The iconic mecha anime series’ upcoming live-action adaptation has just landed in Philippine cinemas for its advanced screening. ‘Voltes V: Legacy: The Cinematic Experience” wowed viewers, including celebrity critic and pop culture geek, Michael V., for its production values.
On April 19-25, Michael V., along with other Filipino personalities like Andrea Torres and Dingdong Dantes, volted in for the advanced screenplay of the sci-fi anime remake. Shortly after the preview, the comedy genius posted his spoiler-free critique of Voltes V: Legacy on Facebook on April 22. In the first part of his honest review, he mentioned that readers should put in mind that there’s a difference between ‘cinema’ and ‘television’.
But, before giving away the full details of Bitoy’s unbiased opinion, let us have a glimpse of the one and only Michael V’s credibility as an avid toy collector, anime enthusiast, and product reviewer. Not all people know that the comedy legend, aside from bringing in his witty cracks on the screen, is a toy and anime figure junkie. Currently, Bitoy has a huge collection of toys, and this includes his newest babies: a rare set of Voltes V ‘Volt Cruiser’ toy figurines.
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The ‘Bubble Gang’ star is an avid supporter of the famous ’70s animated series, so his opinions regarding its local live-action adaptation are definitely credible and trustworthy. Last week, he attended the advance screening, and he was left in awe by the overall cinematography of the remake of his favorite childhood anime.
In his Facebook post, he explained that the ‘Voltes V: Legacy’ has 3 sets of audiences: The Fans, the Purists, and The Casual Viewers (Of course, trolls and bashers aren’t included in the categories). After watching, he admitted that he belongs to these three types of viewers.
“The Casual Viewers will like it. The Purists will find details to hate about it. But the Fans will absolutely love it.
During the course of the whole “cinematic experience”, I was all three. As a casual viewer, I liked it! I like the story, the actors and the production. As a purist, there are some technical aspects and characterization na feeling ko, could be better. But as a fan, I loved it and appreciated it. Sa simula pa lang naluha na ‘ko! Hindi ako makapaniwala na during my lifetime, ‘yung kinababaliwan kong robot nu’ng grade school pa ako e pinapanood ko ang live action version sa big screen and surround sound, no less! As a fan, I felt so blessed,” he explained.
Michael V went on in reviewing the different parts of the pre-show, starting from the story up to his verdict. Here are the full details:
THE STORY
1. The plot and the story is basically the same as the cartoon but it’s presented in a linear manner and I get why they did it. This way, mas madaling masusundan ng audience ang kuwento.
2. Some scenes were stretched to accommodate the “soap opera” aspect of the show.
3. Natuwa ako that Direk Mark Reyes gave an assignment to each Voltes pilot. Mas nagkaroon sila ng specific purpose.
4. Key plot points could have been kept a secret for casual viewers to enjoy in my opinion.
5. There’s a post credit scene so ‘wag muna kayo umalis. 😉
THE VFX
1. Looks-wise, Bozania did have the feel of an alien place especially on the big screen.
2. Astig din ‘yung alien invasion dito sa earth. Probably the best you’ll see from a Pinoy production so far.
3. Camp Big Falcon is also impressive and captured the vibe of the original command center.
4. The VFX is a bit underwhelming for the big screen but will be mind-blowing on TV since ito naman talaga ang intended medium n’ya. Riot Inc. Post Production did an AMAZING job on the robots especially Voltes V. S’ya naman talaga kasi ‘yung inaantay ko and seeing Voltes in this form for the first time made me cry! As in magkahawak kami ng kamay ni misis tapos umiyak talaga kaming dalawa during the volt-in sequence!
5. Pixel peepers will notice a slightly degraded render and low frame rate sa first beast fighter encounter but SIGNIFICANTLY improves on the second one. As in kitang-kita mo ‘yung difference! Napaka-EPIC nu’ng fight ni Voltes and Baizanga! Napamura at napanganga ako sa ganda! So isipin n’yo ‘to ha… ang laki na ng improvement from the first to the second… e pa’no pa kaya ‘yung mga susunod? I think it‘s going to get progressively better! I can’t wait to see all the mecha battles in the show! And I want those toys!!!
PERFORMANCE
1. The Voltes Team and Dr. Smith are straight out of the cartoon. Visually, the cast is perfect.
2. Pero performance-wise, si Ned Armstrong (Dennis Trillo), Oscar Robinson (Gabby Eigenmann) & Draco (Carlo Gonzales) stood out as the best for me. ‘Yung acting nila is SPOT ON and very believable. They owned the characters so to speak and seem to have really done their homework. Having watched the cartoon, I know that there will be highlights in their respective stories and I can’t wait to see their performance.
MUSIC
1. The musical score was rearranged and modernized. Casual viewers won’t know the difference and will be very impressed. It’s not bad but for me, it pales in comparison with the orchestral rendition of the original. My two cents: Sana ‘yung original score na lang ‘yung gamitin tutal licensed naman. But that’s just me.
2. The theme song is already very good but could use a little tweak. Magaling si Julie, hands down. She’s one of the best performers sa industry and is really the perfect choice to sing the theme song since ka-timbre ng boses n’ya si Horie Mitsuko (she’s also an actress and a voice actress to boot). But Julie’s rendition lacks the rebellious angst that the song wanted to impart. I would’ve wanted her to sing it na parang “naghahamon ng away” with the alien invaders. The addition of backup vocals could easily fix it and give it the impact it needed as well as highlight Julie’s performance in some parts.
THE VERDICT
All in all, I’m VERY satisfied.
Out of all the reviewers, konti lang ang kagaya ko na makaka-identify sa audience, critics at sa production. I have a long history with the show as well as the network and the people behind it. This is not an easy project to pull off but for the effort alone as well as the outcome, this is a total WIN for the fans.
I hope they do another one in the future because I’m pretty sure that the next project will be considerably better.
Iisa naman talaga ang objective ng fans at ng producers ng #V5Legacy and it’s to come up with the best product as much as humanly possible.
I personally want to thank GMA Network for green lighting this project. Anyone who’s been a part of this endeavor should be proud of the outcome. Siguro kung sinadyang gawin ‘yung Voltes V para sa cinema, the production will blow everyone’s mind!
Keep in mind na iba ‘yung sine at iba ‘yung TV. The “Cinematic Experience” is a 7/10 for me but I’m sure the TV series will dominate for its exceptional breakthrough. First time sa history tayo makaka-experience ng ganito!
In his last statement, Bitoy concluded that Voltes V: Legacy is going to be big, and people should mark his words.
Produced by GMA Entertainment Group, Voltes V: Legacy is a live adaptation of the Japanese classic animated series, Chōdenji Machine Voltes V.
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