Mass Effect, and Almost All Lost

If you've been around gaming at all, you're likely to have heard about the trilogy Mass Effect. It's a science fiction epic that pits the legendary soldier, Commander Jack Shepard versus some of the most dangerous foes in the universe. However, this review is not surrounding the game, but the movie.

The movie, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, takes place some time between the second and third games. I'm not entirely sure, because I've played little of the game. I just stumbled upon this movie, and decided to give it a try, and I wasn't disappointed.

This isn't the story of Commander Shepard, and his heroic deeds of great success. This is the story of a lesser known soldier named Lieutenant James Vega. Although Vega holds Shepard in high regard, the two could not be any less alike. Shepard was a calculating commander, who took pride in escaping with his people, and getting the mission done. Vega appears a bit more vain and self-deprecating, and more often than not, his emotions dictate his actions.

The Mass Effect universe is a wonderful world of fantastic alien species. It's the story of humans trying to break out into the great blackness in the hopes of defining themselves as a super power among the stars, only to find the stars are a fairly crowded place, and the pecking order has been well defined for eons, leaving humans in a desperate attempt to scrape their way to the top.

The story takes place, as Lieutenant Vega and his team have been asked to defend a colony in the far reaches of space from an invading force. They discover it's an insectoid race that has been destroying colonies for longer than any human could know. It all comes down to one final decision that Vega is unprepared to make.

This is a mature movie, that includes a great deal of violence and blood. Lives are lost in droves. There's a healthy dose of bad language, and there's no happy ending. It's the kind of complicated story line and character development that children wouldn't be able to grasp. These are flawed heroes, doing the wrong things to win, and winning isn't the same to everyone.

As I said, I'm not very well versed in the games, so I wasn't all that knowledgeable about the universe and what to expect. However, I never felt blind-sided, or out of the loop. I just got the impression that there are tons of alien races in the universe, and most are advanced. They also seemed so strangely different, which was a bonus for me. If there's more details in the games about this, I never got that impression from the movie.

This doesn't rank above any of the best animated films created, but it was still a great ride. There are some slow points, but the end justifies the means. I had a great time watching Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, and if you like seeing average soldiers up against extraordinary odds and making life-altering decisions, you probably will to.