Directed by: Matt Hullum
Written by: Burnie Burns, Chris Demarais, Josh Flanagan, Matt Hullum
Starring: Burnie Burns, Gavin Free, Michael Jones
I have been a fan of Roosterteeth for years, ever since I found their web series Red vs. Blue, somewhere between seasons 4 and 5. I enjoy a good chunk of their content, and when they announced that they would be making their own full-fledged feature film, I was, to put it mildly, extremely excited.
It's a shame, then, that Lazer Team is so mediocre. I certainly enjoyed my experience; the special screening was packed with Roosterteeth fans, and they made my time that much more fun, but I couldn't get away from the fact that the movie was disappointingly average.
*Warning: Spoilers Ahead*
The U.S. Goverment has been secretly preparing for the arrival of a suit of extraterrestrial armour, to be worn by a specially chosen champion so that he might fight an alien force coming to attack earth. When the suit is en route, it is accidentally stopped by four losers (Burns, Free, Jones and Colton Dunn), who each put on a piece of the suit, which irrevocably attach themselves, forcing the four to have to prepare as quickly as possible for the upcoming battle.
The story is original at least, and part of me loves the fact that this movie isn't a direct sequel, reboot or remake to any existing IP. There's also a lot of interesting if under-developed ideas at play here; the way the main characters learn to work together to produce new effects from the suit is a good example of this. To be honest, it manages to give just enough to be intriguing, but little enough that I would probably see a sequel just to see how they develop the team's suit abilities, because the few times that they work on this are some of the best parts of the movie.
The comedy is constant, but inconsistent. For every laugh-out-loud joke, there's one that falls flat. The tone of the comedy varies wildly, ranging from subtle to straight-up obnoxious, and the good stuff gets bogged down by the way the film explains everything through dialogue. Commentators referring to Zach as a 'six-year senior' is hilarious, pointing out his stupidity and humourously accounting for the fact that Jones in no way looks high-school age, but the effect of the joke is later dulled as he's referred to again and again as stupid; we've been told once, but the movie feels the need to tell us multiple times in case we didn't get it. It's odd, because the movie has plenty of easter eggs for Roosterteeth fans which are implemented much more effectively (read: subtle), so it's not as if they're incapable, it just seems that they're trying as much as they possibly can in their first movie in order to see what works.
There's also a certain amount of self-awareness to the film, but it has difficulty striking a balance between this and the film's more serious moments.
The effects are also surprisingly worthwhile. Roosterteeth have a style that produce some fantastic scenes, with colourful action and liberal use of slow-motion that give the movie a great look despite the low budget. I'd also like to give a special mention to the film's soundtrack, which matches the film's tone at every moment perfectly.
The Verdict: The movie isn't ground-breaking, but it is extremely energetic and by the end it is s very charming. Some of it works excellently, and some pretty terribly, but overall it's an enjoyable experience that at least outshines most of todays' reboots, sequels and blockbusters at a fraction of the price. There's a definite need to avoid taking the film seriously, because a lot of the movie's plot points are self-aware silliness. It's definitely worth the watch if you're already a fan of Roosterteeth, but others may not enjoy the experience.
Rating: 5/10
Published July 16th, 2016
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