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I think that a lot of the animation in this was done very well, and that the effects were very convincing and not overdone. The look of the minifigs was great and you used very appropriate heads - no one really looked out of place. And whatever camera you used was super clear. I really like the approach of non-Lego buildings; it should allow for a greater scope than we usually get to see in brick-only productions.

I'd like to offer a little constructive criticism, though:

I found it hard to tell what was going on, probably because the pacing was a little rushed. I know that animating can be tedious and even though YOU may know what's going on even when the scenes are whipping by, your audience needs a little more recognition time. I know that live-action stuff (particularly high-action ones like war movies) cut back and forth a lot but we don't seem to get that near-instantaneous recognition with minifigs like we do with real people. I've been having some trouble striking a balance there myself.

I'm surprised that you took the time to make the big buildings (paper mache, right?) but not to paint them at all. I found the plain white to be very distracting and somewhat inappropriate for a war movie. You need that feeling of dirty, gritty, hellish surroundings. I can see that it makes it easier to make the break-away walls in all one colour but if you're going to put that much work into it, you might as well take it all the way. Besides, it'll make your effects look cooler. Trust me.

My last comment is on the lack of dialogue. I certainly agree that you don't need to have it but I felt that since you did have special effects noises that there really could have been some dialogue to help move the story along, particularly where it went so fast. It's really hard to express emotion silently on film and even more so in a tight time frame. Properly done, it could also add a lot to the tension and excitement.

I hope you find these comments useful, and aren't a) offended by them; or b) have your spirit crushed and don't do more movies, because I'm really looking forward to watching them. Can't wait for part two!


-j