Rainbow Rocks

[Soldier Surplus 232]

The movie was great IMO. Just one question.... why is Sonata so DINGY!? aka dumber than a box of rocks 

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

Twas a fantastic movie. I really adored Sunset Shimmer in it, and I hope that she writes to Twi in season 5. It bothered me at points, but overall I'd give it an 8/10. Was still a bit short, too. Rainbow was a total bitch, though. I didn't like her in this movie.

 

 

Still waiting on a full-fledged pony movie. though. At least 90 minutes. Come on, DHX!

you couldn't wait 3 hours to make this post?

[Celli 4,338]

you couldn't wait 3 hours to make this post?

I know, I literally turned my computer on earlier and saw that they're making a movie in 2017.

[soniccam1 242]

Haven't seen the movie, yet.

 

By the way it looks for the trailers, I'm in for a ride then the first movie.

 

Just gotta wait until the 28th of October so I can get it on iTunes.

[Will Guide 21,360]

Rainbow was a total bitch, though. I didn't like her in this movie.

 

To take a moment of Fridge Brilliance from TvTropes:

"Why is Rainbow Dash Flanderized into an egotistical braggart? Pony!Rainbow has undergone Character Development thanks to incidents like Mare-Do-Well and the Wonderbolt academy that have humbled her and made her a better person. Human!Rainbow, as far as we know, hasn't, and to the contrary is the leader of a band that has acquired magical powers since the first film. No wonder she's cockier than we expect."

 

Also from TvTropes: "...remember how the Humane Five were estranged from each other for quite some time. It's friendship that's led to their pony incarnations to go through Character Development; without the group together to teach each other lessons and balance each other out, all of their vices are probably a bit closer to the surface."

[Celli 4,338]

To take a moment of Fridge Brilliance from TvTropes:

"Why is Rainbow Dash Flanderized into an egotistical braggart? Pony!Rainbow has undergone Character Development thanks to incidents like Mare-Do-Well and the Wonderbolt academy that have humbled her and made her a better person. Human!Rainbow, as far as we know, hasn't, and to the contrary is the leader of a band that has acquired magical powers since the first film. No wonder she's cockier than we expect."

 

Also from TvTropes: "...remember how the Humane Five were estranged from each other for quite some time. It's friendship that's led to their pony incarnations to go through Character Development; without the group together to teach each other lessons and balance each other out, all of their vices are probably a bit closer to the surface."

I mean, she was all, "It's my band! I made it up!" "Oh, let's play my sonh instead of Fluttershy's"

[Singe 2,111]

To take a moment of Fridge Brilliance from TvTropes:

"Why is Rainbow Dash Flanderized into an egotistical braggart? Pony!Rainbow has undergone Character Development thanks to incidents like Mare-Do-Well and the Wonderbolt academy that have humbled her and made her a better person. Human!Rainbow, as far as we know, hasn't, and to the contrary is the leader of a band that has acquired magical powers since the first film. No wonder she's cockier than we expect."

 

Also from TvTropes: "...remember how the Humane Five were estranged from each other for quite some time. It's friendship that's led to their pony incarnations to go through Character Development; without the group together to teach each other lessons and balance each other out, all of their vices are probably a bit closer to the surface."

 

It leaves the impression that the Humane Five couldn't do anything without Twilight or Sunset to set them straight.

 

FIM gives the Mane 5 time to do it themselves, experience failure, and learn to better themselves. A luxury the Humane 5 don't get.

[newfrickinshow 100]

Okay, I'm doing this in two sections.  The first will be a general assessment and as vague as possible to prevent spoilers for those who haven't seen it yet.  The second will be getting more into specifics so here goes and avoid it if you're avoiding spoilers.

 

I saw the movie last night before going to sleep thanks to a youtube blind reaction video (done by dywtba_brony).  Before it was half way done I had already purchased the soundtrack and pre-ordered the movie off of iTunes.  It was that good at that point and got better as it went on.  Plot was solid, pacing was good, songs were excellent, and the cameos from fan-favorite extra characters were amazing.  Villains showed some cunning and (though a little generic) definitely brought out the emotions that the writers were looking to provoke. 

 

So I say if you are only planning to see one more movie about pastel-colored ponies this year, Rainbow Rocks wouldn't be a bad choice.  Definitely worth the money.

 

 

(SPOILERS AHEAD)

Things I Liked:

My favorite thing about this movie was probably the development of Sunset Shimmer.  Not how far she's come since discovering, "the magic of friendship" but mature enough to let all the comments and mistrust directed her way roll off her back.  She fully accepts how bad she was in EG1.  I believe the phrase she used was, "I turned into a raging she-demon," and by the end of the movie she was reuniting the corrupted, bickering friends.

 

The Sirens.  The Dazzlings were good and evil.  They were also smart enough to make sure to corrupt the authority (Principal Celestia and Vice-principal Luna) before setting their sights on the rest of the school.  They feed off conflict and their greatest weapon is their mesmerizing singing voices so creating a battle of the bands was a stroke of genius.  Making it into a tournament allowed for it to be a longer, more conflict-heavy process providing fuel to the fire.  Making themselves stronger each step along the way.  The dynamics of the group was a bit typical (the leader, the angry one, and the dumb one) was a bit cliche but well done.

 

Vinyl saves the day.  Call her Vinyl Scratch, call her DJ Pwn-3, call her whatever you like but at the end of the day you need to call her the hero of the day.  Since she's always wearing the headphones, she never heard the siren's song and was able to let them out of the room they were locked in towards the end and provides the speakers for our heroines to use in the final battle to save the world.

 

Cameos.  Octavia speaks, Bulk Biceps apparently rocks the contest with his violin, Maude and Boulder show up for a bit (cause Boulder got hungry), and of course Derpy (literally) takes center stage at one point.  Just about everybody's favorite background pony gets a guest appearance at some point in this one.

 

Music: While none of the songs were quite up to my favorite of the EG series (Help Twilight Win The Crown) I still thought everything in the movie was at least good.  Awesome As I Want To Be and Tricks Up My Sleeves are probably my favorites, the latter gets a lot of praise from me just because it's clever on so many levels in addition to being a great song.  Shake Your Tail is high as well.

 

Post credits sequence: Human Twilight knows something weird is going on at that school.  That sets up sooooo many beautiful possibilities.  Not only make me want this movie but make me want to see the next one?  Is human Twilight coming to Equestria?  Only time will tell...

 

What I didn't like:

Why the human versions of the Mane 6 only grow tails, horse ears, and wings when rocking out isn't explained.  They say they don't know why.  Honestly I'm splitting hairs here and trying to find 1 thing for this section and that's the best I could comp up with.  I'd rather have no reason than a bad one anyway so I'm fairly okay with this as well.

 

Well, that about does it for my review.  Hope it doesn't get me panned and banned, thanks.

Edited October 21, 2014 by newfrickinshow

[paradoxical 1,735]

It leaves the impression that the Humane Five couldn't do anything without Twilight or Sunset to set them straight.

 

FIM gives the Mane 5 time to do it themselves, experience failure, and learn to better themselves. A luxury the Humane 5 don't get.

Maybe in the comics/tv series that seem to be coming out.

[NavelColt 22,880]

I made a full react/review thing somewhere around here, but here's a little thing for the moment now that it's on my mind.

 

It's a well-known trope that villains always have the best songs; be it movie, show or otherwise, it's pretty much a solid concept that always holds water. But even past that, The Dazzling's songs in this movie were all incredible, entrancing and catchy. Even if the character's individual personalities weren't the most original in the world, even individually having a few cliche parts to them, the fact that these characters were perfect embodiments of the creatures they were based off of by having music that was more catchy, memorable and entrancing than most of the protagonist's songs won my complete love and respect for them in general.

 

After all, as they say, it doesn't matter what they look like or what they do, when it comes to Sirens, once they open their mouths, you're a lost cause. You're doomed to be trapped in their indomitable allure; regardless what you had thought of them before, you're made to love them and their music x)

 

Source: Filly I've had Under Our Spell on repeat for at least twenty minutes.

[Batbrony 16,054]

Hey, hey, hey everypony, long time no see! Man, been awhile since I churned out one of these puppies. Well, let's dive right into it, starting with the most basic question of them all. Did I like this movie?

Surprisingly, yes, I did, I enjoyed it quite a lot. This didn't shock me just because, by the time I got around to seeing it, it'd already had quite a bit of good word of mouth going around online, but still, I loathed so many things about Equestria Girls that, to enjoy Rainbow Rocks as much as I did was still quite surprising and unexpected for me. Was it perfect? Buck no, few things in MLP in general are, and like its predecessor, Rainbow Rocks still had plenty of things wrong with it. So let's a take a look at the finer points of the film. Spoilers ahead, obviously. Without further ado, let's talk about...
 

Rainbow Rocks: The Good, the Bad, and the Useless

 

The Good

First up, let's start by talking about the main character. No, I'm not talking about Twilight Sparkle. In fact, I don't actually have many good things to say about her (sorry Artemis), but we'll get to that later. No, in my humble opinion, Sunset Shimmer is the main character of Rainbow Rocks. And my oh my, what a turn around for that character. If any of you will recall my EQG review, you'll recall that I despised Sunset Shimmer in EQG. Well, OK, maybe that's a bit harsh. I despised things about her. She had a great backstory and character design, so there was a lot of good groundwork with this character. So what did DHX do with this potentially super sweet villain? GAVE HER THE WORST VILLAINOUS SCHEME EVER!!!! It still is, trust me, it is still awful! She tried to take over all of Equestria with about a hundred enslaved human thralls. THAT'S BUCKING IT!!! Buck me, Sombra's crystal fetish remains more threatening than that! So, needless to say, her improved performance was a breath of fresh air.

 

 

Awwwwwww, wook at her in her wittle sweater!!! 

 

The film's basically a redemption story for her, more than likely setting her up as a major character, if not the main character, of a more-than-likely-forthcoming Equestria Girls TV show. She's the first to identify the Dazzlings as trouble. She figures out how to contact Twilight, brings the group together at the end, and is a crucial figure in the final showdown against the Dazzlings. Not only that, but she sings, and plays the guitar! But really, what really, truly sold me on Sunset Shimmer here was just how well she was written. She had the strongest character arc of anyone in the film. We saw from the very outset that she clearly regretted her past mistakes and was still very self conscious about them, had hardly earned back everyone's trust, not even that of the HuMane 6, and they're the closest things to friends she had from the get-go, and that she was trying to make amends but wasn't quite sure how to, or if anyone would even care. This is a very compelling, sympathetic character we got here. By the end of the film, with a little courage and encouragement from Twilight, Sunset had stepped up and realized that there is real good she can do, that she doesn't have to keep living in the past with her regrets, but can push forward and make a new, brighter future for herself full of the magic of friendship. It was bucking awesome, and most importantly of all, it was the realization of Sunset Shimmer's potential to be a great character that I've been waiting to see since EQG came out, and I cannot praise DHX enough for how she turned out. Oh, and props to Rebecca Shoichet as well on her stellar performance. Here's hoping we see more of Sunset Shimmer in the future!
 

 

The Mane 7... DHX, MAKE THIS HAPPEN NOW!!!!!!!!! I WANT, I WANT SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Next, let's talk about the HuMane 6 +Twilight, because there were things about them that worked here (although I do probably have more complaints than praise for them, but we'll get to that soon enough). So what worked? Well, we had no BS subplot about these lifelong, childhood friends severing their friendships for the stupidest reasons ever to deal with, which I couldn't have been happier about. Seriously, that was really stupid in EQG, OK? Like in EQG, they mostly complemented the Equestrian Mane 6's personalities to a T: Pinkie Pie was probably the highlight of the group, and Fluttershy, Applejack, and Rarity all seemed fine in their mannerisms. Their band antics were fun, they had some solid comedy (especially, again, Pinkie, she was a joy as usual), their musical performances were all great and it was nice seeing them function as a group the whole film. Rarity's costumes were pretty awesome, especially that Daft Punk outfit (seriously, I want to see more of that outfit, it was that amazing). As for Twilight, it was really nice that we didn't have to deal with all the "oh, this world is so new, what is all this stuff?" crap that we had to deal with in EQG, because that stuff, while fun there, got pretty old pretty fast. Overall, the gang learned a good lesson about friendship and saved the day, and that's what matters most from these guys.

Background characters (and minor supporting characters) were another bright spot, as usual. I didn't really have many complaints about them in the first film, other than they were kinda random in EQG. They popped out of nowhere, had some really random bits that were just shout outs to bronies for the most part, and didn't really do anything in the movie itself. I mean, yeah, stuff like Trixie and her peanut butter crackers or Derpy or the CMC were fun, but they just didn't affect anything in EQG. Here, that was not the case. The background characters actually had on impact on the plot, serving as the unwitting thralls of the Dazzlings and foils to the HuMane 6 as they all participated in the Battle of the Bands. And ya know what, it was a lot of fun seeing that! Buck, we saw more involvement from the background characters here than we usually EVER see in the show! Trixie of all things was an actual supporting character (which of course was glorious, because, hey, she's Trixie), and to top it all off, she sang! Maud, who I still can't stand in her episode, actually was in my favorite cameo of the movie; seriously, her appearance was hilarious! Besides those two, we also saw the CMC (though oddly enough they did less here than they did in EQG, besides an amazing callback to their CMC song from S1), Snips and Snails rapping (I want to see more of that now), Derpy in all her glory as usual, Bon Bon and Lyra (can I just say that it was awesome seeing the latter after she got gypped in EQG; seriously, how the heck did DHX overlook throwing her in the first film, the fanon-human-obsessed pony?!?!) in a fairly risque shot that I'm still trying to figure out how it got greenlighted (you all know which one I'm talking about!), Bulk Biceps, Photo Finish, Octavia rocking the cello, Vinyl Scratch as a silent supporting character, Cloud Kicker, and a whole bunch of others. All in all, we got some old but reliable bits from the background characters, and some new bits to boot that were quite enjoyable. Most of all, though, as I said before, it was very pleasing for me to see the background characters have an actual impact on the story itself, and I can only hope we might start seeing more of that in the show again soon as well.
 

 

Well now... they're awfully close, now, aren't they? Huh... wow, how the actual buck did DHX get away with this? Is this, uhhhhh... is this the animators way of confirming a ship? Dayum!

 

 

Can these two just do this every time they show up from now on? Just, mic drops galore whenever Snips and Snails show up in the show? Cause that would kind of be amazing.

 

 

Holy buck, that's simultaneously awesome and terrifying! I mean, just look at Sweetie Belle! She looks like she just unleashed her inner banshee!!!

 

 

I have no idea what's even going on, but what I do know is that Derpy is dressed as a Jedi, and that's bucking awesome. Can we please have more of Derpy dressed as a Jedi. PLEASE!!!!!

 

Oh, and apparently she has a posse now too. Can that be a thing as well from now on?

 

Now, of course no MLP movie's good without a good villain. EQG was brought down terribly by its lack of a good villain, namely her idiotic plot. So, how were the villains in Rainbow Rocks by comparison?

 

 

Sooooooo good!!!!!!!! I'm not even kidding or exaggerating, I loved the Dazzlings/Sirens! They were a great trio of villains, really! And ya know what, that's really surprising all things considered. I mean, to start, I was worried after EQG that DHX would screw up in the villain category AGAIN. They'd have a stupid plan, stupid powers, bad character development, whatever, point is, I had plenty of reason to worry that these guys would be lame. The previews did not help either, mostly because of the character design. What do I mean by that? Well for the most part their designs are by the book, pretty standard fare for MLP and EQG, aesthetically pleasing on the whole. Except for one thing. THE BUCKING HAIR! OH MY GOSH, LOOK AT HOW BIG THEIR HAIR IS!!! YOU COULD SHAVE IT ALL OFF, SELL IT, AND DONATE THE PROCEEDS TO FEED A THIRD WORLD NATION!!!!!!!! Point is, I had my reasons, some silly, some not so much, for being worried about these guys. But boy oh boy did I have nothing to worry about! For starters, the Dazzlings are quite classic villains with awesome backstories. I mean, mythological beings banished from Equestria for sowing hatred and discord among ponies and also compelling them to give them praise and adoration through their song? THAT'S FRIGGIN' AWESOME, and it fits into the MLP universe to a T! Not only that, but their plan is quite good to boot. Do they wanna try to take over Equestria? No, that'd be stupid; they got banished from Equestria in the first place by one (admittedly powerful) unicorn, I don't think they'd fare too well against 4 alicorns, the Element Bearers, and the god of chaos, just for starters (yes, that is exactly what Sunset wanted to go up against, and yes, it's still bucking stupid and I will keep saying this until the end of time). Instead, the Dazzlings set their sights considerably lower, but for smart reasons. They wanted to take over the human world, and given that this movie and EQG seemed to suggest that Equestrian magic has even more powerful effects in the human world, where magic is largely absent, than in Equestria itself, I think they might've stood a chance had their plan panned out. In the end, they weren't defeated by incompetence or clumsy plotholes. They were just straight-up one-upped by the HuMane 6. Admittedly I would've liked if their gems that apparently gave them their powers would've been explained earlier in the movie, and their plan was a bit convoluted at times, but all in all, I have no complaints about these guys. Adagio probably was my favorite just because she was wicked nasty! That cheeky yet also sinister smile of hers was downright diabolical, and she did a good job throughout the film asserting her authority as leader of the Dazzlings. Aria I didn't really care for, she didn't really wow me or anything, and while Sonata was enjoyable, I don't understand the obsession that some bronies seem to have with her. It seems similar to the Maud craze that cropped up after her debut, and I don't get that either. Sonata just didn't do that much, not enough to warrant that praise, at least in my opinion. Overall, while I doubt we'll see these guys again, I certainly wouldn't complain if the Dazzlings ever showed up again. They pretty much had everything you'd want out of an MLP villain.

 

Finally, let's talk about the last big factor that worked so well in this movie: the music. Oh. My. Gosh. The music. Travelling down nostalgia lane again, some might recall that I was not wowed by the music in EQG. Simply put, besides "Helping Twilight Win the Crown" (which is amazing and terribly catchy) all of the music in EQG was, in my opinion, mediocre and unmemorable. Worse, it seemed to show up in really random spots throughout the movie, like it just didn't belong there or even bring anything special to it. It was just there, and for Daniel Ingram, one of my FAVORITE members of the DHX production team, it was sooooooo disappointing to hear that output from him. So needless to say I was worried about an entire movie revolving around a high school Battle of the Bands. BUCK ME, WAS I EVER WRONG!!!

 

This music was amazing!!! It all was catchy, and memorable, had these awesome beats and rhythms and tunes that'll be stuck in your head for days (trust me, they're still stuck in my head, no joke!). The best part, though, for me, was that these all functioned as songs should in a musical, which is what this movie was, it was a musical. EQG never really embraced that, and heck, most episodes of MLP aren't musicals either. I think the only two I would count as musicals are "Canterlot Wedding: Parts 1 and 2" and "Magical Mystery Cure" because the songs there play a part in telling the story. That's not to say that other songs in MLP don't do that, there's just not enough of them in single episodes to say that that episode was a musical. Anyways, EQG had enough songs to claim being a musical, the problem was, these songs struggled to find their own identities. Sometimes they seemed to want to be an MLP song, other times they seemed to want to be a high school movie pop song. The only exception, again, was "Helping Twilight Win the Crown"; that song was extremely original, served a crucial role in the plot, extremely catchy, and just felt unique, like, something we hadn't seen in MLP before, something new. EVERY SINGLE SONG felt that way in Rainbow Rocks. They were original, they served purposes within the plot, they weren't random or nonsensical or mediocre and unmemorable, they had extraordinarily catchy beats. Most impressive of all for me is the fact that they actually reflected character personalities! All of the HuMane 6's songs felt like natural extensions of what we saw in "Helping Twilight Win the Crown" only even better than that, the Dazzlings songs actually expressed their personality more than anything they said in normal conversation (which makes sense, seeing as, after all, singing is how their magic is unleashed) and, to boot, were all similar and yet at the same time unique from one another (as a quick aside, can we PLEASE have more villain songs again? We hadn't had villains singing until this since Chrysalis back in Season 2, and it was as amazing then as it was here!!!), and even Trixie had a song that was clearly different from the other groups and had her own unique sound! This is one of the best soundtracks Ingram's ever produced, and the best part was it felt like EQG's own thing; none of the songs were trying to be like a song from MLP, aside from being about friendship of course, and in doing so they felt true to both the spirit of the show but also this world where they're being sung, which is still different from Equestria itself. I usually hate high school movies, but these felt like the best kind of songs you could ever encounter in a high school musical movie, and I can't praise their quality enough! My favorites would probably have to be "Rainbow Rocks" (insanely catchy beat!), "Better Than Ever", "Under Our Spell" (my personal favorite number sung by the Dazzlings, trust me, it WILL get stuck in your head! On top of that, it has an incredibly memorable visual sequence to accompany it), and "Welcome to the Show", but really, all of these songs were amazing in their own right. This bodes well for Season 5, and it also bodes well for a potential EQG show, because it tells me that Ingram knows exactly how to give such a show its own unique sound that doesn't just sound like an MLP copycat.

 

 

So yeah, if you couldn't tell, the music is what really sold this movie for me. It was so good and worked so well in the story and just the aesthetics of the film all in all, I still can't praise it enough. It's the film's X-factor for me, and definitely made it not just good, but exceptional. Besides all of these factors I already listed, there was plenty of more minor elements that made the film work. The animation was lovely as usual, the human designs not quite as grating as they were in the last film, and the settings looked nice enough. We still didn't get to see much of this world, but the little we did looked nice. The comedy as I mentioned earlier was spot on, especially any provided by Pinkie Pie. The little we saw of the Mane 6 in Equestria was nice; I don't know why some people complained about them here, I didn't think they did anything wrong. They just weren't in it that much was all. And even though the story was a bit predictable, for what it was, it was well executed. All in all, this was a complete product that was quite exceptional in its own right, something I cannot say of its predecessor. Yet, sadly, we're not quite done with this review. As I said, it wasn't perfect, so next, let's take a look at...

 

The Bad

 

This section will be actually smaller than you'd think, mostly because most of my complaints are being reserved for the last section. That said, there were still some things that I thought were just bad in Rainbow Rocks. First, human Rainbow Dash. I didn't like her in EQG. I didn't like her here either (sorry DashForever). My complaints are almost exactly identical to what I said about her in the first film; human Rainbow Dash feels like an overblown caricature of Equestrian Rainbow Dash. She constantly proclaims how awesome she is (namely by saying the word 'awesome'). She feels the need to incessantly take the spotlight and, without Twilight there and before Sunset really made amends at the end of the film, she was pretty much acting as the self-proclaimed leader of the group. I really don't like that, and I don't think anyone would like that. I mean, imagine if in MLP, RD was the leader of the Mane 6, not Twilight. That would be incredibly annoying! She's great as a supporting character, because this character who is so good at pretty much anything she sets her mind to is constantly being asked to support others instead of her own ambitions. As leader, though, human RD felt at times like she was using the rest of the HuMane 6 to just highlight how awesome she was. It just felt really off for her, and once again I found myself really disliking RD's human counterpart. Like, if those two met, I get the feeling that pony RD would be telling human RD to tone it down a notch with all the "I'm awesome!" banter. All in all, I'm sorry RD fans, but, yet again, I just couldn't enjoy human RD for the most part.

 

Next, let's talk the transformations. Oh... those bucking transformations. I still don't like them. I think they're terrifying, needless, and completely nonsensical, just like they were in the first film, and the fact that nobody questions them makes them even weirder. The only nice thing I can say about them is that they at least tried to explain them in this movie, but tha's about it. All in all, the pony-human hybrid transformations are as weird and creepy as ever, at least for me.

 

Another complaint I have is that we didn't get to hear more of the acts in the Battle of the Bands. Yeah, I know why we didn't, they had a short running time and, all things considered, they showed the other acts pretty well in the "Under Our Spell" sequence. Still, given how awesome Trixie's song was, not to mention that hilarity from Snips and Snails' rap, I couldn't help but want to see more of these acts. I mean, heck, the CMC were in their S1 get-up and everything, that is soooooo awesome! Bulk Biceps was on the violin/or fiddle, I couldn't tell, Tavi was on her cello, Lyra and Bon Bon performed a piano and vocal duet!!! I WANT TO SEE THESE ACTS!!!!!!!!!!! Ah well, that's a fairly minor complaint, but I can dream, can't I?

 

The mirror bit in Equestria was... a weak plot device, to say the least. I know they just want to set up future sequels/crossovers (and to be fair, I would kill to see both Mane 6 together, that would be awesome!), but... you're telling me that Celestia couldn't have figured out how to do what Twilight did in 1,000 years? BULL CRAP!!!!!!!

 

Finally, Octavia talked... for the first time ever. This is a background character who, despite her massive popularity, actually is one of the rarest background characters to appear in the show (I don't think many people realize how rarely she shows up, but she really hasn't shown up that much!). So, given that, I don't really like that she talked here, even if it was just one line. It's not that I didn't like the voice (although it could've been a little more refined sounding), it's just... her first lines of dialogue we've ever heard came from her human persona. That just doesn't seem right to me. I know it's nitpicky, but, after seeing that, I'm kinda glad that Vinyl didn't speak. I like her as this silent supporting character who just basks in her own swag without saying anything. Not that I'd be opposed to her speaking in the future, just... stick with the ponies, DHX, when it comes to speaking for some of these characters, at least for the first time.

 

Alright, well, that's my bad out of the way. Not that much, as you can see. Well, that's for a very particular reason. My last section is devoted to my biggest complaint of all in this movie. Let's close this review out with...

 

The Useless

 

What do I mean by useless? Well there was something I noticed in this movie. Something very, very specifically wrong with it. TONS of characters were useless. What do I mean by that? Quite simply this: main and supporting characters did absolutely NOTHING to resolve the film or, even worse, justify their presence.

 

Let's start with the HuMane 6 + Twilight. They did jack-freaking-squat! The HuMane 6 spent most of the movie bickering more and more and more until Sunset Shimmer brought them all together again at the end of the film. I know it was a plot device, but it frustrated me as much as their stupid, BS subplot about being split up by Sunset Shimmer in EQG did. They did nothing but contribute to the problem until the final part of the final act, and yes, I agree with my BFF DashForever that it's probably to set up an EQG show and illustrate that they still have much to learn about friendship (although that doesn't really make sense given that, unlike the Mane 6, the HuMane 6 have purportedly been lifelong friends! WHY DON'T THEY KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT FRIENDSHIP?!?!?!?!), but that doesn't make it any less annoying to watch. Twilight, and Spike, were, get this, JUST AS USELESS!!!! I'm not kidding, they were, and that was so disappointing considering they were both two of the bright spots of EQG! Twilight spent the whole movie trying to come up with a counter spell that they didn't need! Really Twilight? After becoming the princess of friendship, you couldn't figure out that, in a Battle of the Bands, the HuMane 6 could unleash the magic of friendship just by singing their hearts out and playing and singing really, really well??? Cause that's all they had to do, they said as much at the end!!! That friggin' frustrated me, and Twilight did nothing except perform with them and, to her credit, make up with Sunset Shimmer (though I would've liked to see one or two more scenes with just those two, the one they had was really nice). She didn't even seem like a leader for most of the film, and at this point in the show, that was just really out of character! Spike was even worse! Mostly because he was barely in the movie! He was there for a lot of scenes, but he didn't say or do much. The most important thing he did was get Vinyl Scratch... to open a door. Whoop-dee-friggin'-doo!!! So yeah, you can see what I mean by all these characters being useless. They all just felt like they were taking up space and nothing else for so much of this movie! It was seriously disappointing, especially for Twilight and Spike.

 

Next, Principal Celestia and Vice Principal Luna. These characters were pretty useless in EQG to start. Celestia's personality was fine in EQG for the most part, she was a nice cross of her pony self with a human in that particular position, but Vice Principal Luna had the stupidest and most needless subplot ever which lasted, literally, only 30 seconds. Overall, both of them did barely anything in that film. So imagine my shock when they somehow were even more useless in this film! Look, I know that they were thralls to the Dazzlings by the time the HuMane 6 caught up with them. THAT DOESN'T MAKE IT ANY LESS ANNOYING THAT THEY DID ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO HELP THE MAIN CHARACTERS OUT!!!!!!!! All they did... ALL they did was put together the Battle of the Bands and judge it. Oh, and make some snide remarks about Sunset Shimmer. BUCK... THAT!!!!!!!!! On top of that, I still don't like their human designs, but that's beside the point. They did bucking nothing! I still can't believe it, but yes, they were somehow more useless in this film than in EQG. That really, really frustrated me.

 

However... nothing, absolutely nothing, in this film frustrated me as much as a certain character (if you want to call him that). This guy... oh, this guy. Fillies and gentlecolts, I present to you...

 

THE KING OF USELESS

 

 

Ohhhhhhhh... this... mother... bucker.

 

*sigh* Where do I even begin? Well, let's start from the beginning. I am not a rabid Twilight fan who, when EQG came out, was all "Oh noes, Flash Sentry's stealing my waifu". No no... I was pissed that we were supposed to believe that he and Twilight had a thing because THEY SO DIDN'T HAVE A THING!!!!!! If Twilight ever gets with someone, preferably in the show AND OF THE SAME SPECIES(!!!), it needs to be a fully developed relationship. THIS was not a fully developed relationship!!!! This was one character and one cardboard cutout spending 5 minutes of screentime together, two of which were spent hemming and hawing, the other three being spent blushing. THAT'S NOT A RELATIONSHIP!!!!!!!! If DHX cared so little about it, then why the buck did they throw it in?!?!?! But I digress.

 

Flash forward (no pun intended, I swear) to Rainbow Rocks. This mother bucker is unfortunately back. And you know what we learn very, very, very fast? HE'S EVEN MORE USELESS SOMEHOW!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW IS THAT EVEN POSSIBLE?!?!?! Anyways... so this guy spends his days asking if Twilight (who he knows now is a pony, I remind you) is back. That's... creepy, and just a bit stalkerish. And when she gets back, what happens? Buck me, she's as happy to see him. I don't even get that, the end of the first film seemed to suggest she might try to pursue something with pony Flash Sentry (who's just as useless, for the record). But no, apparently Twilight has a thing for a completely different species, which I could buy if they'd spent more than 5 minutes together in the last film!!!!! But, uh oh, what's this? Flash, like the rest of the school, is under the Dazzlings enchantment (knowing that idiot, he was the first converted). So now he's competing in the Battle of the Bands. So what happens? Does he make it to the final round and try to unwittingly thwart Twilight and the HuMane 6 due to his forced competitiveness and hate? NOPE!!!!!!! That loser gets out wayyyyyyy before the final round. I will admit, I laughed hard at that, just because I like seeing Flash Sentry suffer, and it meant seeing less of him. However, things might've been more interesting if, instead of Trixie, Twilight's supposed waifu (I think I threw up in my mouth just typing that) would've been the one to try and stop her at the end. But again, on the bright side, we got less of him as a result. The bad news is... EVEN WITH LESS FLASH SENTRY, THIS FILM WAS STILL TRYING TO PRETEND THAT HE AND TWILIGHT HAD A THING!!!!!! ARE... YOU... SERIOUS?!?!?!?!? It was even more apparent here than in EQG that they DIDN'T HAVE A THING!!!!!!!!!!! They did absolutely nothing together, they blushed and spoke less than they did before! SO WHY ARE YOU TRYING TO CONVINCE US THAT THEY HAVE A THING?!?!?! Besides that, Flash Sentry... well, he did nothing. He lost in the competition, we never even saw him perform except for one quick shot, and besides "flirting" with Twilight... that was it. HE... DID... NOTHING!!!!!!!!! This character is not justified in his existence! Do you hear me, DHX? THIS CHARACTER HAD LESS PURPOSE HERE THAN HE DID EVEN IN EQG, AND HE DIDN'T JUSTIFY HIS EXISTENCE THERE EITHER!!!!!!!! WHY DO YOU EXIST, FLASH SENTRY?!?!?!?!?! YOU DO NOTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MAY LUNA STRIKE YOU DOWN AND CAST YOU INTO A PIT IN TARTARUS WHERE YOU BURN IN THE HEAT OF A THOUSAND SUNS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YOU USELESS... WASTE... OF... SPACE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

 

Buck... I needed that. So yeah, my biggest complaint of this film is how many characters were useless, either in that their actions only made things worse, or they just didn't warrant existing in the first place. It was quite the problem, let me tell you. Still, though, all in all the positives here definitely outweighed the negatives. This was not like EQG, which I could only say was far more entertaining than I thought it would be. No, this was a legitimately good film, and I praise DHX for the final result. The bad in it was still plenty bad, but it got so many things right that I just didn't care (for the most part... BUCK YOU FLASH SENTRY!!!). All in all, I'd definitely rewatch this again in a heartbeat, and I might even pick up some of the songs on Itunes, they're that good. If you haven't watched it yet, go check out Rainbow Rocks as soon as you can. You won't regret it.

[Lunia 332]

does anyone know a way to watch this online? i would love to see this as i very much enjoyed the first one

i hope this one is 20% cooler

Yes I do, but you must pm me for a link to the movie and all your other needs. 

[shadow0knight 24]

I already watched the movie in theaters and it's a much more improved movie from Equestria Girls.

 

I made a review on my DeviantArt page, but I'm not sure if I should just give the link or I should just write out the review here. It's a bit long and don't want to bore you guys with my review/critique.

[FizzyImp 1,838]

The Dazzling's songs in this movie were all incredible, entrancing and catchy. Even if the character's individual personalities weren't the most original in the world, even individually having a few cliche parts to them, the fact that these characters were perfect embodiments of the creatures they were based off of by having music that was more catchy, memorable and entrancing than most of the protagonist's songs won my complete love and respect for them in general.

Ever since watching the film, I've found myself randomly singing some of the songs, but mainly singing The Dazzling's stuff. There's something remarkably different about these songs that I can't quite put my finger on. They just feel a bit more polished in comparison to some of the other songs from the show, and the catchiness of both the tune and lyrics is off the scale.

 

In short: I love The Dazzlings.

[SnowSunbeam 41]

I was very surprised to see the Diamond Dogs in this movie

[Photon Jet 5,491]

I just saw Rainbow Rocks this morning with a friend of mine and it's still a wonderful movie. The songs were very catchy and it's great to see some other characters take the spotlight. Especially that one character that brings music to our ears.

 

I'm looking forward to see what adventures the Mane Six-I mean, Seven have for us next time!

[Maze 100]

I absolutely loved the movie. Especially the music, it was so well performed and just... Flawless, all of it. All the music, mind-blowing.

The villains were one of the coolest so far, I loved the idea of them being Sirens, seducing people with their voices, stealing their negative energy. That was a really cool idea, and the voices for them were as amazing as the designs. My personal favorite of the three is Sonata. 

I also love that they're bringing forth the singing voice actors of the mane 6 to the new characters in the films. Sunset Shimmer being Twilight's singing voice actor(Rebecca Shoichet), and Adagio being Rarity's(Kazumi Evans). They're clearly proving their worth as singers and voice actors. I'm so amazed by the voices for all of the ponies, though. Both singing and acting.

 

The animation is STUNNING as well, in my meaning, even better than the first film. It's all amazingly animated.

In general, I love the movie. LOVE IT. I don't like focusing on the negative things, I usually notice them though. In this film however, I could barely notice anything negative at all. All thumbs and hooves up.

[Treble Bolt 1,122]

I was very surprised to see the Diamond Dogs in this movie

 

They are the Valley thugs..... (they are a silly "gang" in the tiny town of Spring Valley Mn (population 2,500 appx.) That's what my husband said as soon as he saw them....

 

(*some spoilers ahead*) My reaction/review...

 

Ok...just watched it last night for the first time with my husband. I was very surprised it was better than the first one. The plot was overall extremely good considering I thought it would be a High School Musical mixed with Grease or something...Just a vs. match, nothing more than that. But this really brought out real stuff that kids go through where bullying goes beyond what adults see (especially with Sunset Shimmer's role in the movie)....

There was a lot of corniness...The way Twilight went back to the human world was extremely ad hoc. Flash Century didn't need to be in the movie...again (actually there is one scene where my husband really put his head in the gutter due to what was said  {see below}).  A lot of the corniness was groan worthy, but the Dazzling's music made it worth it. The ending, although really cool for what they did, really made me facepalm when it comes to what they did with the Mane 6 (7)'s power....The cameo's....I want to feed a rock Wheat Thins....

oh...am I the only who thought

 

Evil Sea Ponies?

 

I seriously thought of that.....Although compared to the mythological Sirens, the Dazzlings did come as extremely seductive compared to how the other characters walked and acted during their performances.

 

 

 

And what is with Sonata being compared to Coco Pommel....I see nothing where they are comparable. If anything she is more like Pinkie Pie with her personality, although extremely subdued.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 30, 2014 by Treble Bolt

[PROJECT: Simon 3,954]

It was good. I think the most important character was Vinyl.

[SonataDusk 0]

How was the movie in your opinion?

[EquestriaGuy 1,074]

If someone asked me to join a militia where we'd invade a country in the name of Rainbow Rocks, and slaughter all those who refused to convert, I would immediately pack my bags and sign up.

[duidamasterXD 9,627]

@SonataDusk, just letting you know that I've merged your thread with a pinned one that we already had for sharing impressions of RR . I really enjoyed it, myself, but haven't quite made the time to write up any kind of review.

[PROJECT: Simon 3,954]

I was kinda disappointed. I was hoping for another Pinkie's WHAT. But there wasn't.

[SolarFlare - Alicorn 1]

Still haven't seen it yet

 

But ive seen some spoilers on youtube

looks pretty good with DERPY SINGING!

 

Finally Derpy has a role to play

[Will Guide 21,360]

Hmm..I re-watched the film and figured out 12 of the 16 bands whose icons appeared on the tourament chart near the beginning of the Dazzlings' "Under Our Spell" I'll list the official names and unofficial names of the bands.

 

 

203px-Battle_of_the_Bands_tournament_bracket_EG21.png

1.Rainbooms: Our Humane 6 (icon: horseshoe and rainbow)

2.Dazzlings: Our Villains (icon: musical notes and red siren pendants)

3.Flash Sentry's band (icon: a speaker that looks like Flash's cutie mark)

4.Trixie and the Illusions (icon: moon and stars like the one on Trixie's wizard hat)

5.Snips and Snails' rap (icon: brick wall with graffti of a pair of scissors and a snail)

6.Crusaders (icon: 3 skulls on fire; fire matches the girls' hair colors)

7.Bulk Biceps and his violin (icon: Weight and wings; resembles B.B's cutie mark)

8.Octavia and her Cello (icon: pink treble cleft surround by cello bows; resembles her cutie mark)

9.Derpy and her saw (icon: a gray, sour note and a muffin )

10.Lyra and Bon Bon's Piano Duet (icon: A Lyre harp on a set of piano keys on a pile of Bon Bon candies)

11.Photo Finish's band (icon: a magenta ribbon with a camera shutter in the center)

12.The Eco-Teens (icon: globe with recycle arrows around it)

 

Those are the ones I know for sure, but the other icons are of:

13. A Diamond surrounded by a spike collar like you see on a dog...Oh The Diamond Dogs! or at least the human versions of them!

14. A happy and sad face like you'd see in theater, so I guess the Dramas-Teens!

15. A green oval with a musical note shooting across like a comet..I don't know for sure, but they could be the techies? Yeah, it's green like a circuit board.

16. A lightening bolt with a skull, 3 gemstones of purple, blue, and green, and drumsticks...I have no idea in the slightest, but it's the last remaining band on the chart.

 

 

 

Hmmm...Looking at the flowchart of the bands before and after the montage, I conclude that were 4 official rounds in the BotB. No, the round where the Rainbooms sang "Shake Your Tail" and heard SnS Rap happened before the untouched flowchart was shown, so I guess that was more like the qualifying round that determines which band faces off with which in the first match. I shall make a chart that list which band was beaten by which.

 

640px-Final_Battle_of_the_Bands_bracket_setup_EG21.png

Round one (The most outer row, like I said the round where Shake Your Tail was sung may have been considered round 1 in film, but to me, that was the pairing up round, THIS is what I call Round 1):

1. Trixie beats "the band with lightening bolt, skull, gemstones, and drumsticks (The most unidentified band)"

2. Lyra and Bon Bon beat "the green oval with comet musical note" or "Techies"

3. Bulk Biceps beats Snips and Snails (Seen in montage)

4. Rainbooms beat Octavia (Seen in montage)

5. Photo Finish beats "The Diamond Dudes"

6. Dazzlings beat the Dramas

7. Flash Sentry beat the Eco-Teens (Seen in montage)

8. Crusaders beat Derpy

 

Round Two (The 2nd most outer row):

1. Trixie beat Lyra and Bon Bon (Seen in montage)

2. Rainbooms beat Bulk Biceps

3. Dazzlings beat Photo Finish

4. Flash Sentry beat The Crusaders (We don't directly see the battle, but the Crusaders flash onscreen after the Trixie vs. Lyra and Bon Bon match, so I guess that was the Crusaders vs. Flash Sentry)

 

Round Three (Semi-Finals):

1. Dazzlings beat Flash Sentry

2. Despite the Rainbooms not finishing due to "Sunset going back to bad girl", the Dazzlings manipulate the Principles to officially declare the Rainbooms the winner over Trixie as part of their plan.

 

Round Four (Final):

Due to a "tricked Trixie trapping" (say that 3 times fast)our heroes below the stage, Trixie goes onto the Finals; the Dazzlings not so much wanting to officially win the BotB as much as create complete negativity and control over the whole student body, even sarcastily say "I don't think we can top that!" The Dazzlings get their full power and take One-Winged Angel Form. Nothing can stop them now!

 

The True Battle of the Bands (battle that determines the fate of the Equestria Girls World):

The Rainbooms, with sound system support by Vinyl Scratch, sing Fluttershy's song and take Anthro form. The Dazzlings overpower the Rainbooms with astral projections of their true forms. Sunset finally takes a stand and sings! She too takes anthro form. The student body is free and join in the chorus! Our heroes summon an Astral Alicorn--an Astralicorn, if you will--and finally defeat the Dazzlings, at last!

 

Wow! That took time and effort to write! Worth it!   

 

EDIT: Finally added a much needed picture to show the icons of the bands and not just tell.

 

I just realized who's the band whose icon is of A lightening bolt with a skull, 3 gemstones of purple, blue, and green, and drumsticks...

 

Those teens on the left of Twilight and Flash have got to be the missing band group I couldn't identify on the chart before. 3 of them have the same colored hair as the gemstones: green, blue, and purple gemstones. The one with his hair covering his face must be the drummers represented by the drumsticks in their icon. I believe they are the punk group.

 

 

And with that, all 16 bands on that chart were identifiable. There might have been more bands offscreen that are never shown, but there you go!