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Red Vs Blue: Season 6 Reconstruction
New Video // Unrated // July 27, 2010
List Price: $19.95 [Buy now and save at Amazon]
Review:
"Red Vs. Blue" is an internet series that is filmed using the "Halo" video games (and as the sequels of the original game have improved graphically, so has "Red Vs. Blue".) While the series has improved technically over the seasons, the writing was outstanding from the outset and has improved further in the years since, as the series has added richer plots and surprisingly effective moments of drama.
Of course, there's also the occasional action sequence, although the humor of much of the series (especially the original run of 100 episodes) is that two separate groups supposed to be fighting each other rarely fight and when they do, they do so quite unsuccessfully. The voice acting is also top-notch, giving the characters personalities strong enough to more than overcome the fact that the characters lack expressions.
For those unfamiliar with the series, it consists of two main teams - Red and Blue. Red features "Patton"-ish Sarge, lazy Grif and Sarge's insecure "yes man", Simmons. The Blue team consists of irritable Church, lovably stupid Caboose and womanizer Tucker. Most of the action throughout the original series took place in the "Halo" multiplayer maps "Blood Gulch" (a long, boxed in canyon) and "Coagulation" (update of "Gulch"), although other maps throughout the series have also been used to create the world of the show.
The 6th season starts where "Recovery One" left off. The series opens with agents combing the landscape of Valhalla looking for something. They find a survivor who talks about an "infection" after a ship crash that made most of those nearby go insane. The survivor talks of an attack by an unknown, which leads to the return of Agent Washington, who is told to seek out a group of soldiers who can help him find the being, known as the Meta.
Thus begins a round-up of the now-familiar characters, who have become scattered and who - in some cases - are not particularly well-liked by those who they've surrounded themselves with (Caboose's new fellow soldiers can't give him away fast enough, while Simmons and Tucker are in serious trouble with their new friends when Sarge finds them.) As the season progresses, the characters find themselves deeper in danger as they try to catch the mysterious Meta, who has a number of powers to his advantage, like ... the strength to toss cars at the Reds.
The season shows an astonishing progression for the series, which in the initial run was a delightfully sharp comedy - a sci-fi "Office Space" with sharply drawn personalities, screamingly funny moments, clever plots and exceptional comedic timing for a series about a bunch of video game characters without any visible facial expressions. What elevates "Red Vs. Blue" to another level is the density of the humor and the success rate - the series packs clever riffs tighter than commuters on a rush hour subway, and rarely misses when it swings for fences. I've laughed harder at moments of "Red Vs. Blue" over the years than any Hollywood comedy in ages.
However, "Reconstruction"'s ability to blend the show's signature brand of humor with action riffs, dramatic moments and plot actually enhances the humor - the series punctuates the serious moments with classic riffs from Caboose and others.
Overall, this is another top-notch season from Rooster Teeth - "Red Vs. Blue" is a classic, and I can only hope it doesn't come to an end anytime soon.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Red Vs. Blue" is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Presented using the "Halo 3" video game, the series looks quite nice, with sharp details and a clean, smooth look. Colors appear bright and well-saturated, while no edge enhancement or other issues are seen.
SOUND: Clear, well-recorded stereo.
EXTRAS: The entire season offers audio commentary from the cast and crew of the series. The track is hysterical, with the group goofing on production issues, chatting about behind-the-scenes stories, working with the visuals and voice work.
Some terrific outtakes are offered, as well as a discussion of visual effects work, "Inside the RVB Actor's Studio", the trailer, deleted scenes (including an alternate ending and a very funny rave gag that not only should have made the series, but is an example of the kind of delightful random humor the series excels at), the "Recovery One" miniseries, the PSAs from the time period (including the very amusing "First!"), an "RVB" animated short movie and a trailer of the best of the original "RVB" run.
Final Thoughts: Overall, this is another top-notch season from production company Rooster Teeth. "Red Vs. Blue" is a classic, and I can only hope it doesn't come to an end anytime soon.
"Red Vs. Blue" is an internet series that is filmed using the "Halo" video games (and as the sequels of the original game have improved graphically, so has "Red Vs. Blue".) While the series has improved technically over the seasons, the writing was outstanding from the outset and has improved further in the years since, as the series has added richer plots and surprisingly effective moments of drama.
Of course, there's also the occasional action sequence, although the humor of much of the series (especially the original run of 100 episodes) is that two separate groups supposed to be fighting each other rarely fight and when they do, they do so quite unsuccessfully. The voice acting is also top-notch, giving the characters personalities strong enough to more than overcome the fact that the characters lack expressions.
For those unfamiliar with the series, it consists of two main teams - Red and Blue. Red features "Patton"-ish Sarge, lazy Grif and Sarge's insecure "yes man", Simmons. The Blue team consists of irritable Church, lovably stupid Caboose and womanizer Tucker. Most of the action throughout the original series took place in the "Halo" multiplayer maps "Blood Gulch" (a long, boxed in canyon) and "Coagulation" (update of "Gulch"), although other maps throughout the series have also been used to create the world of the show.
The 6th season starts where "Recovery One" left off. The series opens with agents combing the landscape of Valhalla looking for something. They find a survivor who talks about an "infection" after a ship crash that made most of those nearby go insane. The survivor talks of an attack by an unknown, which leads to the return of Agent Washington, who is told to seek out a group of soldiers who can help him find the being, known as the Meta.
Thus begins a round-up of the now-familiar characters, who have become scattered and who - in some cases - are not particularly well-liked by those who they've surrounded themselves with (Caboose's new fellow soldiers can't give him away fast enough, while Simmons and Tucker are in serious trouble with their new friends when Sarge finds them.) As the season progresses, the characters find themselves deeper in danger as they try to catch the mysterious Meta, who has a number of powers to his advantage, like ... the strength to toss cars at the Reds.
The season shows an astonishing progression for the series, which in the initial run was a delightfully sharp comedy - a sci-fi "Office Space" with sharply drawn personalities, screamingly funny moments, clever plots and exceptional comedic timing for a series about a bunch of video game characters without any visible facial expressions. What elevates "Red Vs. Blue" to another level is the density of the humor and the success rate - the series packs clever riffs tighter than commuters on a rush hour subway, and rarely misses when it swings for fences. I've laughed harder at moments of "Red Vs. Blue" over the years than any Hollywood comedy in ages.
However, "Reconstruction"'s ability to blend the show's signature brand of humor with action riffs, dramatic moments and plot actually enhances the humor - the series punctuates the serious moments with classic riffs from Caboose and others.
Overall, this is another top-notch season from Rooster Teeth - "Red Vs. Blue" is a classic, and I can only hope it doesn't come to an end anytime soon.
The DVD
VIDEO: "Red Vs. Blue" is presented in 1.78:1 anamorphic widescreen. Presented using the "Halo 3" video game, the series looks quite nice, with sharp details and a clean, smooth look. Colors appear bright and well-saturated, while no edge enhancement or other issues are seen.
SOUND: Clear, well-recorded stereo.
EXTRAS: The entire season offers audio commentary from the cast and crew of the series. The track is hysterical, with the group goofing on production issues, chatting about behind-the-scenes stories, working with the visuals and voice work.
Some terrific outtakes are offered, as well as a discussion of visual effects work, "Inside the RVB Actor's Studio", the trailer, deleted scenes (including an alternate ending and a very funny rave gag that not only should have made the series, but is an example of the kind of delightful random humor the series excels at), the "Recovery One" miniseries, the PSAs from the time period (including the very amusing "First!"), an "RVB" animated short movie and a trailer of the best of the original "RVB" run.
Final Thoughts: Overall, this is another top-notch season from production company Rooster Teeth. "Red Vs. Blue" is a classic, and I can only hope it doesn't come to an end anytime soon.
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