Robotech: Shadow Force

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source: Robotech: Shadow Force

When Robotech was first aired--I recorded (vcr was all we had in them days, remember?) all three generations even though I didn't like the 2nd generation, Dana's Story, I recorded it anyway so I could have the complete set. It was fascinating---I was in junior high. Loved the drama, the action(people and aliens being killed), and the characters were likable and interesting---the way the stories were told--the dialog-- the visuals, animation--it was just bad ass. I felt like I was there and I couldn't wait to see the next episode. Now-a-days, I watch the DVD's of the series, and the characters are like old friends. When I heard this Movie was made, I was hoping to catch up with some of the old characters---like Rick Hunter, Max Sterling, Myria, Lisa Hayes, Lynn Minmei, Rand, Rook, etc. Didn't happen. The only character you see is Rick Hunter when he mumbles a couple of sentences on a broken video transmission. Thats it. Maybe ten seconds of footage. Total rip off. Oh, and Scott Bernard w/Ariel(Marlene?). He didn't say a lot in the third generation, but he thought a lot--we could here his thoughts--not in this movie. The new characters were lame. Dull. ALL of the females had large bulbous breasts. Taking away from the characters themselves I believe. Those * were too much of a focal point I believe. When I saw all that cleavage with no pay off nudity, I felt robbed. The movie was set almost entirely in outer space which made it even more boring. Part of the allure of Robotech was the battles on earth's countryside and in urban environments. In this movie, when aliens were killed or humans for that matter, they just disintegrated and disappeared----nothing like the series: when aliens were killed they may lose limbs or pieces and turn into bleeding carcasses. Same deal with the human deaths--you may see flesh burning off skin during an explosion---much more realistic. The point: no detail in the animation.

Yes. I'm a HUGE Robotech fan. I've even started rediscovering the entire series with my two sons who are 5 and 2. You know what? It still holds up! They LOVE it!!! Combine this with Toynami's absolutely wonderful Robotech toy-line and the flame still burns in my heart... And then... I bought Shadow Chronicles... Shame on you Harmony Gold. Truly. You should be ashamed for putting out such an empty, and quite frankly boring so-called "continuation". Hey guys? You can't call it a "continuation" when ALMOST HALF OF THE MOVIE IS A REDRAW OF THE LAST EPISODE OF THE SERIES!!! Shame... When you read the marvelous novel "Robotech: The end of the circle" by Jack McKinney, you truly get a sense of closure and complete satisfaction. And then, you get Mr Yune's attempt at a cash-cow... Shame... To the fans, like me, for whom Robotech has shaped the person you are today, I offer my condolences... Until Harmony Gold literally sells the Rights to a better people, the series is lifeless. For shame... Stéphane Cantin stephane.cantin72@videotron.ca

I have been a Robotech fan from the very first moment I ever saw it back in 1985 or so after school on a rainy Tuesday. The serialized, multi-generational story of humanity fighting against several massive alien invasions of Earth was almost unprecedented in American TV animation and signaled a growing sophistication for U.S. kid's animation. Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles takes place during the Battle of Reflex Point (at the end of the 3rd chapter of Robotech called NEW GENERATION -- specifically the series finale episode titled "Symphony of Light"). This film is supposed to represent the beginning of a possible/rumored new Robotech series that may see production within a year or two. As a film that serves as an extended pilot for a new series, Shadow Chronicles succeeds well, but as a stand-alone movie that is supposed to wrap up the various dangling plot threads from the old Robotech series and the novels, it fails miserably. The film was advertised as a kind of final story that will wrap up the many, many loose ends from the original story like: a) What happened to Admiral Hunter's fleet (SDF-3)? b) What happened to the characters from SOUTHERN CROSS who supposedly went to join the REF when Zor Prime blew up the Masters' ship? c) Where did the Invid Regess go when she left Earth? d) What was Scott Bernard going to do after leaving his friends behind on Earth after the Battle of Reflex Point? None of this was really addressed. Shadow Chronicles is one of those rare projects that will only speak to the original fan base, but the producers still tried to catch new fans and get them interested in the series after the fact. That is why I feel this movie ultimately fails. It tries to be too many things for too many people. I enjoyed the animation, the writing was solid, and the action was furious and fun. Just like the original show. But Shadow Chronicles spends too much time on repetitive fights, long explanations of obvious events, and doesn't fully explore what old school Robotech fans wanted to see: A RESOLUTION TO THE ORIGINAL CLIFFHANGER! This film ends with another cliffhanger of sorts. And that will only frustrate older fans looking for closure.

Shôji Kawamori, Noboru Ishiguro, Kazutaka Miyatake and created Super Dimension Fortress Macross (1982) which was adapted to Robotech in USA. Carl Macek or anyone in Harmony Gold had nothing to do with its character design, mechanic design or storyline. All Harmony Gold did was changing soundtrack, voice actors and dialogue to fit its story to other two unrelated anime series (Super Dimension Cavalry Southern Cross, 1984 and Genesis Climber Mospeada, 1984). Absence of the original Japanese creators might be the real reason why people don't like Robotech: The Shadow Chronicles as much as the "original" Robotech series.

Despite what the other reviewer has commented about "The Shadow Chronicles", this movie was made with the fans at heart. Yes there are loose ends with missing characters like Minmei, Lisa, Max and others, but you need to realize that this is being made to reintroduce people to the legacy that is ROBOTECH. The fact that they used Rick's, Scott's, the Regent's, Vince's and many other cast members voices from the series, shows the dedication the production team spent to make it as authentic as possible. For Christ's sake, they use lines lifted from the last 3 episodes of Robotech in the movie. For any TRUE ROBOTECH FAN, they close a lot of open questions, they use Minmei's songs, and try to keep the style as close to the original style... And to top it all off the use the original designs for the ships and mecha. Please watch this movie with one thing in mind. This is a modern reworking of the series in an attempt to stay true to what Robotech represented. They do a very good job to keep as much continuity as possible without making it too confusing for those who have not seen the series or remember much of what happened at the end of the series. Don't's nit pick all the issues, enjoy it for what it is, Robotech for a new generation of fans. Below are my responses to the other reviewers comments made about the movie... "In all honesty, the Sentinels OVA was MUCH better." All Sentinels did was tie the the first and second series together. It was not as good as it could have been. Yes it had the animation and character style of the series, but you cant expect them to use such an old style in a modern rendition of the series. But seriously, Lisa's Hair? The use of the stock footage from the series? Very Bad dialog? Should I continue? "Who is to blame for this mishap? Definitely Tommy Yune. By the way, who the hell is this Korean guy? They should have gotten Carl Macek on the project. What were they thinking? I mean without Macek you can't have Robotech. He made the bloody thing." Tommy Did a great job reworking the movie. Frank Agrama was part of the movie screenplay (he helped with Sentinals too so =P ) and Macek did advise on the screenplay. LRN2Research before you make comments like this.

I just watched Robotech The Shadow Chronicles and was so entranced I almost forgot more than two decades had passed since I first watched the original series. Fan's of the TV show are well aware of its merits but I want to point out that there were some peculiar aspects of Robotech that I first found annoying but slowly grew to love. The main characters never seemed to have much common since and this was especially true where relationships were concerned. Sometimes they were so awkward I would actually feel upset and I was constantly thinking about what they should have done instead or what I would have done in there place. Sure it was the awesome giant robots and fight scenes that brought me to Robotech but it was this simple and honest approach to character development, this awkwardness that seemed so touching and personal, that sucked me into the show. I think it was unique back then and I think it's still unique today. It seems like a lot of the fans of the TV show are coming down pretty hard on Robotech The Shadow Chronicles but to me the most important thing about the movie was that the characters felt right. I think the production crew did a great job of making characters that acted like Robotech characters should. I will state for the record that I didn't read any of the books or comics and I had no idea that this movie was being made. As such I had no expectations when I saw the movie and this may be why I feel so much more positive about it than some of the other Robotech fans that have posted here. There were some things I didn't like but most of these can be attributed to budget limitations so I'm not going to complain about computer animation vs. cell art or modern anime styles vs. vintage. It sucked me in just like the series did and left me wanting more (there were many questions left unanswered in classic Robotech style.) I hope they will be able to continue making more movies and continue the story in the future.

I took my boys to see this movie at the Hawaii Internaitonal Film Festival. My kids are expert critics because they watch me make movies all the time! We all agreed that the story was kind of weak, there was no real character development, the jokes weren't funny, most of the voice acting was flat, but the animation was excellent and the action was well edited. The music was a melange of sci-fi standards - hints of Battlestar, Star Wars and Star Trek were expertly woven together. Not original, but fitting and moving. We had a good time, but none of them are craving more - they are headed back to Vandread.

In spite of what heishiro said, Carl Macek did create the story concept of Robotech. He didn't create the story of the used animation, but he did create the basis ideas of Robotech by creating a different plot which tied the animation of 3 different series. It can be saw in the credits of the Shadow Chronicles movie itself here on IMDb, where Carl Macek is credited for the story of the television series even when he didn't work in Shadow Chronicles. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0443771 The ideas of Robotechnology, a technology shared by several alien races which works with an alien power source, the concept of the Robotech Expeditionary Force, the Robotech Masters as the creators of Robotechnology, the war between them and the Invids, the Disciples of Zor, Zor as the creator of the energy source which powers Robotechnology, etc. are all ideas which did not exist in Super Dimensional Fortress Macross, Southern Cross and Mospeada and which came from Macek's mind. So basically, the plot which ties the story of the 3 different animations together came from Carl Macek, and that's what's the Robotech story about, and that's the story Shadow Chronicles barely follows like gogishah and Stonecutter887 said. BTW, Robotech deserves much more better than the guys Harmony Gold put in charge for the new Robotech movie, a comic book artist, a convention arranger and a webmaster who as stated in other comment, never worked in the original series not even in another animated production.