Reviewed by Mike Belfance

"Redux" is one movie that needs absolutely no introduction (but what the hell, I'll give it one). It went from a secret project between two people to one of the most popular movies to come out of 3dmm basically overnight. It was the center of controversial debates (mostly centered around how it "tricked" people into downloading the expansion pack) it almost single handedly brought the expansion pack into mainstream movie making in the 3dmm community, and it once again upped the already high standards for animating in 3dmm. It became an instant classic and got itself a huge fan base- although a few people refused to go along with the crowd and labeled the movie "a glorified animation showcase". What these people didn't realize, is that below the layers of "wow" factor this movie wears, it actually has a lot of intelligence behind it.

So what is Redux? Well, to borrow an overused phrase, it's "fantasia in 3dmm". There are only two spoken lines of dialogue in this movie, and even those are throwaway lines that really have nothing to do with the plot (the movie could have easily done without them). Instead, the story is told via the music in the background and the images on screen- which are completely mesmerizing. In fact, I think that's the reason so many people have said that this movie has "no storyline"- it's just so easy to let the insane visuals send you into a comatose state. There's a difference between a movie with "no storyline" and a movie "with a storyline that doesn't take you by the hand and lead you through it". Redux is a musical commentary on the state of the 3dmm community as of its release. The whole movie is metaphor after metaphor, and it takes a lot of real close attention, interpreting, and repeat viewings to really take everything in- I don't even think the directors have everything figured out yet. I'll get back to the storyline later, let's get the technical stuff over with first.

Visually, this movie is incredible. I'd be hard pressed to find a single frame in this movie that wasn't well-directed and great looking. The only thing I can really think to complain about is the sky in the opening part of the movie. The default 3d word texture chosen just doesn't look right- but then again that almost works with the movie's message- "expansion pack = good". When the expansion pack started being used about half-way through the movie, it's like a slap in the face how much better it makes things look- and at that point in time, a lot of people needed a slap in the face to start realizing that the expansion pack was the way to go (including me, since I refused to use the expansion in my movies despite how much better it would have made things look, just because I feared "no one will watch them"). And obviously you have to mention the infamous "swirl" animation. Anyone who has seen it knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about. I can only imagine that even the director's jaw must have dropped to the floor when he saw how well this idea looked when animated correctly. Of course, it doesn't hold a finger to my handmade Mario in Videogame Nightmare 2, but still (J/K, my Mario sucks, PLEASE DON'T STONE ME!).

As far as audio goes, perfect scores once again. Every piece of music is expertly chosen, and goes so flawlessly with the action on screen you would think it was composed especially for Redux. The voice acting for the two lines in the movie is good I guess, but I still say the movie would have been better if it would have gone all the way and just featured no dialogue whatsoever. That way, you would have got the feeling that all of the sound had been taken out of these events so the music could just tell the story, and not just get the idea that almost every character in the movie is a mute. I dunno, it's hard to find problems in this movie without relying on heavy nitpicking.

Now comes the obligatory paragraph where I attempt to give my own interpretation of this movie's hazy storyline. There will be massive spoilers here, so if you haven't seen it, just skip to the next paragraph. Okay, so first we have comets coming down destroying a planet which represents the community itself. The comets most likely stand for boredom, or anything else that puts a damper on movie making. All of the survivors (those who didn't just give up and leave the community) retreat to the "sanctuary", which is a fairly obvious metaphor for the bulletin board. A few movie characters, such as Lock and Toad and Godzilla, are outside in the post-apocalyptic wasteland trying to escape the meteors and battling it out with the evil "bored with 3dmm demon" (in other words, all of these movies are just sitting on people's hard drives in constant risk of never being finished due to boredom with the program). Inside, the actor that's suppose to represent Goro looks around at all the people trying to ignore all of the problems in the outside world, and even tries to open up a window in order to remind everyone how the outside world is in shambles, only to have it quickly closed on him (in other words, everyone is sitting around on the bulletin board, forgetting about how the actual movie-making aspect of the community is disappearing, and anyone who tries to mention the problem is quickly shut up or ignored). Goro then happens to fall into the sanctuary's basement, where he finds a world full of an incredible new array of colors (this one's easy, he searches around the BB and finds the expansion pack). Long story short, Goro goes outside, and uses the power of the place he found in the basement to destroy the Bored with 3dmm Demon (the expansion pack PWNS boredom).

One thing most likely won't change though, whether or not you "get", agree with, or even care about all of this symbolism- this movie is just extremely entertaining! Prying your eyes away from this movie for even a fraction of a second is nearly impossible. It grabs your attention and refuses to release it, even when all you're watching are the ending credits. It has an unbelievable hold on you, and only the most jaded of viewers would disagree with that. It's one of the most re-watchable and amazing movies ever made with the program. This is the definitive example of a movie that deserves a 100%. Whether you just want to drool over the visuals, or really dig into all of the hidden meanings, there's no reason to not download "Redux"- Goro and Aaron have created a masterpiece.

100%