Rating summary

Movie		2.0
Video		4.0
Audio		3.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost Blu-ray Movie Review

The not-so-last stand of James Vega, 'Mass Effect 3's bravest bench warmer...

Reviewed by Kenneth Brown January 1, 2013

Vega? Really? Vega? I know I'm not every gamer, but I think it's safe to assume no one promoted Alliance Marine Lieutenant James Vega to squad regular when saving the known universe from the Reapers in Mass Effect 3. With only two supporting slots to fill on any given mission, it's hard to imagine anyone choosing a whiny space grunt with a death wish over the likes of Turian sniper Garrus, Asari biotic Liara T'Soni, Quarian pilgrim Tali, Krogan fan favorite Wrex, Normandy artificial intelligence EDI, or any of the other colorful alien or synthetic crew members that follow Commander Shepard into battle. And yet it's Vega who takes center stage in Mass Effect: Paragon Lost, a rote, bizarrely belated prequel that fills in the two-year gap between the original Mass Effect and Mass Effect 2, when the Collectors first began terrorizing human colonies. For those keeping track at home, that means EA's tie-in is making its debut at least three years too late, long after the arrival of an alien race Shepard defeated in 2010, and almost a full year after the release of ME3, the hit franchise's most recent entry. All well and good... if, that is, there were a decent story to tell, which after sitting through 94- minutes of Paragon Lost I can say with confidence there is not. Confused? So am I.

Suit up, squad...

Sent to aid a colony in a brutal fight against a band of Krogan mercenaries called the Blood Pack, Lt. James Vega (Freddie Prinze Jr.) soon finds himself stationed in the outermost regions of human colonization where he encounters an even greater enemy: the Collectors, a vile and mysterious alien race hellbent on collecting human specimens for some nefarious purpose. Not that Mass Effect fans will be shocked or even remotely surprised by the events that unfold in Paragon Lost. The Collectors are old news by now, as is their aim and intent, and Vega's origin story should be familiar to anyone who wandered into the lower levels of the Normandy in Mass Effect 3, seeking out any and every character with a conversation tree to their name. And knowing the particulars of Vega's longterm mission -- especially the fact that his sacrifice and the sacrifice of his fellow marines was all for naught -- downgrades everything that unfolds into an anticlimactic waste of an animated prequel.

Humans have never been the draw of the Mass Effect series anyway, and an imprisoned Krogan (Justin Cook), an irritating Asari companion (Monica Rial), an undercover Cerberus agent (Vic Mignogna) and an inexplicably young, inexperienced and sometimes nervous Alliance Special Forces squad (good luck resolving that pesky contradiction) hardly help. The aliens are little more than props, the presence of Cerberus is cursory, and the Collectors are nowhere near as interesting an antagonist as the Reapers, who would have made for a far more fitting villains in a prequel released to coincide with Mass Effect 3. Worse, the thrust of the series has long been choice -- moral, ethical, romantic, life and death -- and nothing here, even in a film expressly titled Paragon Lost (Paragon being the quantified measure of the player's morality in the videogame), taps the lifeblood of Mass Effect. Take away Vega, swap out the weapons and replace the beloved ME alien races with other bipeds and beasties and Paragon Lost would be a decidedly dull, generic and Americanized space marine anime.

The animation disappoints too. Production I.G., the famed animation house responsible for the Ghost in the Shell series, Eden of the East, and the show-stealing anime sequence in Kill Bill: Vol.1, phone in tired character design, unimpressive battle sequences, routine framing and some of the most unremarkable and under-realized worlds to grace the Mass Effect universe. With all the diversity, grand vistas, relay stations, forgotten sites and sprawling planets at their disposal, Production I.G. and Clone Wars writer Henry Gilroy go with an Earth-like hunk of rock, a conventional colony and the repetitive halls of a Collector ship? Virtually everything that makes the Mass Effect series so appealing to gamers is MIA, other than superficial cameos and surface level set dressing. Don't get me wrong, Paragon Lost is a functional direct-to-video movie. It just doesn't set itself apart or justify any ounce of hype attached to its name.

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Paragon Lost's blend of cel shaded CG and hand-drawn animation is host to the usual issues -- minor aliasing, intermittent color banding, bouts of softness and other brief, easily dismissed anomalies -- but most all of it is inherent to the animated source and very little of it amounts to a distraction. The 1080p/AVC-encoded video presentation is satisfying on the whole, with an array of oft-times subdued, sometimes splashy colors, explosive primaries and reasonably deep black levels, and the film's line art is clean and nicely defined. Contrast, though a tad grungy at times, is fairly consistent too, and there isn't any significant macroblocking, noise or errant eyesores to report.

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Unfortunately, Paragon Lost's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track doesn't measure up to the sonic power and prowess of the Mass Effect videogame series. LFE output is serviceable but unreliable, bolstering alien attacks and thrusters, leaving weapon fire and other low-end effects to their own devices, and splitting the difference when it comes to explosions, lending devastating destruction to some and neglecting others. Rear speaker activity is hit or miss as well -- the Blood Pack battle and Collector ship assault are quite immersive, too many other sequences are not -- and dynamics are merely passable. Even so, it's hard to fault anything other than the movie's at-times flat sound design. Voices are clear and well-prioritized, several action scenes are suitably bombastic, and the last twenty minutes of Vega's guns-n-glory journey sound great.

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Directing Effect (HD, 24 minutes): A lengthy Making Of documentary, not just about the Paragon Lost movie but the Mass Effect videogames as well, from the original ME and the design of the various alien races to Mass Effect 3 and the end of the saga proper. Paragon Lost is still the focus of a significant portion of the doc, though, and isn't just addressed in passing. Segments include "Uniqueness," "Alien Concepts," "Favorite Characters," "Beyond the Game," "Paragon Lost: Choosing Vega," "Paragon Lost: Story," "Paragon Lost: Style," " Paragon Lost: The Animation Process," Paragon Lost: Favorite Things" and "Final Thoughts."
• An Inside Look at the Mass Effect Universe (HD, 13 minutes): Less an in-depth exploration of the Mass Effect universe and more an overview of the various steps in the development process of the most recent ME game, this featurette digs into Mass Effect 3's character modeling, character animation, gameplay design and sound design.
• All Doors Open: A Look Inside Electronic Arts (HD, 9 minutes): Vice President of EA Entertainment Pat O-Brien hosts this tour of the Electronic Arts studios, offering guests a look at the campus and a sneak peak at the next entries in the Dead Space and Sims series.
• Paragon Lost U.S. Trailer (HD, 1 minutes)

Mass Effect: Paragon Lost Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Unless you're an unapologetic fan of Lt. James Vega, Mass Effect: Paragon Lost is not the Mass Effect anime you've been hoping for. It doesn't even brush the surface, much less delve into the unexplored corners, characters and choices of the ME universe. It doesn't even offer compelling animation, which was this gamer's last bastion of hope. FUNimation's AV presentation is at least commendable, even if the movie's Dolby TrueHD 5.1 surround track leaves something to be desired, and its supplemental package will give series fans 45-minutes of material that's actually worth watching. My advice? Skip this one and spend your holiday cash on Mass Effect 3 DLC instead.