Wednesday, September 9, 2015

VR Troopers Episode 2 The Battle Begins Part 2

As they say on the show let’s get virtual with Today’s episode.
The Battle Begins part 2 written by Doug Sloan, and directed by Shuki Levi

So we start where we left off with Ryan in Trooper mode lying at the bottom of a canyon only now he’s talking about the time his dad told him to never give up.

Back at the lab JB, Kaitlin, and the Professor are still looking for Ryan. The Professor explains that Ryan’s main power source is down so he has one of the lab’s machines materialize a device to fix Ryan’s circuits.
Kaitlin, and JB then take Jeb, and her car to get to Ryan in time with Kaitlin wishing they could get there faster but she, and JB start to regret that when her steering wheel, and breaks are stuck, and the car is still moving on it’s own towards off a cliff.
Just when it looks like they’re going to have a car wreck the doors of Kaitlin’s car sprout wings and it starts flying, and the radio turns into a computer screen with the Professor who explains that he upgraded her car when know one was looking.
Meanwhile at Ziktor industries. One of Ziktor’s Skug secretaries informs him that Ryan is still alive. While he is watching it on a tv in his office for himself I might add.
However he believes that he can use it to destroy all three Troopers at once.
Kaitlin lands her car, and they all get out to look for Ryan who’s okay except for the fact that he can’t move so JB uses the device the Professor gave to fix Ryan.

Just then a group of Ziktor’s secretaries appear, and transform into their true forms, and which Kaitlin just automatically knows, and we get our first Skug battle.
They both kick at them, but then Kaitlin gets flipped over by the Skugs while JB kicks at them but they get out of the way.
Kaitlin gets flipped over again, and JB gets knocked down by a leg sweep kick but gets back up and kicks a Skug but then gets down, and let’s the Skug run towards him so he can grab it with both his arm and leg, and throws the Skug off.
Meanwhile Kaitlin is trying to get two Skugs off so she runs up a tree, and slams them into each other.

Now here is where we get into the elephant in the room. The infamous weakness where the Skugs disintegrate when they touch each other.
Yeah it’s pretty bad. 1994 was not a good year for henchmen in American kids based on Japanese ones.
Anyway Kaitlin tells JB and he wastes no time, and kicks the two Skugs in front of him into each other Kaitlin, and JB then go to take Ryan back the Lab.
Once there the Professor scans Ryan, and has a machine fix Ryan. Kaitlin wonders why the Virtual power didn’t protect Ryan.
To which the Professor explains that the Troopers must still defend themselves even with the powers.
Afterwards we see some flashing lights, and Ryan turns back into Brad Hawkins.
I will say I like the idea that their VR Trooper forms are actual robots, and if they get damaged as robots they have to get repaired.
Meanwhile at Ziktor industries Ziktor tells his secretaries he wants to purchase some land that will soon be available. Then he brags to Juliet about how it’s like a game of I Win while they watch scenes of factories, and construction crews.
Why? I’m guessing to try, and make it look like the stuff about the old building from the last was actually relevant.
Unless Haim Saban generally thought that kids, and parents liked shows buying land.
VR Troopers: Superheroes, Robots, Martial Arts, Real Estate
Anyway back at the lab the Professor congratulates the Troopers on their first time. But the Troopers themselves are worried about Grimlord, and his mutants.
So the Professor has them put on the visors, and he shows them some more Metalder clips of monsters they’ll have to fight and there is an admittedly funny part where the Troopers actually get freaked out by a monster, and make defensive poses while the Professor does an aside.
Afterwards Ryan says that if that’s what it takes to find his father he’ll do it, and Kaitlin says they’ll be with him.
Just then Jeb gets on the machine, and starts messing with it which then starts electrocuting him, and when it’s done he starts talking with a Jack Nicholson impersonation.
Now I’m just going to flat out say it I like Jeb because I like his whole sarcastic commentary on everything.
Anyway the Professor says he can make Jeb normal but Jeb doesn’t want to so Ryan makes him promise not to talk around anyone besides them.
Back at Ziktor industries Ziktor transforms into Grimlord, and goes to the Virtual Dungeon.
While at Tao dojo the Troopers are practicing martial arts while a Ron Wasserman song plays afterwards Tao himself comes out with some brooms, and dust pans, and asks them to clean the dojo before they leave.
We then go to the Underground Voice Daily where Woody is playing with some toys when Kaitlin comes in, and Woody asks if she has her story ready which she doesn’t.
So she grabs her camera, and drives her car just outside Crossworld City when she sees something strange, and finds Grimlord’s mutants getting ready for the final assault on reality.
At Tao dojo the show sets up this sub plot where Ryan is trying to become part owner of the dojo when Kaitlin comes in and tells them she has to talk to them while grabbing her Virtualizer to show them it’s Trooper related.
So Ryan and JB leave with her while Tao just stands around confused.
While at the Virtual Dungeon Grimlord’s mutants are cheering while Grimlord has all of them attack the reality barrier.
Back at the UVD JB puts a floppy disk into Kaitlin ’s computer that lets them talk to the Professor so Kaitlin shows him her pictures and he tells them to stop Grimlord’s army.
So they all go to the dark room, and transform into the VR Troopers.
The Professor tells Ryan to attack Grimlord’s base to stop his army, and gives him a spaceship called the Skybase to do it with.
Just then the Skybase is attacked by Grimlord’s remote controlled jet fighters so he fires some missiles at them.
Meanwhile JB and Kaitlin sneak into Grimlord’s base, plant explosives in the main power core.
Just then the alarm goes off so the Skugs go after JB, and Kaitlin who try to escape the base in time when they are attacked by a robotic surveillance camera but they manage to escape before it’s destroyed.
Which I’ll say I like this part because of how it reminds me of a live action Contra.
Back in the Virtual Dungeon Grimlord tells General Ivar to send an Ramada of tanks at the Troopers so the Professor tells Ryan to use the VR Battle Cruiser.
Ryan tries to attack all the tanks but they keep coming so the Professor tells him to attack General Ivar’s tank.
The Battle Cruiser, and Ivar’s tank try to run each other off but Ryan succeeds in pushing Ivar’s tank off the cliff and JB Kaitlin high five while Jeb’s eyes bulge out.
Back at the Virtual Dungeon Grimlord is mad the Troopers beat him and vows revenge.
At the lab the Professor congratulates the Troopers but warns them that Grimlord will strike again.
Then Grimlord himself sends a message to taunt them.
“I miss you Dad” the end.
So finally (pardon the pun) here’s my final thoughts.
I’ll start by saying that as VR Troopers fan myself I’m not too big into the whole idea that the show is better than PR because it’s “Darker” and “ Edgier” since that’s only half the show.
I’m usually not a fan of stereotypical evil businessman types, and it’s especially weird since one of the richest guys around made this but at the same time I can see why they other people might see this as more “realistic”
I’m not to sure about the Virtual Reality motif since aside the visors, and some of the effects this could easily just about technology in general.
I’ll admit I do like the whole theme of technology like how the Troopers, and the Professor represent technology being used to for peace, and fixing the world, and Ziktor represents it being used for war, and pollution, and all that bad stuff.

I guess I should talk about Ryan’s epic daddy issues but I don’t don’t know like I said all the good jokes have been done, and despite or perhaps because I’ve seen so many Anime, and Tokusatsu shows that I’m pretty much just as used to missing/dead family issues as I am with monsters, and robots.
I like how the Troopers have jobs, and goals like all of them working at the dojo, Ryan wanting to be part owner, JB being a computer genius, Kaitlin being a reporter.
I like how the heroes turn into robots, and have armor, and the vehicles, and how you can see what they see.
I also like the comic relief side characters
I like the monsters, and how they look like how I imagine robots, and mutants would look like though I wish they weren’t so many at a time though that’s more with Metalder then VR Troopers.

The only real combo breaker for me is the stuff with the old building in part 1, and Ziktor talking about land.
On one hand it’s only three minutes but that’s three minutes that could have been spent on anything else.
Like having Tyler’s message make more sense, having that deleted Skug fight that part 1 was supposed to have, and maybe even having an actual Battle Grid scene to introduce the suits, or just use the unused fight scene footage that was in the episodes they adapted.

Which reminds me, and I’m probably going to point this out a bunch of times for a show that uses two later three Japanese superhero shows and ended because of a lack of footage there’s either a whole fight scene they don’t use or they use it but not all of it.
Especially since there was a whole fight scene from the episode of Metalder they used in Part 1, and in the Spielban fight they used had Spielban use the Gaios tank.
Other than that it’s a good premiere.

Tune in next time for more Magic Happy American Tokusatstu reviews.

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