - in the remark of this even has its own charm, if you have ever played a role-player. To the logical holes of the second season of “The Witcher” is still far away.
“The Legend of Vox Machina” is a great fantasy series, the second season of which I’m already looking forward to. This is a funny, bloody and interesting adventure that will definitely appeal to those who have ever played role-playing board games, and those who just love fantasy themes. The single creation of this series is unique in itself, not to mention the fact that fan sponsorship allows the authors to bring the story to the viewer the way they want, and that freedom definitely feels on screen. Separately, I want to note in this case Amazon - first they gave us a stunning "Invulnerable", and now the cool "Vox Machina", the bar for their projects they set excellent.
Table games, other than poker, are not my fetish. The show Critical Role, if it came out in Russia in any form, passed by me, so the target audience of its adaptation, I am definitely not, although I love fantasy as a genre, including in the context of computer games. To assess the success of the adaptation of the original, thus, I do not have the opportunity – alas, well, as an independent project, the series, of course, succeeded.
The plot is quite simple and typical for the genre. Actually, only for some template of the narrative I will skip one point, which, however, did not prevent me from enjoying the viewing. First of all, due to the characters. Vox Machina is a reference group of mercenaries, with a detailed study of each of the members of the detachment. Silas and Delilah Briarwood are worthy villains. Among the secondary characters, there is no one to single out separately, but there are no extra ones.
Light humor, not only interpersonal, but also situational, allowed me to watch the whole season, literally, in one evening, never getting bored in the process. Among other objective advantages, I want to note adult animation: nude and bloody scenes are not abound, but are present in moderation - an ideal solution, except that in the first episode the balance was somewhat disturbed. Cliffhanger in the season finale greases the impression of the organically completed story arc, but does not negate the fact that you have an excellent adult animation project in the fantasy genre, which I highly recommend.
9 out of 10
P.S. Note the Russian-published first volume of Critical Role: Vox Machina Origins, a curious backstory of the original characters.
I like the way the series is going these days. Probably the great 'Rick and Morty' often brought to the masses what I want to praise the animated series ' Legend of Vox Machina' after watching season 1. Immediately clarify, I am not a fan of tabletops and D&D, but a fan of PC games and animated series, so the review is written from the point of view of the ordinary consumer.
1. Drawing. Could it have been better? Yes! Is it better? Hardly. Smooth, pleasing to the eyes picture, all the details (including nose, heh hello dota2) drawn properly. The battles are also pleasant to watch - the magic (classical and not so) is drawn and I have not met moments when I lacked entertainment.
2. Characters. I think every fan of the games will appreciate the fact that in the main roles we were presented with all the roles that are needed cleric, ready to support the heel and rush into battle. A tank that really takes the hit (as a maine tank just admires his bravery in many ways). Hunter, assassin, shooter, druid and a guy who diligently pretends that he is useful (Joke, of course, but in each tima there is one, see for yourself).
Have the characters been revealed? Yeah, but not everyone. The history (past and present) of most characters is very well remembered. Some have experienced real hard times, some have experienced them in real time. But, I would single out three characters, (I will not specify, let each decide for himself), which we dumped with the phrase ' Well, they are cool, charismatic, sensual ... End & #39; By the way, despite the minuses in the lore, it is still possible to feel the characters thanks to various scenes.
3. Plot. Yes, the disclosure of the characters could be abrupt, but I think the series gave all the conditions for it to be justified. We literally go from ' where to get the gold' to pride and feelings for each other and goals that are not even close to the need for gold.
We are charged with honesty, sincerity and courage, dipping the fantasy world as it is. With their oddities, their battles, their magic, their obscenities and their dead. I’m not a fan of D&D, but watching the show, you really understand that the characters are real people and their choices. It makes you feel on your plate, on the same wavelength with characters who are just themselves. That’s what we’re looking for today.
There's only one downside. Sometimes I was confused by illogicality. Yes, I understand that the plot was done as it was done. But man, it's fantasy! Use the magic now, not after you've been played.
I don’t know if it’s fair to make a verdict based on the first three episodes. On the other hand, they are already a complete story arc and the goal of the first series to interest the viewer, which, I think, the series does not cope at all.
And before moving on to the analysis and answer to the question ', why?', I would like to clarify that, I believe that adaptation is always an independent work, which has its own language, its own drama, its own temporism. If you literally transfer one format (book or podcast) to another (film or series), the risk of problems is very high. There are not many examples of literal transfer of text to the screen for this reason. Now that we're done with that, let's get to the point.
'The Legend of the Vox Machine' is a literal transfer of the podcast to the screen and this is its main problem. What works in a podcast doesn't work on the screen.
1) The plot of the D&A session is amazing, only in the format of the session. On the screen, it looks flat, predictable and mediocre.
2) Jokes that worked in improvisation format only cause shame to the viewer when watching.
(3) Character disclosures seem inappropriate and harsh. The series does not have any dramatic processing at all, the character is revealed at the moment when the podcast player wanted it and it is not at all a fact that this disclosure plays at least any role or leads to anything. Moreover, the disclosure is also mediocre.
And I repeat that all of the above works well in the format of a board game, but frankly bad on screen. I think I should also clarify that I haven’t watched the podcast, and I think that helps me evaluate the product without fanaticism. I love D&D, so I can see where it comes from. I don’t know if this situation will change or not, but for now we can only say that the series had a huge potential to become something cool and unique, but in the end it is just a product & #39; for his & #39; created to please fans with the presence of the film adaptation. But the viewer, who would like something more than just animated situations from the game, the series is unlikely to satisfy.
