LuckyMrRoberts

That is the question I asked myself when I watched this film. But then I am reminded, I am not a long time fan of the Ponderous Universe. If you have followed the various adventures of these characters through the films outside of the saga this film gives some in site into where the Shadowdragon comes from. also, like many of the ponderous films, its timeline resides in a very detailed web of connections through various different films. Unfortunately, unless you know all of this you just kind of sit watching this movie with a glazed bit of "what does this have to do with everyone I watched in the first film." nothing, it has nothing to do with any of them or any of the story of the saga. Very little in this film continues the story and what does is a bit long and drawn out. The problem I see and what I experience when viewing these films with others is this film makes you lose interest in the rest of the saga because its slow and random. Above all of that what could have been possibly an incredible martial arts film ends up blahing out since it is pretty obvious many of the actors had little to no training at all.

Other then that the film,for die hard fans, does have several key and important moments. The first meeting of Mike and Ruby, the very mythozised origin of the Shadowdragon, Mike "going to the darkside" and the first appearance of a character that would become one of the first Beta Hunters.

My suggestion, skip this film when viewing the saga. Instead, view this film as a prequel to the Ballerina.

From the people that brought you the Innocence Saga and other films comes Bass Reeves. On par with much of his work, this film looks like a bunch of good friends got together and wanted to make a Western. And boy did they have fun making it. Peppered with a cast of San Antonio and central Texas actors this is the story of the first Black (or is it African American, I always get that confused) sheriff in the old west. What could have been a pretty solid story is, like many films at this level, trapped in its budgetary constraints. things like proper clothing, props, etc could have really kept this film up. What we do have is some good performance from cast, standing out is Mr. Villalobos as Martinez. Though very stereo-typical type of character we see range and a very nice moment of guitar playing/singing from him. Unfortunately this film unravels fast when it comes to the villains. Mr. Rainey as the bad guy just did not make me hate him nor did he bring up the villainy of what these films need. When the final confrontation happens the viewer is just left with "whatever, next!!" I don't know if Mauser will be doing another Western, but if he does lets hope the cast across the board is great and that someone tosses him some money cause I see a director is on the cusp of greatness given the right opportunity.

We're not talking Hollywood here but that is the fun of watching a movie like this. Attempting to see the tricks and admiring the dedication it takes to put something like this together. The performances are here and there and the action works in the context of the story. The films true downfall is also its appeal. This film is not a solo feature. It is the beginning of a saga so if you watch this expecting closure or a completed story its just not gonna happen. Similar to the first X-men movie you have a lot of introduction with some spurts of action. With that in mind this film works very well. the version I saw clocked at about 2 hours but its my understanding that director/creator Brett W Mauser has edited down to around 90 minutes.

Again, we aren't talking Hollywood but its better then most of what I have seen on Netflix or on the syfy channel for that matter. So get on the ride and enjoy yourself.