Tamia: The First Battle Gen is a Sci Fi Blast

Redmanwriter

May 22

Julien Neaves, Caribbean and Sci Fi Head Writer

Plot: A thousand years ago in another galaxy, war raged between the planet of Capernaum and the Moor Empire. After her family were slaughtered by Moors, young Tamia becomes a super soldier for the Capernaum army with a hope of one day avenging the fallen.

Tamia: The First Battle Gen is a Trinidad and Tobago science fiction action short film from GT Network and is part of their Ville Ventures Universe franchise. It is spinoff of their webseries Vaser Claw and features the return of the minor character Tamia played by Ambika Boodhu. The story is a prequel to the events of that series and tells Tamia's origin from war survivor to legendary warrior. With a mild spoiler alert, let's break it down in four blasts.

Blast #1 The Characters

I am strong, I am invincible, I am woah-mah-ann!

Boodhu is the main character and carries most of the film. And I think she did a splendid job. She brings a believable physicality to the role and emotes well despite the limited dialogue typical of such a stoic character. I must also praise the work of Isabella Williams who plays a younger version of the visually striking alien tech Azera from the series. There is an honesty and a vulnerability to Williams' performance that I really enjoyed. I am looking forward to seeing more from the young actress. Keyon Byron, best known for playing T&T superhero Batchack Man, has a great villainous presence as the fearsome Moor general Dryagond.

The film also features appearances from several other characters from Vaser Claw and sister series Magonolia which does help to make everything feel connected. But even for those who have not seen anything from Ville Ventures Universe, the story is straightforward enough to follow along and enjoy.

Blast #2 Makeup and Visual Effects

Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope

I have been watching and reviewing the series and films from the Ville Ventures Universe from the beginning (way back in December 2020) and Tamia: The First Battle Gen is easily their most visually appealing project. The makeup work here is simply outstanding, especially on young Azera and Dryagond. Boodhu's battle costume does look like cosplay, but it is good looking cosplay.

The GT folks have also upped their game in terms of visual effects. We had seen VFX in the past to show alien powers and had pre-rendered CGI scenes to show alien planets, ships and masked soldiers. But for the very first time we have VFX actually incorporated into the scenes themselves. I was like, "Wow. Now that is cool!" It is something commonplace in big budget movies and the scenes do not have that Hollywood finish, but this is a small production house with a tiny budget. So, for them to pull that off is quite commendable and a great sign of things to come.

And speaking of the future, I would like to see more variation in the filming locations, as way too many alien planets look like the same forested areas.

Blast #3 Pew Pew Pew!

She's a 'shoot first, ask questions later' kinda gal

Tamia is a Sci Fi action film and there is a good bit of action to be had. We get both hand-to-hand combat and blaster combat, and I was entertained throughout. Boodhu moves well as the super soldier and though some of the fight choreography could have been tightened somewhat, it looked decent enough. One thing I would have added was a heads-up display tracking Tamia's damage, as that would have helped to heighten the tension. And the film mentions her "cosmic powers", but these are never explained. I presume it is enhanced strength and reflexes, or something like that, but it should have been spelt out.

There are also a couple of moments that did take me out of the experience, namely one of the Moor soldiers using what is clearly a paintball gun with paint left on it, and Dryagond's axe weapon looking very flimsy and not at all threatening. It did produce some unintended chuckles though.

Blast #4 A Super Soldier's Tale

Hey girl. How you doin'?

The screenplay was written by Angelia Byron, who starred in the recent GT Network short film Michelle The Fall, and she kept the story basic and concise. The tale of someone who lost their family, learns skills and then seeks revenge is a Hollywood trope at this point, but there are some nuances here for those paying attention. Firstly, Tamia is trained to become a super soldier from a young age. That is a red flag right there, though the story does not go into it. And there are hints of her lacking emotion, which may have been the cost of the procedure or just her training. There is also a cool parallel between Tamia and Azera's story.

GT Network continues to improve on the quality of their projects and this film is their best yet. But even for newcomers to the Ville Ventures Universe, if you are looking for a visually appealing, action-packed Sci Fi short with a strong female lead then look no further than Tamia: The First Battle Gen.

Editor Jules' Score: 8 out of 10

You can watch Tamia: The First Battle Gen for yourself by clicking here. And you can check out more from the Ville Ventures Universe below:

Julien "Editor Jules" Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by the Cryptkeeper, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an aspiring author. I say things like "13 flavours of awesome sauce". Read more.