Mass Effect: Paragon Lost

Flawed but enjoyable
There are going to be one line reviews on either end of the fence for this animated movie, none of which are particularly constructive, so I'll post some of my thoughts after having spent $20 on the Blu-Ray/DVD combo and watching the movie twice.

Bottom line, the movie is enjoyable. I don't regret the money I spent, and what it sets out to do, it does well: give James Vega (a character that didn't get enough screentime in Mass Effect 3) compelling development and a fleshed out backstory. Hints of James Vega's past excursions and adventures on Fehl Prime were mentioned in Mass Effect 3 but largely glossed over because hey, Reapers. There were hints at a larger story but there was never a payoff, and that's where Paragon Lost comes in. The subtitle foreshadows the movie's inevitable conclusion very well, and I won't spoil it here, but I honestly really liked the final moments of the movie highlighting Vega's inner conflict and turmoil. For a character that was relegated as...

Review of the Movie, not of the disc
I have only seen the movie itself at a premier event at Anime Weekend Atlanta. It was very enjoyable and seemed to keep both the humor and the seriousness of the games intact. I have only seen the English audio version, which was actually not painful to watch for a change. Voice acting was the quality I would like to see in more animation titles.

If you're a huge ME fan and have played at least 1 and 2, then this is a perfect transition into 3. I personally wouldn't mind seeing a series made from this (start after the movie, not remake it).

As I haven't had seen any of the special features, I can't comment on those.

Mass Effect Paragon Lost - Rent before Buying
Mass Effect: Paragon Lost takes place between Mass Effect 2 and Mass Effect 3 in the video game saga. It follows the early career of Alliance Marine James Vega, an NPC in Mass Effect 3, providing some background to his character in the game.

I found the overall quality of the anime to be very poor; substandard - from character design and plot, to the scripting and the voice-over acting. It felt more like watching a bad Saturday morning cartoon animated by high school students, than a top-notch production the Japanese and BioWare are notorious for producing. I lost interest about 5 minutes into the story, however I forced myself to watch it entirely; determined to get my money's worth. I highly recommend that people rent this movie first before purchasing it.

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