TheReviewTrickster's movie Reviews on Newgrounds

[Madness Combat 5: Depredation REMAKE | MD21]

A very cool and well-executed concept for an alternate Madness timeline. Mixes the refined nature of modern madness with its weight and kills with the iconic scenes of Depredation. I feel like the intro part with "the victims" and "the protagonist", while cool, isn't quite up to par with the iconic original, simply doesn't pack as much of a punch and the beginning was kinda weirdly animated, but I guess that's cause you didn't have time.

The kills were simply stellar, felt like a mix between Depredation-era fast, crazy fights and the knife-throwing, environment manipulating choreography of the earlier and later installments. I enjoyed the several melee clashes. The one with Jebus was especially exciting, as it lasted longer than the original and kept the suspense up the entire time with each side having to use their own fighting style and exploit their opponent's weaknesses. Tricky was a little less chaotic than the original for similar reasons to the intro being less exciting, just not enough over-the-top. However, that was okay, as he was still sold as really powerful, winning in the end. Hank was just able to make it out with help that didn't allow Tricky to get close.

This further developed Sanford, Deimos and 2bdamned as useful characters and connected them to Hank, whereas in the original series it's not very clear who they were and what they were doing. They just got dropped into the story, which is fine, as it was a story that evolved as time went on. I really appreciate you using these existing characters and finding a way to involve them in your version of the timeline instead of just copying depredation 1:1. You even included the Auditor and gave him an awesome theme. The updated and expanded sprites, weapons and scenery were gorgeous, and I love getting to see the city as a setting, as I don't recall ever seeing Hank put into one. The music remixes and sounds, fit the mood well and complemented the action. So great job to the people who made all these things and good job to you for picking them out.
Keep it up, I'd love to see more from you!

[Higher Order]

This is a great example of visual storytelling. The style fits perfectly, it's smooth and the designs are memorable, but what sticks out the most is the way you developed this story. The journey starts very slowly with a subdued, blue-white color scheme and as it slowly "dawns" on us what might be going on, the brightness increases and red gets introduced. The beginning could also be compared to the "dawn" of the man's life, though the end isn't a sunset. The combination of static (walking and flying loops) and dynamic (the creature's exquisite body movements and face turns, as well as that gorgeous ending reveal) elements in the animation keeps the tension and accentuates the development of the story very well. The music does complement it fairly well, but after a while the repeated violin motif started grating on my nerves, at least the first time watching.
I'm glad I saw this today, it has exactly the kind of striking contemplative imagery I enjoy.

HeRetiK responds:

Thanks for leaving such a thoughtful, in-depth review, much appreciated!

[what is behind captain’s helmet not clickbait]

The animation is alright but I feel like even just captions would have been a better choice than this audio, as it's really weird and hard to understand. I found the punchline funny, though, because my sense of humor is demented. Keep it up!

[Madness Freedom]

An entertaining but fairly standard collab, both in terms of animation and story.

The first scene was very cool, great in terms of weight and melee kills and the blood felt very visceral. I also enjoyed the use of blood spatter to distract the dude using a meat shield and kill him. The next two rooms were mostly just shooting incompetent agents one by one and were a bit stiff, though well animated. You could experiment with more melee kills or dodging/fighting manoeuvres, just like when the MC shot a knife into an agent's head. The third scene was faster and fun for its short length, it had shooting rampage moments and a weighty punch to keep the balance. The fourth scene had the right idea with different types of fighting and the main character getting hit. The downside is it was a bit slow animation-wise. I think you just need to keep practicing your animation and you'll do great. Next one was fun, not much weight to it but the shooting was energetic and I liked that dude getting his hand ripped off. Eliter's bit wasn't the style of madness I personally like with all the flying around, but it was well animated and I enjoyed the blood spray, very satisfying.

Overall, it could have been more original and had more variety, but I hope it was good practice for some of you and it is fun if you just sit back and enjoy the action. Of course, as you all started working on this a while ago, it's fully possible your styles and skills have changed since and in that case you can feel free to disregard my feedback as oobsolete.

[the tiny dest vaporeon]

The art is pretty bare-bones as it is that kind of animatic but the writing is pretty good and I thought it was funny. You do the barrage of jokes well, and the robotic voice might actually add to it slightly. Keep it up!

[BLIND TEST]

Simple but effective, the sound design complements the quick change once the man starts growing eyes. Not too much to it other than that, but it's a fun and well-animated bit of absurdity.

[The Ultimate Showdown Collab]

A truly high quality reanimated collab, and one made with purpose. A remake needs to tick at least one of the following boes off to be worthwhile, and you ticked them all off: serves as a technical update of the original - done, in a very aesthetically pleasing way; serves as a thematic update of the original, adding things related to the theme that have come about since the original's release - added a bunch of new characters; takes a different approach to the original's subject matter - you took a much more action- and animation-oriented approach while keeping the comedy intact and adding new jokes, and it worked out splendidly.

Every single part was polished and, even if the styles of some parts weren't my thing (though I found most pretty great) it's undeniable they were well done. This is proper quality control for a collab and is what allowed it to feel like a continuous thrill ride without annoying stops, even when more experimental or out there parts came on. The visual gags were also top notch, like the tankman repeatedly beating up YouTube and Billie Eilish during the bad guys part pouring milk on a dude. When I saw the Mighty Monarch, I felt vindicated as a Venture Bros. fan and I imagine many others felt the same way when their favourite characters were included, especially newer ones, but also old ones that weren't in the original, which was definitely a reflection of the early 2000's internet's consciousness. This way, we now have our own Ultimate Showdown as a reflection of our collective consciousness which also pays homage to the age that spawned the original.

Some people might not enjoy the long credits but I was happy to see the wonderful artists credited and see their parts again. Whoever doesn't like them can always skip them. With that, I say: congratulations, you should all be proud of yourselves!

[WIP Trick or Treat]

As a WIP, this doesn't meet my standards for the Movie Portal as it's incomplete, but I'm intrigued by what it's going to become what it's finished.

[The Ritual]

The designs are very interesting, though the plot is a little unclear (I guess they pray at the impaled bodies of the king's emissaries? But I'm not sure what the king actually wanted to know about the newborns). The voice acting could be better, but not everyone has great equipment and it works fine for this kind of work. I'd love to see you expand more on this concept, really, since that's what's missing. Some more development to flesh out the world and its dynamics.

[Kampfyre {Animated}]

Locke's face looks a little weird, as I can't tell what kind of expression he's supposed to be making with his mouth. Otherwise, it's pretty charming but I don't think it's fit for the Movie Portal as it's a very short loop without sound. In my opinion, it could just as well be a GIF in the Art Portal. Keep practising, though, and if you make something longer I'll gladly watch it.

assassin1337 responds:

It's the shade of his mouth, I imagine he has a "froggy" expression! I may repost it to the Art Portal if it doesn't get accepted to the Movie Portal