Philanthropy

This is ... just ... wow.

Metal Gear Solid: Philanthropy is a fan-movie created by Italian filmmakers, Hive Division, about one of Snake's adventures in Philanthropy, the anti-Metal Gear group that he and Otacon founded. Normally the term "fan-movie" suggests a few silly teenagers, a digital camera, and a Youtube account, but like Purchase Brothers' Escape From City 17, Hive Division's offering is a lot more impressive.

Simply put, the movie looks professionally made. The film work is excellent in its own right, but also pays obvious homage to the cinematography of Kojima's lengthy cutscenes, even to the point where you might think you're playing one of the games. Special effects are used frequently to full cinematic effect and provide some honestly breath-taking visuals. The score is perfect as far as I can tell, the post-production makes the film feel ever more professional, and the acting is solid. Pun intended.

There are some choppy bits: The special effects aren't the most advanced and I could easily pick out the shots where green screen was used. The animated models looked somewhat primitive too. Furthermore, since all or most of the actors are Italian, an English dub was commissioned and even though the actors DO speak English on film, the timing on mouth synchronization is off just enough to be noticeable. But actually, this is something of a historical practice used for decades' worth of spaghetti westerns. In any case, none of these technical hiccups are enough to distract from the enjoyment of the film.

Still, good production value can never hide bad fan fiction. Luckily, this is another of Philanthropy's strengths. Rather than going overboard on cameos from the author's favorite characters, Giacomo Talamini -- the movie's writer/director -- chose to create a story only loosely based on the franchise. Snake is the only recurring character, with a short cameo from Otacon and the mention of institutions like Armstech. Meanwhile, Talamini places Snake in command of a team of infiltrators, original characters every bit as intriguing as some of Kojima's best, who present a new challenge for our usually silent, solitary hero. Metal Gear fans will also recognize the necessary inclusion of memorably awesome villains, also original.

Unfortunately for us, only "part one" of Philanthropy has been released so far and the movie left me hungry for more. It's a wonderful watch for a Metal Gear fan and I highly recommend it.

Note: There no plans for the making of the second and third parts of MGS:P (reference). If you, like me, find yourself starving and unfulfilled at the end of the film, there are a couple of things you can do. First, stay through the credits and watch what happens after. And second, check out these interviews with the voice actors Phillip Sacramento, Lucien Dodge, and Laura Post.