The Story
Voltes V is a mecha anime series that originally aired in Japan in 1977. The English dubbed version aired in the Philippines in 1978, but was later banned in 1979, then re-aired in the 80s. In a nutshell, this is about the Armstrong family along with a secret defense group from Earth fighting to save the world from an invasion by an alien race from the planet Boazan. The show tackles family and political issues, but the action sequences revolve around five fighter jets that combine to form the robot Voltes V engaging in epic battles with "beastfighters" sent out by the Boazanians. By our current standards, this is considered an old anime, from the drawing style, to the background and theme music, following the one fight after a few episodes formula.
Live Action
Voltes V Legacy is the first attempt at a live action adaptation of this anime. This is an ambitious undertaking by GMA considering the massive scale of this project, and our country is not really well-known for CGI and special effects. When the first teaser trailer came out in 2021, I was truly amazed, but like almost everyone else, a bit reserved because of the way the Philippine movie and TV industry tends to mess everything by adding unnecessary storylines and uses the same techniques over and over. Coming to the cinema with my son to watch this, I had high expectations, and when the movie ended, those expectations were exceeded. It was that good!
I belong to Gen X, and this anime has a cult following in the Philippines. Director Mark Reyes himself is an avid fan and as he said in his interviews, he understands the sentiments of the fans on how this should be treated. He did a phenomenal job here, staying true to the story, and taking cues from successful mecha films like Pacific Rim and Transformers, he and his team managed the impossible and created what could be a precedent for succeeding mecha live actions (I'm thinking Gundam right now). It is sad to see though that when the trailers came out, majority of the harsh criticisms came from Filipinos. It's hard to blame them because for a long time, we have been treated to an endless slew of dramatic and cheesy drama shows, and when a superhero trailer comes out, it promises great visuals and stories, but eventually, the only good thing about these shows are the trailers.
This is not one of those traditional releases. GMA chose to have a cinematic release ahead of the TV series premiere, people questioned this move and keyboard warriors were quick to bash it, but for me, it was an easy decision. I wanted to see it for myself firsthand, the kid in me wanted to experience this on the big screen, but more importantly, I wanted to prove to everyone that this show deserved more love than it's getting. I was right. I don't watch local TV shows, but this one, I will.
Best Moments
I will not spoil this for anyone, but these are some of the things that wowed me. The characters have been well-represented with the choice of actors and the way they portrayed them were not "cartooney". Albert Martinez is perfect as Dr. Smith, mannerisms and all. Gabby Eigenmann looked like Commander Robinson's design was taken from him, and Carla Abellana looked great as the tough but caring motherly figure we all came to love. What stood out the most for me is Steve's character done by Miguel Tanfelix. I admit, I actually don't know majority of the young stars since 2000 as I have stopped watching local shows, but he was spot on as the leader of the Voltes team. The cockpit radio chatter between him and the other pilots was realistic, a good mix of technical and funny conversations, pinoy feels but not corny. I was worried about how Ysabel Ortega will play Jamie, but she carried it well. The switches from single camera to multiple camera shots in these cockpit chatter were done extremely well just like it appeared in the anime.
One big challenge is how to show things from anime or cartoons without looking silly in the real world. Camp Big Falcon looks visually cool and they made changes to the design that makes sense. The hologram controls add a touch of tech and futurism, and the launchpads and sequence of the Voltes team looked similar to the anime. When you watch this, look at the small details, and you'll appreciate it even more.
It's refreshing to see that director Mark Reyes chose to have new background music used, but he infused the familiar themes of the original anime. I was afraid they would use the old mixes which will sound outdated, instead, they re-made these music with their versions. These played out really well during intense scenes, and combined with the sound effects, it's not 5.1 surround but it sounded great. If you will watch the TV series, I recommend turning on your sound system during the mecha scenes and let your subwoofers thump your audiophile ears out.
The ships of the Voltes team still look a bit like high end toys, but they added details to counter this like scratches and a semi-gloss paint job. Flying sequences need a bit more work but this is way much better than anything we've done better. However...when the volt-in sequence started, my jaw dropped. This is probably the most-awaited moment of everyone who will watch this, and wow. It was awesome! Instantly I was transported back to the first time we saw this as kids, only this time, it's more than just the wow factor but an understanding of how technology and physics work added to the experience. Again, the devil is in the details, you can see gears turning, parts shifting, jets moving in.
Then there it is. Voltes V looking grand and powerful, and when he made that iconic air punch for the first time, I smiled like a kid. The face of Voltes V in the anime look cute, but in Legacy, it looks bad ass. You can see scratches and minor imperfections just like how a machine would look like which added to the realism, and they added a lot of details that were not in the anime. This is what GMA wanted us to have, the "cinematic experience" of seeing it big in front of you, like an actual robot is transforming and combining in your face and finally emerging as the hero we all wanted see. The CGI team deserves praise here.
And finally, the mecha BATTLE SCENES! Since this is only the movie introduction, there are only 2 mecha battles but these will blow you away. The beastfighters look menacing and solidly evil and they do some serious damage. Voltes V have some serious moves and poses similar to Pacific Rim and Transformers, and you can feel the mass of these giants. The actors will show you what it probably feels like inside a robot being punched and kicked, and when they start using their weapons, they did not forget to incorporate the physics behind these weapons, like the recoil when the chain knuckle goes back inside the arm. When they pulled the laser sword out, Voltes V never looked this awesome when lightning and electricity covered it. I hope they release a poster of this because I will definitely buy one! Speaking of physics, the V-cut is not as buttery smooth like the anime, and they smartly did this showing that there are huge metal parts being sliced and it's not easy. If Voltes V have muscles, you will probably see it being flexed due to the energy required to do that V cut, and you will not be disappointed.
Criticisms
As this was a compressed movie version, the story here progresses very rapidly so character development is not given attention. This is okay though because even the anime version was quick to transition. Events happen like in a matter of months only but when this comes out on TV, the story will be expounded more. As much as I'm a fan of the mecha battles, the hand to hand combats need more work. The soldiers' acting is also a bit funny, maybe in the future hire extras who are airsoft players so they move and act in a more believeable way. The explosions are also weak spots, understandably because fire is one of the hardest things to do in CGI, but the smoke of those explosions are quite good. This is just me nitpicking, but these are not deal breakers.
Final Words
Voltes V Legacy The Cinematic Experience is a must-see for all Filipinos, especially if you're a fan of the anime and the genre. Even if you're not a fan, this is truly historic because I believe this will be the game changer for Philippine cinema and TV, much like the movie RRR opened the door wide for Indian cinema. You can wait for it on TV, but you will miss the theatric sounds, the grand scale visuals, the fast-paced action that only a movie can give. I had my biases coming into the movie, but after a few minutes, I was immersed and forgot I was watching a show made by Filipinos. This movie has reset the bar much higher for us, and I truly hope this will become a template for upcoming movies that we will produce. Actually, I wish that this movie becomes an international release that can spark interest in the making of other live action mecha like Gundam and Evangelion. Filipinos have been criticizing this negatively for a while now, and all I can say is, watch it first before you pass your judgment, and maybe, just maybe, we can be united for once in saying that this is a massive win for the industry and for GMA. Let's volt together!
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