Robotech - The Shadow Chronicles Movie
Created for the 20th anniversary of the popularRobotechcontinuity,The Shadow Chronicles Moviepicks up where 85-episode series ended. In 2044 A.D., humanity is at war with the alien Invid, who occupy most of the Earth. The Invid ruler takes her people to "a higher plane" to escape the Children of the Shadows, aliens dedicated to the destruction of any race that possesses Protoculture. (Illogically, they fear the power of Protoculture, but they can destroy its users.) New characters and ones from the original series battle the Children of Shadows until a cliffhanger ending that makes it clear a sequel must be in production.Although it helped to create the audience for anime in America, the originalRobotechwas an anomaly: a Japanese show that never aired in Japan. Producers at Harmony Gold edited together the unrelated seriesSuper Dimension Fortress: Macross,Genesis Climber Mospeada, andSuper-dimensional Cavalry Southern Cross.The Shadow Chronicles Movieis also an anomaly: an "anime" feature made primarily in the U.S. and Korea. Although they've added lots of flashy CG effects to the space battles, the film lacks the qualities that made the series a hit. LikeStar Wars,Robotechused an interstellar conflict as a backdrop for a tale about friendship, romance, and heroism. The filmmakers spend the first half-hour ofShadow Chroniclesfilling in background material for new viewers; the rest is so packed with exposition and action, there's no time to get to know the characters--or care about them. The movie will appeal primarily to fans of the series and its manifestations in games, toys, novels, etc. (Rated TV PG, suitable for ages 12 and older: violence, alcohol use)--Charles Solomon