Spoilers.
Pretty slick looking computer game video, with a small swipe at military cliched jargon, and the nod to some distaste with a 'join up citizen' society. But the subtext is submerged in the ceaseless battlefield action. Interesting CGI series, that departs from the confused treatment in the film. This cartoon is just battle after battle, in the dreary dusk - so the CGI stands out, perhaps.
It's startling, in fact, not only to see the background detail and general animation, which is as good as any film or top computer game, and almost the equal of the movie (and even better for some effects), but also to see some short close-ups on the soldiers in helmet and suit, turn around, motion forward, walk around, etc. It looks like people. The body movements are that convincing. It looks that real - save for the wax mannequin faces. Sure, when they stop and start, when they try to run (particularly run) or climb, or do some other things, the bodies look again rather artificial - awkward and computer generated. But maybe they're working on it. They're pretty close to computer animated 'actors' - in this series. Again, it's startling.
As for the plot, it's a battle, one after another. It is a computer game, no question. It's just not interactive. You're watching someone else play. And you wish you could buy a computer game of this rendering ability, with canned voice segments, with alternate plots - for those who aren't completely sprouting on the couch and want all the 'editorial decisions' made by someone else.
As for the fights, it's the same problem I have with the film - and so ultimately with Heinlein, I would think. It's not even so much that the bugs somehow threaten earth, in any way. That's preposterous enough. But the firepower, and tactics, used against the bugs is geared to making them a threat. As intimidating as the monstrous 'tanker' beetles may be, a bigger ray gun would do the job. But they have sophisticated space travel, and no ray guns. As frightening as the fast moving steel-bodied warrior arachnids may be, again, a more powerful gun would finish them in one shot. And the very idea of not first spraying for bugs, as it were, of placing the surprizingly small and under equipped fire teams against swarms of gigantic, fierce overgrown bugs of all varieties is not reasonable. You make that tactical error once, not constantly day after day, and month after month. The only possible argument is that troops are worn 'thin'. But then you concentrate ammo and equipment where needed, not everywhere at once - and so on. Frankly, if it were not set up so, if the obvious approach were taken, there wouldn't be the battles because the evil bugs would have been destroyed easily by futuristic radiation bombing, or some such. In order to 'get in the game', the troopers have to be handicapped, just so long as it's not purely hand to hand.
Still, interesting half hour battledome show. It probably is more interesting for me to see the occasional success of the near lifelike body motions of the CGI actors. If they do ever get that wax figure look off the expressions of those CGI actors, they may be onto something.
Pretty slick looking computer game video, with a small swipe at military cliched jargon, and the nod to some distaste with a 'join up citizen' society. But the subtext is submerged in the ceaseless battlefield action. Interesting CGI series, that departs from the confused treatment in the film. This cartoon is just battle after battle, in the dreary dusk - so the CGI stands out, perhaps.
It's startling, in fact, not only to see the background detail and general animation, which is as good as any film or top computer game, and almost the equal of the movie (and even better for some effects), but also to see some short close-ups on the soldiers in helmet and suit, turn around, motion forward, walk around, etc. It looks like people. The body movements are that convincing. It looks that real - save for the wax mannequin faces. Sure, when they stop and start, when they try to run (particularly run) or climb, or do some other things, the bodies look again rather artificial - awkward and computer generated. But maybe they're working on it. They're pretty close to computer animated 'actors' - in this series. Again, it's startling.
As for the plot, it's a battle, one after another. It is a computer game, no question. It's just not interactive. You're watching someone else play. And you wish you could buy a computer game of this rendering ability, with canned voice segments, with alternate plots - for those who aren't completely sprouting on the couch and want all the 'editorial decisions' made by someone else.
As for the fights, it's the same problem I have with the film - and so ultimately with Heinlein, I would think. It's not even so much that the bugs somehow threaten earth, in any way. That's preposterous enough. But the firepower, and tactics, used against the bugs is geared to making them a threat. As intimidating as the monstrous 'tanker' beetles may be, a bigger ray gun would do the job. But they have sophisticated space travel, and no ray guns. As frightening as the fast moving steel-bodied warrior arachnids may be, again, a more powerful gun would finish them in one shot. And the very idea of not first spraying for bugs, as it were, of placing the surprizingly small and under equipped fire teams against swarms of gigantic, fierce overgrown bugs of all varieties is not reasonable. You make that tactical error once, not constantly day after day, and month after month. The only possible argument is that troops are worn 'thin'. But then you concentrate ammo and equipment where needed, not everywhere at once - and so on. Frankly, if it were not set up so, if the obvious approach were taken, there wouldn't be the battles because the evil bugs would have been destroyed easily by futuristic radiation bombing, or some such. In order to 'get in the game', the troopers have to be handicapped, just so long as it's not purely hand to hand.
Still, interesting half hour battledome show. It probably is more interesting for me to see the occasional success of the near lifelike body motions of the CGI actors. If they do ever get that wax figure look off the expressions of those CGI actors, they may be onto something.