Thursday, May 23, 2019

Now Showing: Mass Effect 3 - Part 1

Mass Effect 3 - Part 1
Genre: Action/Sci-Fi
Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Seth Overton
Based on the video game series
Cast: Henry Cavill, Tom Hardy, Alicia Vikander, Bradley Cooper, Mads Mikkelsen, Lupita Nyong'o, Andre Braugher, Ron Perlman, Fatima Ptacek, Rebecca Hall, Seth Green, William Fichtner, Clare-Hope Ashitey

Plot:  
68,000 BCE - The Citadel
After the Protheans achieved spaceflight and discovered mass effect technology, they went on to establish a galaxy-wide civilization linked by the mass relay network with the Citadel as their capital.

A civilian spaceship arrives at the Citadel. When asked to state their business, the crew identify themselves as a group of archeologists led by a Prothean named Javik (William Fichtner). Javik lets his crew members do the talking as he looks around, neurotically tapping his thigh with his index finger. They ask for an audience with the Avatar King, the leader of the Protheans. At the meeting, Javik warns them that they have been studying the ruins of previous civilizations and that they have reasons to believe that their demise was caused by a cyclical harvest of the galaxy's intelligent organic life led by a species called the Reapers.

While some of the Protheans believe Javik's warnings, no preventive measure is taken, and the Reaper invasion catches them off-guard. The Prothean Empire collapses with the arrival of the Reapers, led by Harbinger (Ron Perlman), through the Citadel. Javik and his crew escape through a mass relay on an unidentified planet where they leave several clues, regarding the Reaper invasion so that future species can be prepared.

The Reapers methodically wipe out the remaining Protheans, as well as other contemporary races, and depart the galaxy to await the next cycle.

2186 CE - London, Planet Earth
A suspended monorail shuttle passes by the Big Ben clock tower. There is a tinge of worry in the air, as passengers stand still, ignoring the surroundings and focusing on their tablets instead, reading about how several star systems are under attack by an unknown species. A woman, Mischa (Clare-Hope Ashitey), logs on a social network trying to get a hold of her sister, who had left on a working visa on the Citadel. The homescreen greets her with a message: "Hope you're having a good day, Mischa". She scrolls nervously through several apps trying to call her. Suddenly, an alarm is rung throughout the city. Plasma screens that would previously run ads, now show an evacuation plan to several locations. Mere seconds later, the passengers look up to see a Reaper ship in the sky. With one blast, the monorail crashes.

The city is in chaos. Swarms of husks have overrun the streets. The N7-military force is on the ground shooting through husks, trying to evacuate civilians. Mischa emerges from the rubble and picks up her tablet, with the cracked screen still showing the welcome message. A husk approaches her, she tries to run but trips and collapses. Her cries for help are masked by the loud bang of a plasma gun, that kills the husk. A man in an N7 military suit helps her get up and then takes off his helmet. It's Paul Grayson (Bradley Cooper) who after leaving Cerberus, has joined the N7 in a quest to rejoin with his daughter. He promises Mischa he will take her somewhere safe. They go to a communication tower, where Grayson records a message for Commander Shepard, telling him that Reapers have arrived on Earth.

Aboard the Normandy
Paul Grayson's recording zooms out, revealing Shepard (Henry Cavill), Liara (Alicia Vikladnerr), Garrus (Tom Hardy), Thane (Mads Mikkelsen), Tali (Lupita N'yongo) and Gillian (Fatima Ptacek) aboard the Normandy. Gililan tears up watching her father on the screen. Thane puts his hand on her shoulder, in an attempt to calm her, but she rejects him, recognizing him as the one who killed her friend Hendel Mitra. She storms off from the main deck to her sister's room.

Garrus notes that there are now reports of his home-world being attacked by the reapers. He proposes that the team split up in two, with half going to Earth and half going to Palaven. Shepard agrees and adds that he will request aid from the Council. He then comes up with a risky plan. The nearest safe mass relay would take them a few days to reach. However, there is another mass relay in hostile mercenary territory. It is also surrounded by an asteroid belt, but they could reach it in a few hours. Liara is against the plan, arguing that it is a suicide mission and that even if they somehow got the best pilot in the whole galaxy, the risk of destroying the ship would still be high. Shepard adds that it is a good thing they do have the best pilot in the galaxy then. The crew is then joined by Joker (Seth Green) who thanks Shepard for the introduction and jokes that he was at the deck's entrance for a while, waiting for the perfect moment to walk in.

As soon as the ship enters the mercenary zone, Joker alerts the crew that it seems like all the mercenary ships have been wrecked and there is no other sign of activity. Suddenly, a Reaper ship appears out of nowhere, seemingly undetected by the Normandy's sensors. Joker tries to warp ahead at full speed, but the Reaper ship has no trouble keeping up. It hits the Normandy with one blast, which severely damages the ship. Shepard asks Joker how far the asteroid belt is, since the Reaper ship is too big to follow them through it. Joker estimates it is about 20 minutes away. He then attempts some escaping maneuvers, successfully dodging the next blast. The third blast however further damages the ship, which prompts Shepard to order everyone to escape to the emergency shuttle so that some of them survive in case the Normandy doesn't make it. While they are reluctant at first, Shepard's ardent insistence persuades them eventually.

Garrus takes Gillian in his arms and runs towards the escape shuttle. She tells him that her sister hasn't woken up yet and that she won't leave without her, but she doesn't even finish her sentence before she is in the escape shuttle with him, Liara, Tali and Thane. As soon as the escape shuttle leaves into space, a previously undiscovered dormant mass relay suddenly activates and absorbs the shuttle into it. Moments later, the Normandy reaches the asteroid belt. Unable to move on, the Reaper ship blasts through the asteroids, slowly making its way. But by the time it gets to the relay, Shepard's ship has already entered it.

London, Planet Earth
A M35 Mako fighting vehicle is deployed on the ground, driving through the swarm. The driver sees Paul Grayson and Mischa in the distance and speeds up. The vehicle stops right beside them and they hop in. Grayson thanks Anderson (Andre Braugher) for his intervention. As they drive by the evacuation signs, Grayson asks where exactly are people being evacuated. The radio inside the car speaks of evacuation plans also being put into place in the United North American States. Anderson tells him that it is an emergency plan led by the United Nations and The Illusive Man. Grayson scoffs at hearing this name and adds that he doesn't trust him or Cerberus. Hinting at a previous history, with a subtle tinge of sadness in his voice, Anderson tells him that the Illusive Man wasn't always like this.

A sudden blast destroys one of the car's rear tyre. They see that in addition to the swarms of husks, Collectors have now come out the Reaper ships to attack the city as well. Anderson and Grayson leave the car and start shooting at the Collectors as they approach. Mischa gets out as well and asks if there is any spare tire in the trunk. Anderson throws her the key while still shooting at the attackers. He sees an Atlas Cerberus Mech being deployed nearby. He tells Grayson to escape with Mischa once the tire is replaced and that he will clear the way for them using the Mech.

Rain starts pouring. As Anderson runs towards the Mech, he sees that every civilian attacked comes back as a husk a few moments later. So their numbers are constantly rising. A Collector shoots him the leg. He lets out a grunt and drags himself onward through the rain. Just as he hops in the Mech, Mischa finishes changing the tyre and enters the car with Grayson. Anderson starts shooting through the swarm of aliens, clearing the way for the Mako vehicle. The Mech follows the vehicle closely behind, shooting at everything in front of it.

The Collectors are joined by Harbinger himself. With just one blast, he destroys the Mech, which throws Anderson into a muddy pool of water. He winces in pain, but still continues shooting at the Collectors. Grayson stops the car and gets out to help him. Anderson tells him to run. As one of the Collectors is about to shoot Anderson, Harbinger stops him, almost impressed at his resilience. He watches Anderson in pain, smiling at the futility of his efforts. Grayson picks up Anderson on his shoulders and they run towards the Mako. Having seen enough, Harbinger is ready to blast them. As he prepares to take the shot, a plasma gun blasts his head off, with his lifeless body hitting the ground. Mischa trembles and drops the gun after taking the shot. Anderson and Grayson look at each other with disbelief, thinking there is no way it could be over so easily. As they are about to thank Mischa, Harbinger assumes control of another nearby Collector, as he is not bound to any physical form.

Deciding that he would only slow them down, Anderson tells Grayson and Mischa to run towards the Mako and leave him behind. They decline. Anderson insists that it is the only way. It's better that two of them survive, instead of none. They both hug him and thank him for everything. Not wanting to become one of the husks, Anderson takes some bombs from nearby fallen soldiers and adds them to his belt. As the swarm approaches him, he prepares to shoot his belt. He sees that the Mako has driven off safely and smiles. He takes the shot, blowing everything to pieces.

Unidentified Planet
Coming out the activated mass relay, the shuttle crashes on a nearby unidentified planet. The group scout the crash site and decide on a place to set camp until they fix the shuttle transmitter to ask for help.

When the night comes, they set up a campfire and gather around. Liara wonders if Shepard and Joker arrived safely on Earth. She is visibly worried. Tali reassures her that if anyone could do it, it would be them. As they sit around, Thane looks at Gillian, seemingly working up the courage to say something, but when she makes eye contact, he redirects his sight into the ground in shame. Garrus puts his arm on Thane's shoulder. He encourages him to ask for forgiveness, and advises him to share his pain with her, since it is the one thing they have in common - they've both been through a lot. Thane thanks him and then asks him how he is. Garrus admits he is worried about his home planet.

Thane sits up and goes towards Gillian. She stares at the fire, refusing to acknowledge him, even after he apologizes. He asks her about her loved ones. Nothing. Not one word. He starts talking about his wife and son and shares the story of how he lost her. He tears up and Gillian looks at him for the first time. She talks about how she found her sister only to lose her again shortly after and how she hasn't seen her father in years. Her only friend had been Hendel, whom Thane had killed. Thane apologizes once again. Gillian remains silent and continues staring into the fire, although she doesn't seem as angry as before.

The next day, the group are woken up by what appears to be an indigenous species on the planet. They are taken to a nearby building and presumably asked to wait in a room. They don't know for sure, since the translation device does not recognize the language, but they do not seem hostile. A door opens and Ashley Williams (Rebecca Hall) enters. She reveals that she opened the dormant mass relay hoping the Normandy would go through it. When she asks about Shepard, Liara can't help to notice from the tone of her voice that they certainly share a history together. Ashley reveals how she got on the planet. A flashback from Mass Effect 1 shows Ashley touching the artifact and disappearing. She has since learned that the artifact is called a conduit and it is a sort of terrestrial relay that allows teleporting between different conduits. She reveals that The Illusive Man is using the conduits to evacuate those who he deems fit to a space station he had specially built to preserve life, called "The Ark". Tali asks her if by "those who he deems fit" he means humans. Ashley adds that is not necessarily the case. She tells them The Illusive Man has promised them a place on the Ark if they retrieve another artifact found deep in the ocean of that planet. Garrus cannot control his laughter. "I'm sure he did.", he adds sarcastically.

Suddenly, an alarm starts and all lights turn red. Ashley tells them that the Reapers have located the planet they're on and that she needs their help to protect the indigenous species. Moments later, once again, a Reaper ship appears on the sky. Harbinger comes out and blasts the building they're in. Everyone comes out and the fight ensues. Several other Collectors come out the ship. Garrus takes out his sniper and shoots Harbinger but nothing happens. Gillian uses an energy blast so powerful it decapitates him, but he once again assumes control of a nearby alien.

A powerful blasts cracks Tali's suit and injures her. Gillian creates a dome-like shield around them as Liara tries to tend to Tali's wounds. Harbinger blasts the shield but nothing happens. Gillian asks them to hurry, visibly weakened by trying to keep up the shield. Seeing this, Thane exits the shield in an attempt to fight Harbinger. A knife slides out of his gauntlet killing Harbinger who once again assumes control of another Collector, visibly amused by the situation. Thane kills every iteration of Harbinger again and again, until one blast leaves him on his knees.

Gillian interrupts the shield and blasts Harbinger before he can take the final blow to Thane. Thane sits there kneeled, almost in a praying position and once again apologizes. As tears fall down her cheeks, she tells him he is forgiven. He smiles and collapses lifelessly. Gillian screams and lets out a blast so powerful it obliterates every Collector in sight and even damages the Reaper ship. Liara tells everyone that Tali has stopped breathing and attempts to perform CPR. Harbinger assumes control of the Reaper ship itself and follows them. Gillian resumes the shield and they advance on.
After they approach the shoreline they jump into the water. The shield now acts as a submarine as they submerge. Gillian sees the artifact Ashley was talking about - another conduit. More surprisingly, near the artifact, they see what appears to be another dormant Reaper ship deep into the ocean. Gillian touches the artifact and disappears. The others try to touch the artifact as well, but nothing happens. They decide to swim towards the dormant Reaper ship and enter it. The walls inside are inscribed with what Liara recognizes as Prothean markings. They manage to take control of the ship, emerge from the water and destroy the other Reaper ship, saving the indigenous species.

The Sol System
The Normandy arrives near Earth's orbit and attempts to attack the Reaper ship. To Shepard's disappointment, not one fleet was sent to his aid after requesting help from the Council. They instead decided that Palaven was of more strategic importance. Joker warns him that the Normandy's systems are collapsing and they would stand no chance in a fight. The Reaper ship sends out a blast, but Joker successfully avoids it.

Suddenly, another Reaper ship appears. Shepard clenches his fist in anger. However, to their surprise, the second Reaper ship attacks the first. Visibly annoyed, Harbinger assumes control of the first Reaper ship, and starts charging a powerful energy blast. The second ship, controlled by Liara, continues its attack. However, as the first ship finishes charging, it moves its target on Earth, releasing a blast so powerful it destroys the whole planet.

We see the destruction reflected in Shepard's eye. He is in shock, still as a statue. Liara's ship manages to destroy the other one, but it is too late.

Aboard the Reaper ship
Shepard and Joker board the Reaper ship, both overwhelmed with so much anger and sadness from seeing their home planet destroyed. They are reunited with Liara, Garrus and Ashley. Tali is in the med-bay. They managed to retrieve Thane's body as well. Ashley's presence only adds to the overwhelming feeling of confusion for Shepard and Joker.

A few hours later of still silence, Shepard calls everyone to the main deck and tells them they're done being on the defense. They're going to take the fight to the Reapers, destroying every single one of them. Everyone agrees. Garrus and Liara call Shepard to one of the rooms aboard the Reaper ship to show him some sort of life pod. They debate whether to open it or not, and decide to do it in the end.

As the pod opens, everyone puts their guns up, in case whatever is inside meets them with hostility. Javik comes out agitated, speaking a language no one recognizes. With his gun still targeted towards him, Garrus throws him a translation device. Javik activates it and then looks around the ship: "They're back, aren't they?"

The Ark
Water-drops fall on the ground as Gillian walks around what seems to be an endless library, consisting of all the major literary, film and artwork humanity has ever produced. She sees a giant sign with the name "The David Anderson Library Section".

She exits the room, still confused. One moment she was underwater fighting the Reapers and the next she is in this strange place. People walk around as confused as she is. They see another sign which welcomes them to the Ark.  The evacuation signs throughout the city led them to several conduits, who transported them on the Ark, a space station constructed by the Illusive Man using the Geth in an effort to preserve humanity in case of calamity.

On the main hallway, she sees a woman running towards another and them hugging each other It is Mischa, reunited with her sister. As she looks to the woman's left, she sees Paul Grayson, her father and starts crying. She runs towards him and jumps in his arms. He tries to think of something to say, but the words slide back into his throat. There's nothing that needs to be said. They sit in each others arms in silence, against the backdrop of a glowing nebula on a giant window behind them.

END OF PART ONE


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