Astartes

I will probably do myself no favours saying this but...I know very little about 40K. Yes I know about GW and the board games and miniatures, I've even played a Warhammer game over on the Xbox 360, it was pretty good, but I have no insight into any lore or the universe that the franchise occupies.

What I do know is that this showed up in my YouTube recommended and I preceded to watch. Wow. So glad I did because this was something else. It grabbed me from the off, there is something more going on here other than just great visuals. I'm not savvy in film/cinema speak but I'll say this then end my review, it gave me a vibe I very rarely get from films these days, short or no, and that vibe is mystery. It dripped with it. A touch of the Space Jockey if you will.

I'm off to read up on Warhammer things. To the creative behind this, don't pull a Prometheus.

An excellent example of visual storytelling, not a single word as none are needed.

Actions are clear and tell all that is needed to be told here.

Excellent CGI, believable animation and heaps of atmosphere.

I think the only thing left is hopefully some studio or financier will support the full length film so we can get the rest of the story.

I remember back around my 19th birthday when my friend showed me Astartes out of the blue, telling me it was a great Warhammer 40K animated fanfilm. I didn't know too much about the 40K IP, other than my friend being really into it, so I decided to take a look. Today, I have watched the Astartes series hundreds if not thousands of times, and it still brings tears to my eyes. It is not simply an amazing Warhammer 40K fanfilm. It is a truly phenomenal masterpiece of cinematography, CGI, and storytelling.

• Very little dialogue, still tells a very intriguing and in-depth story through subtle imagery.
• CGI, models, motion, and physics quality are second to none.
• Both the story's "protagonists" and "antagonists" are built extremely well, there is no one side overshadowing the other, no "heroes good because baddies are bad", everyone is highly skilled and intelligent.
• With CGI you can move the camera wherever and however you want, however the cinematography feels extremely realistic and grounded.
• The combat choreography and cinematography is outstanding and very cleverly thought-out.
• The suspense, mystery, and cliffhanger at the end leaves us yearning and begging for what comes next.

This is truly a perfect film and deserves so much more support. I thank this man so dearly for the passion-driven creation he has put forth.

I know next to nothing about the Warhammer 40K IP. I stumbled across this because of a Youtube recommendation.

Simply amazing work. The visuls are good and improved through the first 5 episodes--but it wasn't the visuals that captured me--it was the directorial/editorial skill.

It is simply a superb example of minimalist storytelling. Tight editing, strong emotion, essentially no dialog--everything just clicks. I didn't need to know the IP in order to be sucked into the story and experience. It didn't matter.

This is a masterclass in cinematography, sound design and story telling. Without dialogue the mood is still clear and the fast cuts aren't there to hide shoddy choreography but to cram information into a tightly constructed scene.

Just spectacular.