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The third volume of Love, Death, and Robots on Netflix includes every great animation short that continues the tradition of delving into human consciousness, the subconscious, and everything in between.
I'm gonna go ahead and say every episode in this volume is animated to perfection with great CGI, motion capture technology, and other techniques such as rotoscoping that lead to animated magic.
Love, Death, and Robots Season 3
In my review of the last two volumes of Love, Death, and Robots, I only reviewed what I thought were the best episodes in the volumes. In Love, Death, and Robots season 3, the creators have really outdone themselves and each and every animated short is a winner. So here's a review of all episodes in V3:
Three Robots: Exit Strategies
Just as in volume 1, three robots who outlived the human civilization, tour post-apocalyptic earth to see how Homo Sapiens messed things up and brought doom upon themselves. Even though the premise is previously known and simple, it is still entertaining due to great writing, good animation, and a few zingers.
Bad Traveling
Playing out like a Ray Bradbury story, Bad Traveling is a really interesting animated short filled with adventure, macabre, and a monster worthy of David Cronenberg.
A group of weary seafarers on an alien ocean is visited by a crab-like monster named a Thanapod on their ship. You are then taken through multiple plot twists wondering who's the virtuous one in this whole thing. The tension is built up nicely in this episode and the animation is a treat, with the interplay of light and shadow being used to great effect.
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The Very Pulse of the Machine
This is an open-ended animated short with more left to the imagination than the other episodes. A group of astronauts exploring Io (Jupiter's moon) is struck by disaster when a storm kills one of two space-farers.
The surviving astronaut has to hike with a makeshift oxygen supply over an impossible distance while trying to keep a grip on reality.
The best part of this psychedelic episode is the plot which keeps you guessing what's real and what's just a hallucination. The animation probably utilizes rotoscoping and is immensely beautiful, reminding you of bioluminescent jellyfish in the ocean.
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Night of the Mini Dead
The best part of this near-silent, dialogue-less animated short is the style in which it is brought to life. Research on the net yielded no results, but it resembles the animation at the end credits of Antman and the Wasp.
It is really funny in a subtle way and its simple plot of a horror-comedy has a poignant ending.
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Kill Team Kill
Both the plot and the animation style resemble the Sucker of Souls episode 5 in volume 1. That being said, this all-American episode is thoroughly entertaining in a blue-collar sense with crude jokes and innuendo. A group of US special forces operatives tries to kill a monster that has been created by the CIA and lose everything but their sense of humor in the process.
Swarm
Photo-realistic animation informed by motion capture is one of the best ways to engage in storytelling, as in this episode.
The story here revolves around a colony of extra-terrestrial beings that live in a complex hierarchy similar to ants or bees. A new visitor to this colony underestimates this new life form, putting his life in peril.
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As with every episode the plot is well handled, and the animation is amazing. The danger- real. You feel the tension as something is about to give and the protagonist is humbled by the intelligence of the alien hive.
Mason's Rats
Like the Three Robots episode, this one is light and funny. A farmer in the future is tired of being plagued by rats that for smarter by eating his genetically enhanced grains. The extermination company he hires to root out and destroy the rats is successful until the rats evolve themselves for the fight- until...
The ending to this entertaining animated short is really enjoyable and gives you some space to breathe before the next episode.
In Vaulted Halls Entombed
With an amazing motion capture cast, this episode is one of the best in this volume of Love Death, and Robots. Joe Manganiello the action star, Jai Courtney who played Captain Boomerang and the half-vampire spawn in Twilight Christian Serratos make this action short more action-y.
Channeling the fear of boundless and unknown, Tim Miller puts the fear of (an unknown) god into the characters whose sheer scale terrifies them. Like a self-contained sci-fi thriller, this animated short is sure to keep you on the edge of your chair.
Jibaro
This is probably the BEST episode of Love, Death, and Robots Season 3 because of its symbolism, chaos, and just "what the hell"ness. Jibaro is a hypnotic rollercoaster ride. So just buckle in and enjoy the sick ride.
Spanish conquistadors are confronted by a mysterious and mystical lake-dwelling forest creature shaped like a human.
After wiping out an entire regiment of soldiers, one general that survives enchants this forest nymph, only to harm her. She then exacts revenge and probably loses the ability to trust anyone else again.
The metaphors here are clear, curiosity DID almost kill the cat, relationships based on lust can be toxic or disastrous, and the exploitation of nature in the modern world.
Should You Watch It? Hell Yes!
Not sure if I have noticed this pattern before but a common thread running through most episodes in this volume is there is a lone survivor at the end. In some cases, if they die.
But you don't watch Love Death and Robots Season 3 for a feel-good vibe, it's for the pioneering animation, great writing, and better plot execution. Watch every episode and none of them will let you down.