Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!
Plot Summary: Taking place during the events of Mass Effect 2, we see the early exploits of the Alliance space marine, James Vega.
Review: If you're a big fan of the Mass Effect video games, like I am, then you were probably very excited at the announcement of an animated movie. You were probably immediately disappointed when you learned the film would focus on James Vega! Why would the writers feel Vega would be the best character to dedicate a film to?! He was annoying, overly cocky, utterly stupid, and an annoying addition to Mass Effect 3 when his slot could have gone to one of the many fan favorites like Miranda, Thane, Legion, etc. Thankfully, it would seem someone at least realized how stupid this character was and managed to make him significantly less annoying for the film. The story is simple as long as you know ME lure: Vega is stationed on some colony planet commanding a few marines when the Collectors attack; we pretty much know all of this right from Vega's mouth in ME3. Apparently there a few things we didn't know about Mr. Vega in ME3 that add to his character while some things create contrivances and continuity errors. I liked that they made Vega an ardent Normandy supporter, much more naive and unsure than the douchebag we know, and just a generally more normal soldier; the contrast between him and Shepard was a nice touch showing us that Vega aspired to be like Shepard but failed miserably which would explain some of the animosity in the game. Vega pretty much let's everyone in the colony die in favor of saving information that will stop the Collectors since he believes it will save more lives in the long run; later he would learn Shepard got the same information and more without losing anyone which further infuriates him. This revelation did add a decent layer of depth to this one dimensional character of the game. On the other hand, Vega has an Asari love interest which makes no sense considering all the effort that went into saving her, you'd think the two would still be together; the film even implies that the two are kind of together which would be fine if we had heard any mention of her in the game! In ME3, James blames himself for everyone being killed at the colony (which is mostly true) but he failed to mention the whole reason the colony was attacked was because of a Cerberus spy who was somehow working with the Collectors; this part made no sense at all unless he was indoctrinated but he wasn't so it's more of a plot hole than anything. Again, you'd think Vega would stress this betrayal since it was crucial to the story but we hear no word of this. Finally, Vega seems virtually unstoppable as he jumps from ridiculous heights and performs all kinds of acrobatics. This annoyed me to great lengths because Vega sucks in the game and couldn't do half of what he does here. Eh, this is an okay film with some decent action and drama even if not on par with typical ME storytelling. I suppose the biggest reason I lowered the rating was because of Vega himself and new problems with the story this film creates. If you're a ME fan, I definitely recommend checking it out since you may enjoy it more than I. If you have no clue what I've been talking about all this time, it's time you look up Mass Effect and get playing! It's a great franchise and the first game, in particular, is astounding. This movie does not even come close to doing the franchise justice as much as say the first or second game would do for a new fan. Enjoy this film for what it is, but stick to the games!
Notable Moment: When the krogan, Brood, dies and gives away his fuel cells to Vega; it was actually kind of touching even if their relationship was not fully realized.
Final Rating: 6/10
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