First Impressions | Deadpool 2

I have a confession to make:  I had never heard of Deadpool until I saw X-men Origins Wolverine in theaters.  As such, I was outside the outrage bubble when the plot twist first played out.  Since then I’ve done proper research and  completely understand the backlash.  That said, like many of my fellow film and comic fans, I was giddy when Fox gave the greenlight for a Deadpool film.  Not only would it give the character’s fans what they’ve been clamoring for, but it would redeem Origin’s misfire.  While I haven’t revisited the first film as of this writing, I remember enjoying it in the theater.  The action was decent and the humor had me rolling at times, but part of the end didn’t fully click with me.  I’ll go more into this when I revisit part one. 

            Third act criticism aside, I enthusiastically awaited the sequel.  My enthusiasm was rewarded.  Deadpool 2 is not only an excellent comic book film sequel, it is one of those rare sequels that surpasses its predecessor in every way. 

Picking up where the first film left off, Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds) continues to work as a freelance mercenary while enjoying his relationship with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin).  Things take a dark turn when their home is invaded and Vanessa ends up dead.  Deadpool kills the assassin, but the action does nothing to abate his morose mindset.  He joins the X-men to see if fellow heroes can help, but ends up in a mutant detention center after killing am abusive orphanage worker.  This is where Cable, a mutant from the future, enters the story.  His family was killed by Russell Collins—Deadpool’s cellmate and the orphan he was attempting to aid—so Cable travels through time to kill Collins and prevent his family’s fate.  While a mercenary, Deadpool is not cool with the slaughter of children and puts himself between the two.  It is now up to Deadpool—with the aid of his team, X-force—to save Collins from Cable’s wrath while attempting to prevent the child’s dark future from flaming.

Every aspect of the film was on-point.  The humor is what one would expect from a Deadpool film, but the timing and nuance is improved from the first film; I can see more of the jokes aging well.  From what I’ve gathered Deadpool 2 had double the budget of the originally, allowing the crew to step up the action and special effects.  Both deliver and compliment the film’s story; one draws the audience in and the other wows them with spectacle.  There were a few moments where the CGI was shaky, but not distractingly so. 

            The cast was wonderful.  Reynolds—the heart of this series—amazed once again as the Merc with the Mouth.  It’s evident from his body language and vocal inflections he enjoys playing Wade, and his enthusiasm helps the audience investment in the film.  His dramatic timing is better this go-around, which helps that aspect of the plot.  Josh Brolin was the perfect choice to play Cable.  While I’m mainly familiar with him from the Deadpool game, the film gives enough information for one to understand who he is and what drives him.  While the antagonist, the audience understands why Cable is attempting to murder a child, even if they don’t condone the action.  His character arc truly begins during act 3, where he must work with Deadpool to reach a compromise.  Without giving spoilers, he makes a character defining choice. There was a Thanos joke, but it’s blink and you’ll miss it and Cable no-sells the quip. 

Morena Baccarin, T.J. Miller, Brianna Hildebrand, and Leslie Uggams reprise their supporting roles, each using his or her time well.  Outside the obvious, the only major subplot here is the revelation that Negasonic is gay, and it’s handled respectfully; who doesn’t love Yukio.  Zazie Beetz is great as lucky merc Domino, handling herself well in the action scenes and having a fun back-and-forth with Reynolds at times.  While the weakest of the supporting cast, Julian Dennison gives a decent performance, getting his character’s plight across and helping carry the plot forward.  It’s hard to say from one viewing if he’s better angry or sympathetic.  Bill Skarsgard plays the acid-spitting member of X-force, a cameo I didn’t notice at first.  He’s ok here, but I didn’t realize how lanky he was until now.  Brad Pitt also has a cameo, one I won’t spoil for those who haven’t seen the film.

            The film’s first post-credit sequence might turn some fans off.  Without giving much away with spoilers, it involves Deadpool using time travel.  While it doesn’t take much imagination to guess what Wade plans on doing, it will impact Deadpool 3, and from a certain point of view makes aspects of this film pointless.   While it does not bother me personally—especially since it falls in line with Wade’s character—I can see why others might not feel the same.

           Like or hate the first film, this is a Marvel film everyone should watch.  The humor and action are spot on, and enough drama and conflict is sprinkled within to keep one invested.  While I enjoyed Infinity War, this one I liked better, as it’s balanced perfectly. 4 out of 5 swords.  

Reader Response | Significance of Poe's "The Raven"

Published in 1844, “The Raven” is one of Edgar Allen Poe’s most well-known poems.  When examining the prose’s wording, the first thing that stands out is Poe’s use of alliteration and rhyme.  Line one gives the reader a perfect example of both.  “Once upon a midnight dreary, while I pondered, weak and weary” (675).  Weak and weary both begin with W, and their close placement is alliteration.  Weary also rhymes with dreary, causing the literary devices to be linked from the work’s beginning.  This doubling of alliteration and rhyme continues throughout the prose (Ex: Deep and darkness for alliteration, peering and fearing for rhyme, Line 25). Combined, the pair allows the poem’s words to flow melodically; a reader cannot help but read “The Raven” in a musical fashion. 

            The title bird is worthy of deep discussion.  From the moment he flies into the poem, the narrator’s curiosity is peaked by the Raven.  The narrator describes the bird as stately from “the saintly days of yore” (676, Line 38).  This description informs the reader that the Raven is dignified and most likely supernatural.  To add to this, the bird perches on a bust Athena, daughter of Zeus and Greek goddess of Wisdom.  To use stage terminology, this an interesting blocking choice on Poe’s part, and it serves as foreshadowing for the poem’s later stanzas.  As the poem continues, the narrator becomes frustrated by the Raven’s inability or refusal to answer his questions, simply cawing the iconic phrase “Nevermore” repeatedly.  This changes the narrator’s impression of the bird, referring to the avian creature as a “grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt and ominous bird of yore” (677, Line 71).  While bogged down with descriptors, this passage informs the reader that the narrator is now displeased and frightened by the Raven’s presence, seeing the bird as an omen of disastrous repute.  The Raven is still supernatural, but of Hell, not Heaven.

            The Narrator’s impression aside, what does the Raven stand for?  After rereading the text, the answer becomes obvious.  The Raven is the personification of the narrator’s grief.  Sometime before the work began, Lenore—implied to be the narrator’s wife or fiancé—passed away.  The narrator now begins to read old literary works, hoping to find “surcease of sorrow” (675, Line 10).  Surcease translates as cessation, so the narrator is attempting to cast out his sorrow.  Once the Raven appears, his presence torments the narrator, pecking at his sanity as only grief can.  “Take thy beak from out my heart, and take thy form from off my door” (678, Line 101).  With these words, the narrator is attempting to permanently drive the bird away, and in doing so end his internal suffering.  This attempt fails.  The Raven remains perched, and thus grief remains.

            This is a deep sentiment.  Everyone has encountered grief in their lives at one point, usually from the death of a loved one.  While we mourn the loss, a part of that loss never goes away; how much depends on the circumstances.  An untimely death would be towards the top of the list.  While the narrator is unnamed, one can see a lot of Poe in him.  Poe his young wife to tuberculous, and certain accounts state he never fully recovered from her death before meeting his own.  While she still lived when Poe composed “The Raven,” she had contracted the illness.  In that regard, “The Raven” is Poe’s statement about what he was about to experience.  While it might appear he moved on, like the ebony bird, his grief would remain evermore.

First Impressions | Avengers Infinity War

While it has its highs and lows, I consider myself a fan of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.  Like many of my fellow fans, my anticipation grew as Phase One’s end grew closer, watching each film in theaters.  This anticipation grew further when The Avengers premiered.  While not perfect, it was a satisfying end to Phase One, and its mid-credits scene perfectly set up future story arcs.  That scene gave us the first film appearance of the mad Titan, Thanos.  While I had no idea who he was at first, a quick google search was enlightening.  This peaked my interest, which continued to grow as Phase Two and Phase Three moved forward.  While his on-screen appearances were brief, Thanos (Josh Brolin) hung over the MCU like a rain cloud, waiting for the precise moment to burst.  That moment has come with Avengers Infinity Wars.  

As the title suggests, the film’s plot focuses on the Infinity Stones, McGuffin’s introduced during Phase One and elaborated on during Phase Two.  Thanos’ goal is to collect all six stones and place them in his Infinity Gauntlet, which would give him the power to balance the universe.  It is up to both the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy to thwart Thanos, but not everything goes as planned.  Battles are fought, stones are collected, and a smile grows.

            How did I enjoy the film overall?  While it might be too early to say for certain, I enjoyed it and Age of Ultron roughly equally, and it was a step up from Civil War.  Of those two, the latter makes a better comparison, as both films were directed by the Russo’s and are “Cross-overs.”  While enjoyable, Civil War felt off at times both dramatically and thematically.  I get what Marvel and the Russo’s intended, but their execution needed improvement; I still question the logic of putting General Ross on the presidential cabinet, to the point where it has become a personal joke.  With Infinity War, not only do I understand what the filmmakers intended, but I agree with the execution.  I personally would have made the film darker at points, I’ve long since made my peace with Disney and Darkness.

            Like Civil War, one worry I had was how Infinity War would handle its large cast of characters.  While the MCU has handled it well to varying degrees, even previous Avenger’s films hadn’t contained a main cast this large.  That said, the film balances its ensemble cast well; not one feels short-changed.  While some are more important to the plot than others and thus have more screen time, it didn’t bother me.  I expected this to be the case; my only question was who would be shortchanged.  Sadly, Hawkeye and Antman were nowhere to be seen.  While the latter’s sequel is probably taking place parallel to Infinity Wars, Hawkeye’s absence is odd.  He has a family, so one would assume he’d be in to take down an antagonist who threatens their existence.  Perhaps the Russo’s couldn’t figure out how to squeeze him in without seeming forced or wasteful.  Either way, hopefully he’ll be in the sequel, especially if the ending personally impacted him.  Loki was also presented well.  I feared Marvel would make his recent development pointless, but thankfully that worry was moot.  Without spoilers, Loki was handled respectfully.

            Like most of the post-Disney films, there is plenty of humor.  While this has turned off some to recent entries—as an aside Thor Ragnarok had several funny moments that could have been cut to help the drama—here it isn’t intrusive.  While Thanos does hang over the cast, the humor is derived from character interaction:  friendly bickering, planning and the occasional one-liner.  The cast’s great acting helps sell these moments; if anyone fell flat, a moment would fail.  The interactions provide plenty of drama, which is a foil to the humor and helps the main plot progress.  Of the new interactions if I had to choose a favorite it’d be Thor, Rocket and Groot.  While an odd pairing, the two had me smiling wide during their scenes, especially since Thor can understand Groot.

            How does the film treat Thanos?  While it can be said one of the MCU’s shortcomings is its villains, Thanos does not fall victim to that “curse.”  From the opening scene, the audience is made aware of just how threatening the mad Titan is.  While before he’d simply been talked up, when one can take out both Thor and the Hulk in single combat one’s high threat level is assured.  This threat level continues to rise as Thanos collects the Infinity Stones, this goal putting him into direct combat with our heroes.  While he only directly takes part in two battles, both effectively show off his strength and cunning.  While it will sadden some comic fans, Lady Death is nowhere to be seen, as is her part in Thanos’ motivation.  Despite this, the Titan’s reason to collect the Stones is logical:  he wishes to balance the universe by instantaneously cutting its population in half.  This is where the film becomes allegorical, as overpopulation is problem humanity will have to address over the next several centuries.  Thanos foresaw it would become a problem on Titan, but no one listened to him and the civilization eventually collapsed from lack of resources.  Thanos does not want this to happen on a universal scale, enter the Infinity Gauntlet.  While the plan is grandiose and mad, one can understand Thanos.  While he is killing millions of beings, the Titan believes he’s doing so for the greater good.  As Star Trek worded it, “The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”

            In addition to his plan, the audience sees another side of Thanos, brought about thru his interactions with Gamora.  While he called her his “Favorite daughter” in Guardians of the Galaxy, until now the line had no context.  Here, we see Thanos interact with grown Gamora after he acquires the Reality Stone and child Gamora via a flashback.  The Titan might be harsh and his universal plan dark, but he lives his daughter like any father would; there’s even a “boyfriend meets father” moment, which is our first insight into this side of Thanos.  While touching, this love causes internal conflict for Thanos during his search for the Soul Stone, the only Infinity Stone with no recorded history.  To acquire the stone, Thanos must sacrifice someone he loves, and he only loves his favorite daughter.  Begrudgingly Thanos sacrifices Gamora for the stone, a soul for a soul.  The Titan gains power, but internally he hurts, the act having torn his heart asunder.  While the word doesn’t describe Thanos one-hundred percent, this is the closest the Titan comes to being a sympathetic figure, one worthy of a Shakespearean tragedy.  It also makes Starlord’s actions when he discovers this information understandable, even if undermines the grand plan.

            The action scenes are shot competently.  While there were some moments of shaky-cam, the Russo’s dialed it back when compared to their Captain America films, saving it battlefield tracking shots.  The special effects are amazing, as always with the MCU; with how much each entry costs to produce they have no excuse not to be. The only personal complaint I have is that two of Thanos’ new children could have been brought to life with make-up rather than motion capture; it’s simply my preference when possible.    

            The hardest element to address without major spoilers is the ending.  It should be no surprise that Thanos ends up winning, even if one has not read the source comic (raises hand).  To that end, many of the main cast end up vanishing into dust, the scene feeding off the audience’s emotional ties to the characters.  We feel a sense of loss as they crumble, spurred on by the reactions of those around them.  While I knew it was coming, two parts of the scene still moved me deeply:  the deaths of Groot and Peter.  The former I didn’t expect to die again so quickly.  The latter arises from how the scene was blocked, acted and edited; for those who have seen the film, you know what I mean.  The film ends with a cliffhanger, fading to black before the credits.  At least one member of the audience I was with was shocked by this, as he yelled “What the fuck” as the credits began rolling.  While I smirked, it shows not everyone had the same expectations for the denouement.  Speaking of which, I know not everyone will feel the ending—I know one of my contemporaries falls into this category—but I understand why.  Marvel Studios ruined part of the impact with a handful of its announced future films.  While knowledge of the comics could have caused this same feeling, it wouldn’t be to the same degree.  Future viewings could have also tempered the impact, but I’d prefer retroactive tempering to in the moment tempering; at least retroactively one can still feel in the moment, especially when marathoning a series.
           While it hadn’t crossed my mind originally, one theory I’ve seen floating online involves Iron Man’s survival.  As his life is traded for the Time Stone, Thanos spares him.  At first glance, this appears odd, but since Dr. Strange had looked at possible outcomes with the stone and found only one where they prevailed, it’s not a stretch to presume Tony had to survive the encounter for this to occur.  This raises a question of why fight on Titan at all?  Well, the good doctor never stated they won there, only that they won overall.  After handing the stone over, he even admitted they were now in the endgame.  Filmgoers will have to wait for the next Avengers film to discover if this element was a red herring; if not, I wonder how it’ll play out.  

            Overall, Infinity Wars is a great film.  While it throws dozens of characters at the audience, none feel lost in the shuffle.  While Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2 is still my favorite entry of Phase 3, this is easily number two, as it balances its humor and drama well, even if one theme was slightly neutered (Thanks Kevin).

First Impressions | Ready Player One

While I’m not familiar with the source novel, I’ve been looking forward to Ready Player One ever since the teaser trailer dropped.  The visuals and narration intrigued me, although I kept my expectations low, to avoid disappointment.  After watching the film, I can honestly report my fears were misplaced, as Ready Player One was an entertaining film.

                Directed by Steven Spielberg, the film is set in Ohio in the year 2045.  Modern problems such as pollution and overpopulation have continued to worsen.  To cope, humans escape into the OASIS, a Virtual Reality Online Game where one can literally be anything or anyone (allowing for a cavalcade of pop culture references that’d overload Seth McFarlane’s CPU).  Many also attempt to complete Anorak’s Quest, a contest the game’s creator James Halliday (Mark Rylance) set up following his death.  Whoever completes the quest gains control of the OASIS.  Wade Watts (Tye Sheridan) is one such individual, playing under the name Parzival.  One day following an unsuccessful race, Wade manages to figure out how to pass the first trial.  He does so, becoming an OASIS celebrity overnight.  This fame comes with a price, as he becomes a target of IOI, a gaming company that wishes to control and exploit the OASIS (think a dystopian version of World of Warcraft’s subscription policy).  With the aid of his friends Art3mis (Olivia Cooke), Aech (Lena Waithe), Sho (Philip Zhao) and Daito (Win Morisaki) Wade must complete the Quest and gain control of the OASIS first, while avoiding IOI in both the real and virtual worlds.

                Being an avid video gamer and LARPer, I can’t help but love the film’s concept, as it combines the virtual nature of the former with the character creation and immersion of the latter.  Its take on the hero’s quest is also engaging.  While it begins humbly, real world stakes soon emerge.  If IOI wins, Halliday’s dream fails and the OASIS becomes a pay-to-play VRRPG.  IOI also engage in shady real-world tactics, which I will address later. 

                While not Spielberg’s best effort—I still prefer Jaws, Last Crusade and his Jurassic Park duology—the Oscar winner brings his A-game to this film.  While Spielberg has made some questionable personal choices—research the making of Poltergeist—his choice to direct this film is not one of them.  His directing choices were sensible, allowing the film’s individual pieces to blend seamlessly. 

                Having worked with Spielberg on many of his previous films, Januz Kaminski was the obvious choice for cinematographer, and he did an excellent job.  His work is beautiful, and he gave both worlds their own distinct feel.  While not muted, the real world doesn’t feel as vibrant as the OASIS, which considering its escapist purpose is the point.  While I am not an enthusiastic fan of CGI spam (Even though Motion Capture has been wearing me down somewhat) here it was rendered properly.  While the characters don’t appear as real as Ceaser or Gollum, they’re rendered the correct amount for online Avatars. 

                Alan Silvestri composed the score.  Considering the film’s pop culture spam, who better to hire than the man who composed the scores for Predator, Back to the Future and Who Framed Roger Rabbit.  While I don’t find myself humming the cues quite yet, Silvestri’s notes served their auditory storytelling purpose.  In addition to Silvestri’s score, the film makes perfect use of 70’s and 80’s music, although I personally recognized two songs; of the two, Twisted Sister’s “We’re Not Gonna Take It” was timed perfectly.

                I’m of two minds when it comes to the characters.  On one hand, I sympathized with the protagonists and hated IOI and its CEO.  On the other hand, there was not much character development, and what little exists comes from Wade and Art3mis.  Wade is an orphan who lives with his Aunt, and suffers loss once IOI figures out his real identity.  Art3mis’s backstory is tied in with IOI and their illegal activities, which gives her a personal stake in the OASIS from Act 1.  The two also fall in love.  While a predictable plot point, the two actors have a subtle chemistry, and I identify with Wade’s side of the romance.  Halliday does have some development as the characters progress through the Quest, but I classify it under backstory.  Other than that, there’s nothing.  While lack of development does not bother me if the story is engaging and entraining, it’s wrong not to note it, and based on other reviews I’m not the only one to notice.

                For the story, IOI are decent enough villains.  While the evil corporation has been done to death to the point of becoming an archetype, I’m of the opinion that archetypes themselves are not bad; it all depends on the execution.  While no Shinra or Umbrella, IOI works for the portrayed world.  This comes down to two factors:  Ben Mendelsohn’s performance and IOI’s illegal activities.  Ben is one of those actors that’s always great to see on screen, and he plays his parts with conviction.  Like Rogue One, the audience can’t help but hate his smugness, and once he gets his comeuppance in the third act, we grin. 

As for the company’s activities, they buy out an individual’s debt, forcing them to work until it’s either paid off or they die; without giving spoilers, this is where the Art3mis connection comes into play.  While bad form, this part had me slightly raising an eyebrow.  The film didn’t give any indication that any major legal changes have arisen in the United States, so IOI would be violating the 13^th Amendment; even if one’s debt is purchased, the purchaser cannot compel you to work for them.  While a head-scratcher, considering IOI’s other shady actions (espionage and murder) I don’t think they’ll let an Amendment get in their way.   It wouldn’t be the first time someone ignored thirteen. 

                While it would be fun to list off every single pop culture reference the film makes, that would drag this review out.  Instead, I’ll briefly list off a few:  Star Wars, King Kong, Godzilla, Gundam, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Back to the Future, Overwatch, Halo, Stephen King, and 80’s Slasher Flicks.  It’s a nerd’s paradise.

                While flawed when it comes to character development, Ready Player One is an entertaining film with its heart in the right place.  Definitely worth one watch, especially if one is a fan of 80’s and video game pop culture.  

DVD Review | Robocop (20th Anniversary Collector's Edition)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hJfPGGIHhk

A Rose For Emily (Plot and Plot Devices)

William Faulkner’s short story “A Rose for Emily” is an excellent example of a non-linear narrative.  Beginning with the passing of Emily, the narrator recounts events that have transpired during the course of her adult life.  Emily’s father passed away when she was around thirty-years-old, and the event caused her to have a minor mental breakdown.  She recovered and soon became interested in a man named Homer Barron, a day laborer from the North (the story is set in the post-Civil War south).  Everyone in town is soon gossiping about this courtship, with many speculating that their relationship has become physically intimate, which for a lady of Miss Emily’s station would be dishonorable.  Several of Emily’s relations soon visit, supposedly to aid her in tying Homer in matrimonial bonds.   While mostly implied by the narrator, the audience infers that Emily and Homer had a protagonist-antagonist relationship with this subject, with most of the arguing occurring behind closed doors.  This causes Homer to leave town, but he returns shortly thereafter, only to disappear again for good.  This second vanishing sends Emily into a self-imposed seclusion, with the townsfolk rarely catching sight of her.  It is only after her funeral that the shocking yet satisfying truth is revealed:  Emily had killed Homer, keeping his body in her upstairs bedroom, where Emily would occasionally lay beside him.  This reveals the extent of Emily’s internal crisis.  The breakdown she suffered following the death of her father revealed that she had trouble letting go.  Homer’s brief desertion magnified this problem, and when he returned Emily made sure he’d never leave her again.  This action is foreshadowed near the end of Part III, when the narrator recounts how Emily purchased arsenic, intimidating the druggist in the process.  When I read the story for the first time in sixth-grade I overlooked this detail but re-reading with foreknowledge of the twist ending it was easy to spot.  Based on Faulkner’s wording, it’s clear the narrator is familiar with Emily, although he never knew her personally; likely he heard the recounted stories from older relatives.  I find it interesting that he remains anonymous despite his familiarity, as none of the prose betrays a specific connection.  In that light, the narrator is the town’s personification, recounting its history in a semi-omnipotent manner.  He knows much, but like everyone else, he didn’t see the truth behind the window. 

First Impressions | Digimon Tri Reunion

As a child of the nineties, I was partially swept up in the late decade's anime boom.  While I didn’t watch Dragonball Z until the Buu Saga, I was enamoured by Pokemon, Medabots, and Mon-Coli Knights.  Of the Saturday Morning Dubs, Digimon was my favourite.  Even if my family had weekend plans, I had to watch the show if a new episode aired.  Live or taped, I tuned.    While I fell off the fan wagon following Frontier—a show lag tends to do that—my interest was raised when Digimon Tri was announced.  While catering to nostalgia, Tri promised to continue the story of the original group of DigiDestined.  If episode one is any indication, Tri is delivering on that promise.

                Picking up several years later, the audience is reintroduced to the DigiDestined on an average day:  Tai plays soccer, Matt rocks out, and Joe worries about academics.  The tranquillity is soon interrupted by the appearance of Wild Digimon.  Unlike last time, the monsters are glitching in and out of existence.  The government is aware of the problem—partially in thanks to Genai—and enlist the group's aid by the end, but something seems off.  Could they know more?  Is Genai the one holding out?

                In addition to familiar faces, we get two new ones in the form of Meiko and her partner, Meicoomon.  While only seen sporadically in the first two acts, by the third their presence becomes important, as the film’s main antagonist is after them.  Without giving away spoilers, the gang saves them and the pair become friends.  I wonder if we’ll see a new Digivolution in the next film.

                One complaint I’ve read about Reunion is that it’s paced slow.  After watching the film, I concur, but it isn’t a problem for me.  While Tri is marketed as a film series, Reunion is written and paced like an opening arc, only the focus is on re-introducing familiar character’s and updating the stories premise.  While slow, it succeeds as an opening salvo.

                One thing that has me perplexed is Adventure 02’s canon status.  I’ve read mixed reports online before and since the film’s release, and one viewing hasn’t cleared anything up.  If two is still canon, why weren’t Davis, Ken and the other’s reference by name?  Omnimon’s appearance could throw another monkey wrench into the equation, but his appearance in Revenge of Diaboromon balances things out.  If anything it makes one wonder when Gabumon reachieved Mega.  The only plot indication that any of season two happened is Kari and T.K’s D3’s. Perhaps a later episode will clear this element up.  If not, this is bad form on Toei’s part.

                The animation is beautiful.  Anime films are allocated higher budgets than network shows, and this is evident on screen.  While stylistically similar to Adventure’s previous films—although my knowledge of this mainly stems from the American hybridization—the art is updated, allowing Tri’s art design to stand alone.  Tai’s protagonist hair is reigned in as a result.

                The voice work was excellent.  Most of the original cast returned for the dub, which helped further my enjoyment.  I was smiling off and on constantly as the film played.   Joshua Seth, Tai’s actor, even came out of retirement for the project, as he enjoyed the role.  That is fandom dedication.   Kari and TK’s new voices will take several viewings to get used to, but since the latter is dubbed by Johnny Yong Bosch it’s not all bad.

                All things considered, Reunion is a decent reintroduction to the Adventure timeline.  It looks and sounds great, and while slow, the story has me drawn in.  Hopefully, I’ll be able to watch two and three sometime soon.