My review on the MLP Movie · 5:21am Jan 17th, 2018
The review on the MLP movie 6/10: I finally got around to watch the MLP movie and I have to say that overall it was good. I didn't expect much out of it and went into this movie with low expectations but it blew me away with the music and interesting characters. So here’s the review also be aware this review will contain spoilers. I’ll start with the praise first off the music was astounding every time the ponies sing filled me with joy and I loved those portions of the movie. Also the new and interesting characters from the Capper the sleazy cat and the pirates and the hippogriffs and of course Tempest the mysterious pony without a horn. She was the best new charter in the film who carried the weight of most of it on her shoulders. I deeply enjoyed seeing all these new and fun characters that made this movie even more interesting. The mane 6 did an excellent job the jabs back and forth they did throughout the film was spot on and I felt like they did the show justice. I also enjoyed seeing some darker aspects such as The storm king literally enslaving all the ponies at the festival of friendship, and Twilight succumb to some dark aspects of herself using her friends to help her steal a mystic sea pearl. That was something I never expected the movie to do was to be unexpected and take risks and I applaud the movie for doing so. But sadly that is where my praise ends like I said I don't think this is a bad film but there were a lot of flaws that I feel are necessary to point out. I think the worst flaw was the villain storm king he was as lazy as you can get with a villain with no motivation but to cause havoc for no reason. This guy was a one dimensional as a piece of paper. I much rather have tempest been the main villain instead of this idiot. My second gripe of this movie was the plot itself. Now I'm not saying it was all bad I felt like the beginning was great, the hippogriff parts were fine and the ending was satisfying but everything else felt so bland and unoriginal from when the mane 6 left Equestria to them finding the hippogriffs. Almost all of it seemed to me just a bunch of plot devices to get us to know the actual interesting characters such as the Captain Celaeno and Capper. But I feel like that, in the end, we actually barely got to even know these characters except through the music which was excellent. Also, the whole motivation for the storm king to just cause havoc and control the storms of the world seemed interesting but it really felt to me as a generic “I want to rule the world” that has been seen way too many times. That’s where all my main criticism ends now for some small gripes. First celestia and luna yet again get defeated in five seconds, I mean we're supposed to believe these two were the most powerful Alicorns in the history of equestria but they keep failing to do anything to live up to that. I guess there’s a point to where their rulers not warriors but still it just feels strange they keep being shoved to the side and we never get to see them in action. But yet again this is just a personal pet peeve of mine. Another was Glubber that little minion who was supposed to be comic relief was as funny as jar jar binks. Enough said on that. Another was where were some other important characters that may have helped at the end or even at the beginning like Shining Armor and Discord? I mean I understand we cant fit everypony in the movie but those two could have been some help yet again just another small gripe of mine. Then my final gripe is I ultimately felt like this movie was, of course, its main focus was to sell merchandise. I mean I know I get it Hasbro made MLP to make money off their toys and stuff and i'm glad it was successful in doing so if it mean more episodes for the actual show. But I felt like they were shoving a lot of unnecessary development in creatures and things that were clearly just there to sell toys. Overall I felt like that it was without a doubt a good movie but has serious flaws that many adventure movies have with trying to shove a lot in but giving no context on why. But in the end what carried the film was the characters and I felt in that they were done well and I enjoyed them so in the end I feel a 6 out of 10 is justified but also realize these are just my opinions.
Thanks for sharing your feelings on the movie. I watched it twice and now own it on my iPhone. Having seen it a few times now makes me pretty much agree with all of what you said above.
The plot seemed to really go from new character, to new character, to new character until we reached the final scene that, sadly, was anti-climatic as a result of how flat The Storm King was. They really should've stuck with Tempest.
The other bother was how the Sea Ponies weren't real Sea Ponies. They were shapeshifted from being hippogryths. This made me sad as I truly hoped the Sea Ponies would add a true new dimension to the film but they really just came off as a toy promotion. :(
By any chance did you read the prequel story, "The Stormy Road To Canterlot"? Reading it really helps fill in a lot of gaps the movie had. You also learn more of Tempest's past that makes you feel there should've been one extra part in the ending where she reunited with her old friends.
As I watched it as a totally blind person I have an additional gripe. The descriptive audio was awful. :( Descriptive Audio helps a blind viewer know what's going on in which is not spoken. The lady they got to do it was flat as paper and took away from the movie more than she added. This was a huge disappointment when you compare it to the great descriptive audio track for "Legend of Everfree". Truly getting a description falls hard on feeling the one describing it is interested and the lady for the MLP Movie seems like she had no interest at all in helping a blind person enjoy the film. If I was a blind kid I'd feel sad for you would get very minimal descriptions along with feeling like you had a pessimistic person taking you to see what you wanted to see.
My favorite part of the movie was, finally, Spike shining. He wasn't the tag-a-long he tends to be. He even stayed loyal to Twilight after she offended Pinkie. It shows a lot of his character to make sure she was okay even if she was in the wrong.