Judge Nerdd: Dragon Age: Redemption

A red-headed Elf? Hot.

Anyone who knows me relatively well knows my love of all things Dragon Age as well as staring at Felicia Day in any media format. When Bioware decided to bring Day into the Dragon Age world via an original web-series, I just about went insane with nerdy-glee. Felicia Day as an Elf-assassin? YES PLEASE!

After months of waiting, the first episode of Dragon Age: Redemption has finally arrived, timed to release with the Mark of the Assassin DLC for Dragon Age II, in which Day's character Tallis is also prominently featured. As a Elf enslaved by the Qunari, a race of grey giants, Tallis is sent on a mission to recover a mage (a magically endowed individual, for those of you who don't speak RPG), a dangerous and exploitable commodity in the Dragon Age realm. She runs into a loud-mouthed warrior and a good-lookin' Templar (mage hunter, employed by the church) and the plot thickens...



First of all, Redemption has a well-rounded cast for a low-budget web-series, but it still looks like a low-budget web-series. It has its qualities, but the camera-work needs well, work. They still take too long drawing focus on the simple stunts that they think are going to look impressive. When you give us time to look at a mediocre or non-involved stunt, we can recognize it as such.

With long-time hard-ass Greg Collins as the axe-wielding Brom and Doug Jones (of Pans Labyrinth/Silver Surfer/Abe Sapien fame) as the Qunari mage Saarebas, I've at least SEEN the actors before. The sets and costumes are fitting enough for the Dragon Age setting and experience, but aren't overly impressive on anyone besides Day. (Who looks really hot in it, by the way.) I'm also not sure how I feel about the Qunari's look at this point. As far as the weaponry goes, I wasn't buying it. Brom's axe looked incredibly fake and the CG-work on the blood... looked like a video game. The fight choreography is well-executed, but not every actor looks at ease with their equipment. (Looking at you Adam Rayner.)

After only one episode, I'm very mixed on Redemption. I really enjoy Felicia Day's work, but she could be a little looser and more creative with character choices. Still, she's the strong point of a series that hasn't really hit the ground running. It surely has time to recover, but it needs to quickly distinguish itself from fan-made films.

Judge Nerdd has spoken. I AM THE LAW!