YouTube is trying something new. For $10 a month, you can get a YouTube Red subscription that offers several useful benefits. Is YouTube Premium worth paying the money for? 7 things to consider Is YouTube Premium worth the money? 7 things to watch out for YouTube Premium is making headlines and buzz, but is the paid subscription service really worth it? We look at the facts to help you decide. Read More The other big benefit is that you can watch exclusive YouTube content.
As part of the YouTube Red push, YouTube partnered with dozens of high-profile YouTube stars Life as a Vlogger:What's It Like? We asked 10 YouTubers Life as a Vlogger:What is it like? We Asked 10 YouTubers You probably know about the giants of YouTube:PewDiePie, Jenna Marbles, the Vlogbrothers, but what about all the smaller vloggers that make up a lot of the content produced on YouTube? Read More But are these YouTube Red originals worth it? We saw the first batch so, well, you don't have to. Here's what we think...
Note:I'm coming from the perspective of someone who's not into YouTube culture. I have no idea who these stars are and I have never seen them. As such, I may be out of your audience, but that also allows me to be as impartial as possible.
I entered Lazer Team no knowledge of the premise of the movie, nor did I have any previous experience with Rooster Teeth except for a few episodes of Red vs. Blue that I saw when it debuted in 2003. Long story short, I had no idea what to expect.
So I'm happy to say I was pleasantly surprised. In the first minute or so, I was a bit surprised by the quality of the production and how much it felt like an actual feature film. I've seen YouTube "movies" in the past, and none have looked this good. The music isn't bad either.
Lazer Team it's available in resolutions up to Ultra HD 4K, which is fantastic as it's quite the visual spectacle. There's no shortage of special effects from start to finish, and I must say I've seen "real" movies that have looked worse, so kudos to Rooster Teeth for pulling this off. It could have been great in 3D too. 7 Incredible 3D Movies That Are Actually Worth Watching In 3D 7 Incredible 3D Movies That Are Actually Worth Watching In 3D There are too many movies where 3D adds nothing to the overall experience. However, when done correctly, 3D has the potential to blow you away. The following movies are prime examples. Read more.
In terms of narrative and tone, Lazer Team it feels like a cross between a teen comedy and a superhero movie. I'm not a huge fan of either of those genres, but I still found the movie to be quite enjoyable, so if you liked The Avengers or Guardians of the Galaxy , you probably like this one.
My biggest criticism is that there is nothing new about the characters or the jokes. The actors deliver worthwhile performances (for the most part), but we've seen these characters and heard these jokes before. There are genuinely funny moments throughout, but nothing that really stands out.
At 90 minutes, Lazer Team it's a bit long. It starts to drag in places, and I think it would have been a tighter, stronger movie if it had been 10-15 minutes shorter. But overall, I liked it, and that's not something I thought I'd say to a YouTube original.
Score:7/10
Let me start by saying that I really don't understand modern YouTube culture. The first names that pop into my head when I hear “YouTube Celebrity” are NigaHiga, Jenna Marbles, and Ray William Johnson. To say that I have never heard of Lilly Singh is an understatement.
And the unfortunate thing is that at the end of A Trip to Unicorn Island , I still have no idea who she is. I get that she's a YouTube sensation with a ton of followers who basically adore her, but I'm left stumped as to what she actually does..
Ok she wants to help people “find her own unicorn island” and she wants to make people happier with her videos, but that's pretty vague. This documentary hopes that you already know who she is. If you are already a fan, you will love her. No, you won't gain much from it.
That said, I respect her for the hard work she does. Lilly Singh obviously puts a lot of effort into her channel and her videos, and she's obviously doing something right to have less than 8 million subscribers. But a lot of it is geared towards teenage girls, so nothing resonates with me personally.
The documentary itself is produced well enough, except for everything that doesn't explain what she actually does. My biggest complaint, however, is her over-reliance on her handheld shots, which is so bad it made me dizzy. Spectators beware. (For what it's worth, the same thing happened when I watched Cloverfield .)
Ultimately, I left feeling like this was a huge miss, but I also think YouTube should do more documentaries. It's an interesting avenue to explore, and I'll be seeing more of them if that's the route the company decides to take.
Score:4/10
With a name like Dance Camp I immediately knew that this movie would be outside of my usual tastes. Musical movies and teen movies aren't very interesting to me, but I tried quite a bit anyway. It wasn't great, but it wasn't bad either.
Dance Camp it has all the elements you'd find in a typical Disney movie:teens, romance, jokes, stereotypical shallow characters, a simple plot - and there's nothing wrong with that if the filmmakers aimed for it. Dance Camp He knows what he wants to be, and he does it well..
It specifically targets YouTube's demographic, meaning young people who are still in middle school (or high school) and dealing with the kinds of issues that teens face. however, Dance Camp it seems like you're trying too hard to be relevant, with all the hashtags and social media jargon being thrown around.
Not only that, but the story is extremely rough around the edges. The individual scenes are fine on their own, but when the credits roll at the end, I couldn't help but think, "Well so?" Dance Camp You want to say something, but you're not polished enough to know what that something is.
As for the dance routines, they are very disappointing. The irony here is that you can use YouTube to find all sorts of awesome dance clips that rock the Dance Camp crowd. Out of the water. If you're thinking of watching it for performances, do yourself a favor and find another movie.
In general, Dance Camp It can be summed up with a quote from one of his own characters:“Wow. Um... there was effort.”
Score:5/10
PewDiePie is known for playing, commenting and reacting to video games, especially horror games, on his YouTube channel.. Scare PewDiePie It is an evolution of that concept. Now viewers can see how he progresses and reacts to reality horror settings in 10 different episodes.
I only watched the first two episodes, and found the first setting (the hospital) to be more compelling, at least in regards to being really creepy and disturbing. The second setting (the alien ship) seemed to be a lot of fun, but not at all scary, and the main point of the show is to be scary, isn't it?
What surprised me is that I actually found it quite entertaining. I don't know if I like it enough to tune in every week; in fact, i don't know if i would even finish the series if all the episodes were already available, but i don't regret the time i've listened. I went by seeing what I saw. If nothing else, it's a great way to kill 20 minutes at a time.
My biggest complaint, which is a common complaint on all reality shows, is that I find it hard to believe that PewDiePie's involvement is completely unscripted. Some of the "hidden camera" angles seem to be starkly obvious and hard to miss.
And if that's the case, how much of his performance is authentic and how much of it is for the camera? But I digress. There's really no way around that as long as participation is voluntary, so you'll just have to suspend your disbelief before you watch. Scare PewDiePie .
Overall not bad. Scare PewDiePie It's better than I expected and I enjoyed watching it, but it wasn't good enough to hook me as a regular viewer. Honestly, I consider it a success..
Score:7/10
I commend what YouTube is trying to do with these original movies and series, but I'm obviously out of their target audience. Sometimes it seems like YouTube is trying too hard to cater to a very narrow demographic, but if that's what you want, then YouTube is doing a fantastic job.
If you're already following these YouTube stars, then you'll love what they're churning out. If not, then don't bother checking this out. Suffice to say, YouTube is only geared toward viewers who are already hooked on YouTube culture, and that's certainly a smart move.
That said, some people believe that YouTube Red will be bad for the community at large 4 Reasons YouTube Red Is Bad For The YouTube Community 4 Reasons YouTube Red Is Bad For The YouTube Community Google just announced YouTube Red YouTube is a different kind of service with a huge community. So is YouTube Red good or bad for the video site in the long run? Read More Instead, it supports free content like these YouTube channels for movie lovers Love Movies? 4 Awesome YouTube Channels You Need to Watch Love Movies? 4 Amazing YouTube Channels You Need to Watch Although there are many YouTube channels that focus on movie review, there are some YouTubers that go beyond simple reaction videos and delve into what makes movies special. Learn more and these easy-to-attract YouTube channels 9 Popular YouTube Channels Perfect for Overwatching 9 Popular YouTube Channels Perfect for Overwatching Need a pick-me-up? Do you want to laugh at your stress? Or do you just have some time to kill? Then YouTube may be the remedy. All thanks to the power of popular binge channels. Read more.
What do you think of YouTube Red? Have you seen any of the original content? If so, what do you think? Please share your thoughts with us in the comments below!
