MLP: The Movie: The Review: The Hands of Fate · 4:37am Oct 6th, 2017
I went and saw the MLP movie tonight with my Oldest! I highly recommend that you see it as well!! There are a few things I wish they'd done differently, but it's good. I've got no real spoilers below, other than: there is a bad guy! and our heroes must fight him! which involves a journey and stuff!
I actually enjoyed Edgy McEdgehorse way more than I thought I would
I'll open with my complaints, which I suspect will be echoed elsewhere: First, despite appearances by Starlight Glimmer and cutie-marked CMCs... honestly, a lot of things seemed conspicuously reminiscent of the late-Season-4 timeframe when the movie was likely begun. The characterization of the M6 included such tells as Twilight still being very uncomfortable with the whole Princess of Friendship gig (which she's seemed fine with for a while as of Season 7), and Fluttershy still being quiet and shy to a fault (almost to the place she was at back in Season 1). Also, while I don't want to spoil the overall goals of the Storm King... let's just say we have seen that exact thing done before. Like for reals.
Also, seriously, when the bad stuff started going down, why wasn't Fluttershy's immediate response to call Discord? (Or Trixie's? Or Glim's?) Or why didn't anyone reach out to the changelings for help? Or the dragons? Or--
Looks like someone found a plot hole!
You know what, none of that is the point.
There's a freaking MLP movie in theaters, and it's a lush visual treat, and it's got a very strong emotional through-line. One good thing about the overall S4 characterization is that Rainbow Dash gets to both shine and screw up in a way that feels really authentic to her character, which... to be honest, I haven't felt as sure that the writers know what to do with her as of Season 7. Like she's a Wonderbolt now, and we've met her parents, and sometimes all she really does is act like a jerk when the plot demands it and re-learn the same basic lessons over and over. Well, none of that noise was on offer in the movie. Same thing with Applejack, who felt like she belonged and got to be a vibrant character without being saddled with aw-shucks countryisms or being shoehorned into a role she didn't belong in. (Spa episode from S6 and contest-judging episode from S7, I'm lookin' at you.) Maybe that sounds a bit like damning with faint praise, but my intent is precisely the opposite: overall the M6 feel very much like themselves, with the possible exception of Fluttershy (unless it's a time-displaced Fluttershy from S1).
Also, Pinkie Pie is totally the MVP of the movie. Like without getting into spoilers, I honestly feel like she could've left everyone else at home and soloed the movie and resolved it just as effectively and probably in less time. It's not the kind of performance one might expect out of Ponk, and yet it feels so very right every time she pulls it off. Pinkie Pie is very much the movie's ambassador for heart-on-its-sleeve fuzzy-pony-friendship stuff, and I think it's telling how often she succeeds on that basis. If you're a Pinkie fan: run, don't walk to see this movie.
LIKE SERIOUSLY GUYS
What else? Oh: as I hinted above, Edgy McEdgehorse wasn't bad at all. I went in expecting to roll my eyes at Edgy's edginess and probably end up taking the Storm King more seriously, but I felt very much the opposite reaction once I was watching them. I was actually a bit disappointed at how there was an inverse relationship between how much screen time the Storm King received and how much of a threat he felt like. But Edgy filled the role of a plausible and competent Big Bad rather nicely. As with Pinkie for the good guys, I feel like Edgy would've been a much more effective bad guy just working for herself. (Side note: someone needs to write a fixfic where it's the MLP movie but it's just Pinkie versus Edgy. Now that would be a thing!)
There's more that I could write about all the visual beauty and the little gags that are thrown in, but the hour grows late and my cider grows short and you're probably going to go see the movie anyway, right? Please go see the movie. The premiere I went to was very sparsely attended, though definitely by the faithful... my biggest regret was ultimately deciding to go in just an MLP shirt and not full cosplay, because contrary to my fears, I absolutely wouldn't have been out of place if I'd gone rocking my whole Vinyl Scratch getup. 
I loved watching this movie as well! It was really awesome. XD
I liked the movie a lot. Pretty new style was pretty. This movie has convinced me that Pinkie, while Most Valuable Pony, is also clearly insane. Like... beyond certifiable.
Oh, and one more thing (spoilers): Those orbs... that's King Sombra tech. Green and red? And encases you in black crystal? (Wait sorry, cryyyyystaaaaaaaaal) So, totally Sombra tech.
4688738
Awesome like the awesome song?
4690873 I think the green stone thingies were the misfortune malachite like in the prequel comic. They looked similar anyway.
And yesss. Awesome like the song. XDD
4690900
I agree, that's probably where the green stone stuff came from. I liked how they worked that into the comics so it wasn't quite as random in the movie.
4690873
I've been thinking about it, and I just really like how all the different sides of Pinkie were portrayed. And/or the fact that they decided to give people the complete Tour de Ponk with her happy and less happy (and less stable) sides. It also gives me more and more reasons to continue being interested in the Pie family as a whole, and to try to envision the depths that must lurk for all of them.
4694607 I liked that as well. :)
4694607
4690900
But the colors, Duke! The colors! And the crystals! It has to have Sombra origins!
4694949
Still remember that after all these years.
4694949 Who knows? Maybe Sombra made the misfortune malachite.
4695121
That's one of my favorite commercials.