“Red vs. Blue – Recollection” DVD Review
Despite wrapping up the previous seasons with an enjoyable climax, Red vs. Blue returns in the sophisticated renderings of the graphic power of Halo 3’s developments with “Red vs. Blue: Reconstruction.” Applying a far more sense of drama and escalated scale than the previous run, the new events tie into the continuity left by the previous five seasons and do so in a clever way. Reconstruction adheres a sense of mystery right off the bat that leaves you wanting more with each episode as you begin the series. The folks at Rooster Teeth are commendable in their growth as they better their filmmaking knowledge and it’s amazing what they accomplish with the use of a video game. Granted, it is well known there are post-production additions as well as a few other methods they employ, but for the most part they are using just a video game engine.
Synopsis
A new enemy. A new hero. The same bunch of rejects. When a secret government project goes wrong, the Reds and Blues must reconstruct their units to form an unlikely new alliance. It doesn’t take long to find out they’ve taken on more than they ever bargained for, but there’s no turning back. And no going home. Blood Gulch was only the beginning…
Obviously there are new cast members to be had, and they do well to get you interested in them upon their first introductions. Most of the original cast returns with their original voice actors, all of which still feel as natural in their characters as they had grown into during the first five seasons. The writing is significantly improved over the past seasons in that it feels more planned out for the long-term, whereas most of the previous seasons did suffer a bit at times with a feeling of being aimless. Another improved aspect is the use of previously mentioned mystery, and more twists to the story that are mostly well done.
Of course, not all shows are perfect. Sometimes the dialogue does feel a little forced, and the voice actors still have a bit of difficulty keeping their accent (mostly the exaggerated ones) in the few instances where they have to yell or at least talk louder than normal. Some aspects of the story go for a bit too long as well. Overall, though, it’s just as enjoyable as the previous seasons and even a decent way to introduce yourself to the series since it will leave you wanting to watch the previous seasons (again). I Highly Recommend checking this out!
Red vs. Blue – Season 7 (Recreation)
It was difficult to imagine where they could possibly go after the previous season and its epic ending, but somehow the team at Rooster Teeth manage to do so and keep things fresh at the same time. Picking up sometime after Season 6, this season manages to get back to the more laid back approach of the original five seasons to handling the neverending struggles of both teams as they go through various ridiculous and hilarious scenarios. As last time, they’re now using the current Halo setting to depict the environment, opening up a whole world of new toys for the characters, and more diversity for appearances.
Synopsis
Buried beneath the sand is the answer to a mystery more dangerous than anyone could possibly understand. It’s the perfect mission for a bunch of ragtag soldiers who don’t know what they’re doing anyway.
Reclaiming their respected roles of the previous seasons, this is probably the best season for the voice cast as they rarely ever seem to drop out of the proper tone. Last season had its rough spots with it, most likely due to the spacing between seasons 5 and 6, but this time around each line gets delivered spot on. Most likely this is also further helped by these later seasons having the strongest written dialogue; some of the previous seasons had occasions where the dialogue could have used some tweaking. It wasn’t really noticeable until I started watching these later seasons, though.
The main plot properly continues on with the issues of the previous season, as well as bringing along several subplots that cleverly deal with smaller issues of not only season 6, but the first five as well. Of course, as they have become so adept at throughout the series, the season concludes with a properly constructed finale that both ends the season’s primary plot but also launches the ongoing saga into new territory for the next season. This is helped greatly not only by the writers’ talents advancing tremendously with each season, but also by more complex usage of the graphics. Stepping beyond the boundaries of just exploiting gameplay methods in order to shoot their video, they’ve now started actually manipulating the engine to a point where incredible scenarios can be accomplished that would have been impossible with their previous filming methods.
Overall, it’s a very solid season, especially if you’ve been following it from the start, I Highly Recommend seeing it. I’m not too sure about it if this is your introduction to the series since they introduce several elements from past seasons without much in the way of supplementary exposition. If you don’t mind that, though, then you should still have a decent experience between the action and clever hilarity. The pacing may also help as well, as it flows smoothly throughout the season without taking any drastic leaps that could easily leave you behind.
Red vs. Blue – Season 8 (Revelation)
As great as Red vs. Blue has been over its various seasons, it’s simply a show that you would never expect to last eight whole seasons and keep a fresh quality that you can continue to rely on. It’s a difficult feat even for professionals with large budget shows, and yet, Red vs. Blue keeps on going. In it eight season, they have even taken the leap into a new approach for filming their series, which goes far beyond the capabilities of what they could do in previous seasons. This results in some epic, and truly amazing fighting that takes a lot of work to think of a rival; the choreography of these epic battles is simply mindblowing. Granted, there aren’t too many of these sequences, but that just retains the awesomeness of the few there are.
Synopsis
As former alliances are betrayed and friends become enemies, the Reds and Blues find themselves in an impossible predicament; in order to save the universe this time, they can’t be totally incompetent. While on the run, the two teams must find a way to put aside their past differences and figure out the mystery behind Project Freelancer once and for all. Then they can get back to their past differences. The entire cast of RED VS. BLUE returns for the most hilarious and eye-popping season to date. With a unique combination of machinima from the blockbuster video game Halo®, and stunning new animated sequences, this is RED VS. BLUE unlike anything you’ve seen before. Prepare for a REVELATION…
Returning once more to their classic characters, the voice cast are all present and come across as their best performances throughout the various seasons. Even Caboose, who understandably can be difficult to consistently hit his complicated tone throughout a season, rarely has an off moment. As it has evolved throughout the previous seasons, the writing excellently reaches a peak with the mystery and plot twists laid throughout the season, and continues to keep things unpredictable as they unfold. The characters even manage to show more significant development with themselves than in past seasons, and admittedly this is the first time that it never felt forced.
As previously pointed out, the engine that they’re using now to film Red vs. Blue allows them to create unique character movements that wouldn’t normally be possible with a normal game engine. This allows them a wide range of potential for scenes ranging from subtle character actions to full blow epic fights – and they are quite epic. Each one revolving around the troubled freelancer Tex, this is the first season in which we’re truly introduced to why she is supposedly such a dangerous force that you don’t want to get in the way of. This manages to add a whole new dynamic to the character, and even enhances the presence of her character in previous seasons as you know what exactly she is capable of.
Overall, if you’ve enjoyed the previous seven seasons, then I know you’ll enjoy this one plenty. If you’re just getting into the show, then you will be completely and utterly lost – but you will be wowed from the use of amazing fight choreography and most likely enticed into watching the previous seasons. Highly Recommended.
The DVD
If you own the three previous Red vs. Blue releases (Reconstruction, Recreation and Revelation) then you already own this set—there is nothing at all special or exclusive about it. The set itself arrives in a three-disc standard width amaray DVD case and…well, it boasts a new cover, I guess that’s something. This is a good deal if you skipped the previous releases, but at the rate New Video (or FlatIron Film as they’re apparently now called according to the packaging) is releasing I wouldn’t be surprised if a complete collection release came out sooner rather than later.
For a full review of each title, please refer to the links below:
Red vs. Blue – Season 6 (Reconstruction)
Red vs. Blue – Season 7 (Recreation)
Red vs. Blue – Season 8 (Revelation)
Red vs. Blue – The Recollection is now available on DVD.