Well, I hope you're happy, Capcom. Thank you for reminding me that I've been an on-again, off-again Megaman fan throughout my entire life. And now, it seems I'm on the Megaman fan scene again.
Case in point? I got the ROM for Megaman Zero 4. Prognosis:
IT'S HAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARD!!!!!!!
I see you ended that series on a grueling note, Capcom. Perhaps I was wrong to start on the normal mode?
Oh, also, since I had time, I watched the Megaman fan movie on gametrailers earlier today.
Overall prognosis: Good, but not great.
Good stuff: It's not too long. It's pretty faithful to the original games. I like how the film portrayed Light, Wily, and Blues. It gives a pretty good idea of what went through the minds of the characters during the timeline of the first game. It can also be very emotional, too. Also, the music kicked ass.
Bad stuff: The acting, while not bad, is not better than your typical made-for-tv movie. While the special effects are good for an indie film, some FX look terrible. The action scenes aren't superbly shot nor choreographed. There are also some Missed Moments of Awesome; example, there's mention of Sniper Joes, but we never see them. Will that be in a Director's Cut, I'm guessing?
But what impressed me the most was the passion. According to the behind the scenes details I found, the film was made on a tiny budget of 4,000 dollars. For 4k, it turned out better than I imagined. Wily, Elec Man, and Fire Man were delightfully hammy. Megaman had a little bit of his successor X in him; he didn't want to fight, but he would use force if necessary, which feels in-character. This is perhaps the most faithful game-to-movie I've ever seen outside of a film made by the original developers. If this were made by Hollywood, I imagine the action scenes would be a lot more exciting, but "changes" to the script and characters would weaken the plot. It's the opposite of a Michael Bay feature; the action scenes aren't spectacular, (Well okay, Ice Man's entrance was cool) but the heart of the source material was maintained. And did I mention the soundtrack rocks? Because it does.
Really, I think the problem with the Megaman movie is, well, it's based off the original series. Megaman Classic is, in both tone and aesthetic, a retro 80s cartoon for kids. Sure, there's the ethics of robotics, the tension between Light and Wily, Rock and Roll's observations of what it means to be a machine in a mostly-human world, but it's not; deep. Now, if one were to make a film based off Megaman X, it would be more serious. If one made a film based off Megaman Legends, it would be more exciting. If one made a film based off Megaman Zero, the results would be epic. But as it is, it's better than those shlockfests airing on SyFy right now.
It's cool that Capcom ok'd the production of the movie. They can't sponsor it, since it's not canon, but they didn't order a Cease and Desist either; I'm glad. They have the same attitude towards Bob and George. God forbid if they really did endorse that.
[Capcom Rep] Ladies and Gentlemen, Dave Anez was right; Needle Man is a pothead!
And no, I'm totally not saying this because of my own fan productions. I have my own original works too, ya know!
