Have you ever watched Gundam 00?
Have you ever watched Transformers 1 directed by Michael Bay or Independence Day?
You have essentially watched this film then, however despite that, I really think there is quite a bit of merit to this film if you seperate it in your own mind from the 00 canon (the Anno Domini timeline).
The animation in this movie is some of the best honestly, the action sequences are greatly animated despite some weird choreography and the fact that the aliens that are fought in this movie have no real defining features. All of the upgraded suits get their chances to flex their new weaponry and maneuverability. Getting to see the powerscaling that happened between Season 2 and the time this movie takes place is also something, considering everyone has access to Trans Am now. The usage of CG for the aliens is actually rather natural. I still stand by the fact that this is one of the most beautiful anime movies I've watched.
Sound is really nothing that stands out, I loved the OST in the 00 series and also all the intro/ending songs from them, but nothing here really blows my mind. The voice actors in both the dub and sub do a solid performance especially the VA's for Setsuna and Graham as they take a lot of the spotlight in this film.
There are a lot of interesting setpieces in this movie that are action movie cliches, examples including Allelujah and Marie being chased by aliens and doing acrobatics for example as well as the entire final act. But the plot itself is all over the place. These aliens are invading Earth, but there is absolutely no reason why. Not only that but the entire theme was to understand what the aliens themselves are thinking, but that is not given to the viewer in any sort of direct way in TrailBlazer. In fact the philosophy of this film is really lacking when compared to the brilliance of 00 season 1 and some of the slightly less brilliant but still thought provoking questions in 00 season 2.
Character arcs are all over the place, Setsuna is the only one who's evolving in a way that makes sense following the series. Allelujah, Marie and Lyle all stay relatively the same, but at least Graham dropped the entire Mr. Bushido nonsense which is honestly one of the dumbest fuckest things ever which would have made this movie even worse. Tieria is absolutely useless here which is unfortunate because before Setsuna became OP as fuck, Tieria was easily the best Celestial Being meister and he had my favorite Mobile Suit. Now Tieria is like Navi from the legend of Zelda in which he just sits on Setsuna's shoulder spouting exposition (I know his physical body was destroyed in season 2 and he's been integrated into Veda, that's no excuse for him not to have bodies he can upload his being into). Louis and Saji are in this movie and don't really do much at all, considering the Qan-[T] no longer really needs the 00 Raiser, Saji is truly useless again and Louis' arc has been over despite the fact that it could have been expanded more since she's an innovator.
Oh yeah, there are some minor shipping things like Nena Trinity and Billy Katagiri, this makes no sense, but after Sumeragi bitchslapped Katagiri despite him letting her live in his house for 2 years. What even happened during that relationship? Of course Patrick and Kati are a thing, that was inevitable. But a lot of the Hetero couples they seem to be pushing just because they're hetero. Tieria x the curly haired Celestial Being associate despite the fact they have no chemistry really. Both Setsuna x Feldt and Setsuna x Marina have no soul to them, because I just can't see Setsuna as a romantic or compassionate person despite all the changes he's gone through. All of the old ships that have sailed are still great, Allelujah x Soma, Louis x Saji despite having no point in this movie. But enough about shipping, the plot overall is just not that great, aliens are there, why? Fuck you T-1000 that's why.
Overall while I did have immense amounts of fun watching all the explosions in this movie, some of the most fun in my life, there are many aspects of this film that are terribly written and ruin the 00 franchise as a whole, opening up a can of worms that can't really be sealed again.
For those reasons, Mobile Suit Gundam 00: Awakening of the Trailblazer gets a 6/10 from me.
