One of the highest points of this is that, being directed by an actual fan, it looks pretty darn close to what it should. And it actually works. Yes, the title character's costume is the yellow and red that we know from the comics(I should perhaps take this time to point out that I'm not a particular fan of DC Comics and their works, but I enjoy the medium of comics immensely, and there are few efforts supporting it that I am not willing to take in), but it doesn't look silly. The darkness of the characters works. John Fiorella, the director and lead actor, clearly aimed for the comic book origins, the source material, and from my knowledge of Batman and of course Robin, it seems like he hit the mark pretty darn well. This is a mock trailer for a non-existing film of the same title, centering on Robin, following the murder of the (in)famous Dark Knight. The acting is pretty good, he managed to find decent enough actors(and ones who seem to look their respective parts, at that). The score is excellent, I can't think of any point where the music doesn't work. The action is well-done and well-choreographed. The editing is quite effective, throughout, and the man clearly understands film-making rather well. The cinematography is top-notch throughout. The production design is of remarkably high quality. Really, the only complaint one can say about this is that he tries to fit in *far* too much. Really, there's plot for a whole series of films in this one trailer, which, should also be noted, runs over 5 minutes in length, which is a lot for just one trailer(perhaps he should have put together two or three from all the footage), and characters all over the place. The trailer never really ceases to be entertaining, but it does perhaps try to suggest and introduce too much(the total amount of heroes and villains almost reaches a dozen), and it comes too close to being a film(which it clearly is not). John should have "killed his darlings". He clearly loves this material, and I suppose he either didn't have anyone feeding him constructive criticism, or he didn't listen to it. In his urge to put all of these characters on the screen, he goes overboard. I would be quite willing to watch a feature directed by him, in fact, I would do so gladly... on one condition: That he makes sure to employ at least one more critically-minded individual, who can steer him away from putting together another cornucopia of material. We want it too, John, don't worry... but all in good time. Space it out some. Meanwhile, get this guy to do the proposed JLA movie, will ya, Hollywood? I recommend this to any fan of comics, particularly those released by DC, and obviously especially Batman(though if you can't stand Robin, you might not want to watch this). Also, the commentary/making of, that Fiorella also did, entitled Pieces of the Puzzle, is a very interesting watch of half an hour, and should be viewed by any indie film-maker/enthusiast who can at the very least stand the fact that it's based on comic books. 7/10
Review of Grayson
