Rainbow Rocks is the sequel that fixed everything wrong with the first one and made it better. Those who think humanized ponies is a bad concept need to watch this immediately.
Probably one of the biggest improvements was the pacing. The editing doesn't feel frantic and many scenes are deliberate and slow. I especially loved how many of the shots focused on Sunset Shimmer. The entire movie feels more tightly-knit even though it does suffer from rushing in a few moments. The villains also felt more dynamic and had personalities that emphasized the theme of the movie. Songs were also good.
But the best part of the movie was Sunset Shimmer, hands down. Sunset takes on a new persona that the show really needs to focus on. In fact, this movie is better than the season 4 finale in that regard since Twilight actually teaches Sunset the value of friendship--Twilight's element of harmony. The key scene in the film was Sunset and Twilight just talking to each other and noting their ironically parallel relationship. Sunset was the spotlight of the movie and really played up the role of the misunderstood friend. Her facial expressions and tentative movements vividly depict her reformation in a way that outshines Discord's by a long shot. I really hope the new spin-off focuses more on Sunset than Twilight.
Other things of note. Unicorn horse was random. Lyra x Bon Bon canon. Drinking game: drink if you want to give Sunset a hug. Villains were somewhat sexy. Octavia has a voice! Rebecca Shoichet sang with herself in "Welcome to the Show" (Sunset with Twilight). Pandas were definitely thrown. Flash Sentry is useless, again.
Overall, 10/10. Excited for spin-off, even more so than season 5.
Probably one of the biggest improvements was the pacing. The editing doesn't feel frantic and many scenes are deliberate and slow. I especially loved how many of the shots focused on Sunset Shimmer. The entire movie feels more tightly-knit even though it does suffer from rushing in a few moments. The villains also felt more dynamic and had personalities that emphasized the theme of the movie. Songs were also good.
But the best part of the movie was Sunset Shimmer, hands down. Sunset takes on a new persona that the show really needs to focus on. In fact, this movie is better than the season 4 finale in that regard since Twilight actually teaches Sunset the value of friendship--Twilight's element of harmony. The key scene in the film was Sunset and Twilight just talking to each other and noting their ironically parallel relationship. Sunset was the spotlight of the movie and really played up the role of the misunderstood friend. Her facial expressions and tentative movements vividly depict her reformation in a way that outshines Discord's by a long shot. I really hope the new spin-off focuses more on Sunset than Twilight.
Other things of note. Unicorn horse was random. Lyra x Bon Bon canon. Drinking game: drink if you want to give Sunset a hug. Villains were somewhat sexy. Octavia has a voice! Rebecca Shoichet sang with herself in "Welcome to the Show" (Sunset with Twilight). Pandas were definitely thrown. Flash Sentry is useless, again.
Overall, 10/10. Excited for spin-off, even more so than season 5.