Present Perfect vs. Friendship Games · 2:23am Oct 1st, 2015
I am very upset right now because computer. ;_; All I feel like doing is riffing on this weird-ass movie.
So, coming into Friendship Games, I had one thought (other than, "Fuck, I hope those story cover images didn't spoil the whole end of the movie for me." Spoilers, they did): Equestria Girls sucked and Rainbow Rocks was considerably better, if not necessarily 'good' in its own right. Therefore, by the theory of evolution, Friendship Games should be even better, perhaps actually good in its own right! Of course, by the law of averages, there was a 50-50 chance FG would suck.
When you fight the law, the law wins.
I won't say Friendship Games sucked, per se. It was weird, that's for sure, and I think it may have been overshadowed by its promo material. It definitely didn't live up to the hype, nor did I like it as much as Rainbow Rocks.
A lot of what's wrong with it I think bookplayer summed up in this journal. Admittedly, I don't think my reaction was strongly negative as hers, but I was definitely picking up on some of this stuff subconsciously.
I mean... Just look at Twilight's arc. She spends the whole movie being mousy and adorable ineffectual, and then when she gets imbued with magic -- the very magic she sucked out of Sunset's friends -- she gets all evil and world-destroying? The third act of this movie seems to have been copy-pasted from a very different film.
At least I got the Sunset/Twilight beatdown I wanted. :B Even if it wasn't in the form I wanted. There's fanfiction for that.
But yeah, the more I think about it, the more I think bookplayer's right. Let's talk about other stuff like the Shadowbolts. Ugh. When their designs were revealed, my reaction was along the lines of "No waifu material, 0/10". Looking for another Sonata was, more than likely, another hype-fueled misstep, but it didn't matter. They were dumb. I can't even remember the name of one of them. Lemon Zest had no personality and maybe three lines. Indigo Zap was Rainbow Dash 2: Dash About as Hard. Sour Sweet at least had personality, but it was stupid (and half of it was the same as Unnamed Girl).
And then. Ahh, then. Dear, sweet Sugarcoat, the waifu I never knew I wanted.
Yeah, but she wasn't that great either. I mean, she's no Sonata Dusk, but at least I honestly can say I liked her. Even if she didn't really do anything.
I'm glad the first event was a montage, because it sounded boring as fuck. On that note (hah), the music in this one? Didn't hit me all that much. Cinch's song near the end was probably the best of them, but then villain songs always are. (That opening sequence was phenomenal, though! And there were a couple brief scenes near the end that seemed to have higher animation value than normal, too.) I'll have to listen to the soundtrack (assuming my hard drive hasn't been wiped ;_;) and that cover EP vaceslav just released, but overall? Eh. Guess that's what happens when it's not a music-focused plot.
But how fucking wacky is Humania this time around? Everyone but Sci-Twi seems to know about magic, and nobody gives a fuck. Principal Cinch was treating it like a drug! And motocross? Half these kids can't even legally drive! The whole friendship games setup was just absolutely bonkers, not a thing about it made sense.
And poor Sunset. She's still a buttmonkey, and she deserves better. At least she got to pull the "I've been where you are" gambit, which made the references to her past sins previous mistakes easier to stomach. I do hope they'll actually forgive her at some point in the future. :| Assuming another of these dumb things is made, anyway.
Guh, what else. AJ's hair in the archery event was awesome. Pinkie's rapid-fire explanation of who Sci-Twi is was a wholly acceptable use of one of the worst running gags ever. (It's the difference between "stating the plot" and "yeah, that could actually be inferred/wild-guessed given context".) Sunset having to learn about the Elements of Harmony was bluh. The obvious lining-up of "this will be your rival from Crystal Prep" was equally cheesy, but far more fun, even if nothing ever really came from it. The phrase "pony up" should only ever be used when preceded by the word "power". :| Sunset and Sci-Twi are best girlfriends. :V
On a final note, I have to say... I really like human Cadence. I can't explain it, but becoming a human woman is about the best thing that's ever happened to her. I like that they made no bones about her being friendly with Celestia and Luna. There's probably more I could say, but that's about it. Friendship Games was definitely a thing.
I think I liked it more for Science Twi because it confirmed my own thoughts on her personality as a loner. Without a Celestia to nudge her out of the nest, becoming insular and without friends.
Ahh, another aboard the Sugarcoat Express.
*Casually points you towards my ongoing story and whistles*
3433493
I mean, she's basically just Moondancer, but with better hair. :B She honestly might have been more of a crowd-pleaser had this aired before Amending Fences.
3433499
Hurry up and finish, I wanna read that. :V
3433534
Oh, if you're waiting for it to be finished, you're gonna be here a while...doing a chapter a day, one for each episode of the show.
For the record, the girl who basically did nothing is one Sunny Flare.
And yeah, I do wish we could've gotten a Twilight for most of the movie who matched her corrupted attitude. I like to think there was a very snarky inner monologue we weren't privy to.
Honestly, I have to wonder how much time they spent actually thinking about this script. Between the motorcycle jumps and the vast magical conspiracy and all the barely-utilized characters, this is like the last-minute, started-the-night-before-it-was-due term paper of Equestria Girls movies. I still enjoyed it, because I like anything that involves a power-mad Twilight Sparkle tearing the universe apart, but it could've been so much better.
At least we finally got a canon self paradox. It's no Rainbow Dash punching herself in the face, but really, what is?
Wow, I had literally the exact opposite reaction to this film. I thought it was charming, well-executed, interesting, and just generally a good extension of the Equestria Girls world. The only thing I wasn't fond of was Cadance, actually. She looks stranger than most as a human, and I don't know that her role was especially necessary. Dunno, maybe I was looking forward to her too much and her portrayal didn't live up to my hopes.
And you can have Sugarcoat. I'm totally fine being the only person on board the Lemon Zest train.
I haven't even seen it yet and I already approve of Cadance
It's okay. She's always been pretty alright in my book
Also almost best
PP pretty much sums up my feelings about this flick, only maybe a bit more nicely than I might have. If anyone asks me for my opinion I think I will just keep this URL keyed up. This movie had all the earmarks of being a feature that needed making because there were folks willing to pay to see it. Decent writing optional. Very optional.
I learned two things: 1. Anyone can hop on a motorcycle and be a competitive motocross racer. 2. It is easy to become instantly proficient at archery.
No argument there.
3433534
3433631 The world needs a shipfic where Sci-Twi meets Human Moondancer.
Cadance's appearance was... off somehow.
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I think it's the eyebrows.
3433534
Sci Twi was nothing like Moondancer, or even like season 1-2 Twilight, or like filly Twilight in what we know of her from official materials, she was Fluttershy with science/magic instead of animals.
Pretty much everything from her shyness, to being a doormat, to raging freak out lashing at everything to sneaking around stealing stuff, all that was missing is her going "um" every few words. Truth be told I was really disappointed in her characterization, we already have FS to play FS.
The rest of the plot was too weird to be taken seriously. At least we know Sunset still has some bite in her.
No where near as good as Rainbow Rocks, but I guess at least it was more fun than EqG.
As I brought up in a thread somewhere, I have some gripes with this film.
First, the loss of common sense. So everyone's going fine, students are suddenly riding motorcycles, but whatever. And then all of a sudden, evil plants from the nethervoid came and break through the portals Twilight's thingymajig opened. So what should we do? Watch the students continue their race, of course. And how about afterwards? Claim that Canterlot High is cheating. Oh, it's so simple. We're not going to postpone the games until we find the source of this evil or protect the students or anything; instead, we'll continue on like normal so that we can drag out Cinch's evil character. Nothing can possibly go wrong.
Secondly, Cinch herself. Yeah, she blackmails Twilight. Breaking the law, eeyup. Not gonna do anything about that.
So what have I learnt in spite of these? That Lemon Zest is best ponehumanwaifu.
derpicdn.net/img/2015/9/29/990338/large.png
The weirdness didn't bother me at all. In fact, I don't think I would have noticed it at all if you hadn't brought it up. The EQG films have always been ridiculous. By now, I take it as given that daft stuff will be an essential part of the story. The hype wasn't a problem either -- I was actually worried it was going to turn out to be shit. So the film turned out to be a pleasant surprise.
My two biggest problems were Cinch being in the film at all, and (as 3433723 says) Twilight being mischaracterised as a doormat.
Sugarcoat, though, was ace. I wish there had been more of her.
3433663
The princesses all hit the uncanny valley for me. I think it's because as ponies they have longer muzzles. The lipstick doesn't help, either.
My main complaint about the story is that evil principal wasn't the human version of Chrysalis. Or Discord. Or, really, any villain character. Why would they avoid that obvious choice?
Um, wat? They have. Don't you see the clear difference between this movie and last movie? Last movie, it was all, "Remember that awful demon that wrecked the school? Oh, whoops, sorry, no offense." Now it's almost something of a running joke among friends. It's great.
3433563
I'm glad I'm not the only one.
3433549
Yeah, I kinda realized that. c.c Well, I'm tracking it!
3433550
Obviously, the punching happened after the scene cut. :V But yeah, this really did feel completely un-thought-about. Kinda like the first one...
3433617
Well, Cinch did lampshade the archery. For her team, at least. And I can believe Rainbow and Indigo know how to ride motorcycles. Definitely does not explain everything, though. :B
3433663
She's very round-headed.
also boobs3433723
Yeah, if I didn't say it outright, I'd place this in between the other two, though closer to the original than RR.
3433920
Everything that Cinch does makes sense to me because she comes off as old-money powerful. She can most definitely get away with stuff like blackmailing her student and basically forcing her acceptance to a prestigious whatever-that-was because she's rich. You're absolutely right about the plant attack, though. It's just one more layer in that "no one cares about magic, I guess" thread.
3433941
As humans, they have longer legs! :V
3434009
That is a very good question. Of course, Indigo Zap should have just been Lightning Dust; same difference, I guess.
3434172
I'm probably waifuing too hard on Sunset, but it seemed to me like the only thing that's changed is she's less likely to call anyone out on bringing up her past. She's obviously still bothered by it. That scene in the auditorium where they flip over the cards and there's her demon form? I felt so bad for her. (Rainbow Dash is such dick.)
3434227
I... didn't see any of that. At all. What she did obviously still bothers her. How could it not? But she's moved on to the point where she can joke about it with friends. We saw that when Applejack winked at her instead of saying no offense and Sunset smiled back.
What do you want them to do? I mean, look at what Dash was trying to say. Would it have been better for her to go, "Look at these obstacles we've overcome," and not have an image of Sunset Demon? And when we next saw Sunset, she looked pretty happy with what Dash was doing.
It's pretty clear to me that Sunset has moved on, and that she's able to joke about the mistakes of her past. She's become stronger for it, and her friends obviously understand that. She doesn't need anyone to feel sorry for her because there's nothing to feel sorry for. Not anymore. And honestly, I think she'd be pretty annoyed with people feeling sorry for her. I know I would if I were I in her shoes.
Okay, the only thing I have to say is I think Cinch missed being a villain in a Monster High movie. The way she looks next to Celestia just made me go "Geezus lady, you're one haunted house away from being a Bride of Dracula." You would think that would be Luna, but no, Cinch was just 4 fangs short of being a Monster High villain.
Also, talking Spike. For some reason, I didn't mind that. I think it's because Spike is adorable, and SciTwi's reaction is hilariously appropriate.
And the Motocross.... something, something Motocrossed. Because if it's a Disney Movie, it must be true. Plus, I'm pretty sure you don't need a driver's license to be in a vehicle-based race, which is why you can have kids performing EXTREME motorcycle stunts or something.
The more I think about it:
The more convinced I am that they came up with the ending first--and I quite liked the ending--and then tried to build the story backwards. I mean, at the end of the film, I found myself looking back at a couple scenes and thinking, "Oh! That's what that scene was supposed to be doing!" The scene where Cinch confronts Twilight in the hallway right after Twilight's had her first conversation with Spike, for instance. That scene should be pivotal. Twilight's just had her whole paradigm shifted, has just seen and heard proof of real magic, something completely new to her, and here's Cinch dragging her back into the old world that she's trying so hard to escape. But right now, that scene just kind of sits there.
And I completely agree with 3433723 about the mischaracterization of Twilight. When she gets onto the bus and whoever that other student is tries to do that whole pep rally thing? When the other student says to her, "Wrong answer," that should've gotten a very strong reaction in Twilight. 'Cause Twilight doesn't give wrong answers: she says that herself in her song. The speech Twilight gives at the front of the bus should be about the scientific method, then; it would still be as ill-received, but it would be more in character.
Mike
Recently released deleted scene clip, showing the full version of "What More Is Out There" -
My reaction was:
[12:46:10 PM] Cups: Wow, this seems to reflect a movie that didn't actually get made
[12:46:16 PM] Cups: where Sunset Shimmer misses Equestria a lot
[12:46:28 PM] Cups: which makes her reaction to the portal getting closed much more "relevant"
[12:47:05 PM] Cups: And Sunset suddenly "understanding" the Elements at the end is more relevant with this context, too
[12:47:17 PM] Cups: So, all those people who are saying that "Friendship Games feels disjointed, like stuff is from two different movies"
[12:47:20 PM] Cups: Are probably right
3434249
Yeah, I'm just hard-up on waifuing her. :B I apologize.
3434294
100% this. Ending was awesome, best thing since Tirek, but the justification to get us to it was reeeeally lacking. D:
3434369
I AM SO MAD
They deleted what would have been Sunset's best scene in the whole film, not to mention some A-prime shipping material? D: UGH. bookplayer is further vindicated!
3434616
S'all good.
3433534 Like someone taught her how to pluck her eyebrows?
3435160
No, but seriously, Sci-Twi rocks that bun. :B
3435365 Nerdy anti-social Twilight beats out nerdy anti-social Moondancer, both as a human and as a pony.
3435377
I really just do think Moondancer was pretty much Twilight. Granted, with Sci-Twi, we see that Twilight has a considerably kinder temperament. Until she gets possessed by magic, anyway. :V
3435423 Well, Sci-Twi had a friendly Dean of Students and an adorable dog. Also, she never tried to put herself out there and got rejected, which is rather sad.
3435472
Man, they really could have done so much to play her up as a villain-in-waiting. :(
Am I the only person here who ended up being kind of disappointed with SciTwi? She reminded me of Curt Connors from The Amazing Spider-Man, and reminding me of that movie is never a good thing to do.
3501805
Thankfully have not seen that movie. But yeah, she wasn't used well.