**this is a somewhat elaborate review. I recommend watching the short first and then pondering on my thoughts about it**
I started reading both, "The Walking Dead" and "Y - The last Man" around the same time. Both depict an apocalyptic state of the world, however, they work it from different angles.
Walking Dead felt grave and quite literally like the end of days in a biblical sense. There wasn't much place for the light-hearted humor that sometimes finds its way through in Y - the last man. There were just so many absurd situations and inventive, smart ideas in Y that I began preferring it over Walking Dead. To me, it was just a matter of time, until someone came out with a live-action version. And, considering production values I'm not disappointed with this take.
The creator of the short-film had the difficult task of establishing a world breaking down. Seemingly without a huge budget the director pulled off convincing enough action and effects to accomplish that.
Emotions fell a bit flat during the opening, though. I didn't really feel sorry for any of the men who died, because they were depicted in a very stereotyped way. Caretakers, Macho men - they all die out. That is the message of the first few minutes. Of course, the director also managed to avoid too much drama through this choice and established the (future?) series as action-orientated. I just felt it could have been done somewhat more original.
Where it started for me was in the diner scene, which really picked up the look and camera angles from Y. They did a good job in that scene, and I do like Travis Quentin Young in his role of Yorik. Later on, there is a long dialog scene, which felt somewhat forced to me with the camera spinning around in a nauseating manner. However, delivery, style and sets all match up with what I love about Y's version of the chaos state. It's a lot more colorful than Walking Dead.
To me, the Y books were mostly about choices we make and how errors can be undone, if you are creative about it. It's also a story of Yin and Yang and how the equilibrium between men and women is something that holds our society together.
As a Graphic Novel, this was one of the most inventive and captivating stories I've read. It's inventive, smart and a touch different from anything else. That's why it deserved someone's attention and despite the few dislikes I pointed out, this take is a great first step into the right direction. With the original writer involved and some better ideas how to play out dialog scenes, I see green lights flashing on all the corporate desks.
This is a commendable first step into the right direction. I'd like to see more humor (since the Graphic Novel had just the right mix), but this is something we'll most likely see in the continuing development of the story. More, please!
I started reading both, "The Walking Dead" and "Y - The last Man" around the same time. Both depict an apocalyptic state of the world, however, they work it from different angles.
Walking Dead felt grave and quite literally like the end of days in a biblical sense. There wasn't much place for the light-hearted humor that sometimes finds its way through in Y - the last man. There were just so many absurd situations and inventive, smart ideas in Y that I began preferring it over Walking Dead. To me, it was just a matter of time, until someone came out with a live-action version. And, considering production values I'm not disappointed with this take.
The creator of the short-film had the difficult task of establishing a world breaking down. Seemingly without a huge budget the director pulled off convincing enough action and effects to accomplish that.
Emotions fell a bit flat during the opening, though. I didn't really feel sorry for any of the men who died, because they were depicted in a very stereotyped way. Caretakers, Macho men - they all die out. That is the message of the first few minutes. Of course, the director also managed to avoid too much drama through this choice and established the (future?) series as action-orientated. I just felt it could have been done somewhat more original.
Where it started for me was in the diner scene, which really picked up the look and camera angles from Y. They did a good job in that scene, and I do like Travis Quentin Young in his role of Yorik. Later on, there is a long dialog scene, which felt somewhat forced to me with the camera spinning around in a nauseating manner. However, delivery, style and sets all match up with what I love about Y's version of the chaos state. It's a lot more colorful than Walking Dead.
To me, the Y books were mostly about choices we make and how errors can be undone, if you are creative about it. It's also a story of Yin and Yang and how the equilibrium between men and women is something that holds our society together.
As a Graphic Novel, this was one of the most inventive and captivating stories I've read. It's inventive, smart and a touch different from anything else. That's why it deserved someone's attention and despite the few dislikes I pointed out, this take is a great first step into the right direction. With the original writer involved and some better ideas how to play out dialog scenes, I see green lights flashing on all the corporate desks.
This is a commendable first step into the right direction. I'd like to see more humor (since the Graphic Novel had just the right mix), but this is something we'll most likely see in the continuing development of the story. More, please!
