I have been following GakAttack, Ultimate Fan Fights and Team 2X for some time. This talented bunch knows how to bring the power and intensity of action and martial arts to the Web for all of us to enjoy and on their third outing I’d have to say that, well frankly, I’m disappointed. Batman VS Captain America set the bar and you can tell there was great care put into the development of the fight sequence. The lighting and overall setting was phenomenal and set the tone right from the start. In Ryu VS Scorpion the fight was brought into a more primal landscape of which was used quite well. The characters were portrayed brilliantly and the intense sequence left you wanting more.
In Ultimate Fan Fights Episode 3 we get to see Peter Pan VS Link. The first thing that caught my attention was that Peter Pan is a storybook character. All previous episodes contain characters whom originated from comic books or video games. This essentially makes Peter Pan feel completely out of place.
Before the action sequence begins the background loads up and replaces a “real” location. The render on the background is blurry, contains some artifacts and rough edges. Perhaps this was a decision made to reduce the labor required to acquire permits for real locations or overall man hours.
In addition to the weak backdrop, this episode lacks effective lighting work and some post production color balancing. This episode can be summed up as a couple of overacting pasty white dudes battling it out in a sub-par environment using shady wiring. Harsh? Yeah, definitely, but at the same time devoted fans want to be blown away more than they already have been.
Stepping aside from the flaws mentioned above, 98% of the VFX work is brilliant. I imagine this work was done by GakAttack. His style is definitely present and it’s impressive to see the sword swipes, clashes and more worked in smoothly throughout the fight. So, my hat is off to the VFX team.
To wrap up, UFF Episode 3 is a fun jaunt in a new direction but unfortunately the third time isn’t the charm. The tight deadlines result in lower production values which the team behind UFF isn’t completely responsible for. They are doing a hell of a job with the deadlines they have.
I’ll still be around to check out UFF Episode 4 but it will take a graceful return to form in order to repair the confidence lost.
