Secret Level Episode 5 | Warhammer 40K Animation Review

[@InquisitorRomanov]

I was wrong... It's actually really good. So good, I don't even know if I still hate Ultramarines.

[@davidog4]

Titus has a screw loose. Something terrible happened to him as a child. Even demons dont get it. NOT your typical Ultramarine.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

Indeed

[@DoomStarRequiem]

When you're the commanding officer of one Malum Caedo ... You definitely have to have something.

[@TheBigExclusive]

Games Workshop is a multi-billion dollar company. Why doesn't every Warhammer show look like this?

[@TristianWrites]

@@TheBigExclusive because they for the most part simply license the IP to studios and it’s on that studio to make a good product.

[@snailmusk9468]

@@TheBigExclusive most shows aren't this good. Ain't easy to create something of this quality.

[@RawDogAnAeldari]

They definitely made it digestible for newcomers, not using as much dialogue with in universe terminology probably kept the confusion down.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

For sure.

[@guyfromv7725]

its /almost/ as good as 'Astartes' but that's an extremely high bar

[@InquisitorRomanov]

IMO it exceeds Astartes. It’s the same team apparently, who made it. But yes, Astartes does make for a very high bar.

[@thepatientartisan]

Actually, that is not Idris Elba, but Adewale Akinnuoye Agbaje. Who did an amazing job none the less. Be well.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

It is his voice. Maybe they both worked on the episode, but Elba’s credited as one of the voice actors.

[@thepatientartisan]

@InquisitorRomanov Not to be a contrarian, but the cast for Episode 5-And They Shall Know No Fear is as follows: Bladeguard Sergeant Metaurus- Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje Lieutenant Titus- Clive Standen Young Titus- Ben Plessala Astropath- Mark Sheppard Sorcerer of Tzeentch- Alexa Kahn Ultramarines Orbital Command- Mark Sheppard. I just finished watching the episode not 15 minutes before watching your review. It stands to reason that an actor of Idris Elba's talent would find a place among the star studded cast of this series, as Amazon would have been foolish to exclude him, he wasn't a cast member on episode 5. Though I'm sure we will both hear and see Mr. Elba in future iterations of Warhammer 40k cinema as he is one of Britain's best and brightest stars, and GW is a product of the UK. Be well.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

Oh wow, for a guy who was hyped so hard for being in it...he's not. And google even says that he is in it, in its top search results, but looking a bit further, he is not after all. But, honestly, I couldn't care less. Nowhere near the point of the video. Glad to admit I'm wrong though.

[@thepatientartisan]

@InquisitorRomanov No worries my friend. I just looked into it because the character's voice was so familiar but I couldn't put my finger on it and it bugged the absolute crap out of me! I do however agree with you though, that was badassed, and I'm reasonably sure of that being the point of your video. Just a quick question though; how does it stack up against the now Legendary one man master creation Astartes in your opinion? Be well.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

I think it is the natural evolution of Astartes. They just took it to the next level. To me, it looks so much better. But I don't really care much for Ultramarines, so that was all I disliked about it. But I did like how they painted Titus in such a grimdark way. As far as visually, they are both masterpieces. But this new one is even better.

[@Shortthoughtslive]

So, I had a VHS copy of a late nineties Games Day very short animation called Inquisitor. It didn’t really have a plot. At the end of it, a Khorne Berserker atop a Juggernaut slowly slides half way out of a Chaos Rift. And then it slides back in and the video ends. It was bad. Really bad. Just watched the episode, I had problems with the consistency of the representation of the daemons. With the green lights of their vehicles, I assumed the cultists could possibly be Nurgle worshipers. Then, they fight what looked like Bloodletters but their “blood” glowed blue so maybe I didn’t catch the Tzeentchiness of them. Giant statue of a Changer of Ways. Cool! But wtf, on the Slaanesh daemon killing two and wounding the third Ultramarine. That seemed really weird. The absolute best part was when they walked into the inner sanctum and their purity seal papers went up in smoke. Got a big smile from that. I just don’t want the media market to get so over saturated that people get burnt out on 40K.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

I have wanted to see that whole VHS of Inquisitor for years. I've only seen a few clips on youtube. What a rare gem to have. What I saw looked so absolutely gimpy, I loved it though. Definitely a serious piece of history.

[@Shortthoughtslive]

@ I unfortunately don’t have that tape any more. Evolved to DVDs then ownerless streaming. ☹️

[@InquisitorRomanov]

Yeah, I had a few VHS until about a decade ago, but haven't even had a VCR in like 20 years... We can still dream though. I miss those simpler times, but not the rewind fees.

[@Diomedes_XXII]

Was Sayama Pedersen involved?

[@InquisitorRomanov]

I believe so. Would explain the look of it. I thought it was like Astartes but next level.

[@Diomedes_XXII]

@@InquisitorRomanov fuckin dope

[@InquisitorRomanov]

For real though.

[@slimygrimy-l7m]

If Amazon backs off and gives Henry free hand they could have something truely amazing, in a day when halo and star wars are it's competitor but are totally undermined by being twisted to reflect our world over good story telling and the escape they were ment to be.... Don't make your own thing in the skin of an established franchise.. when that franchise already has everything it needs to succeed.. . If the failure of rings of power didn't teach them then hopefully the success of this episode did

[@InquisitorRomanov]

Word

[@LennertMP]

I loved every second of And they shall know no fear. In my opinion it was even better than Astartes. Mostly because it was a more complete Story. Stylistically I slightly prefer Astartes though.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

I would love to see more, for sure. Imagine quality like this, but like say...a Night Lords story. Or Raven Guard. Yeah, this story was awesome, but Astartes will always have a special place in the community for upping the bar.

[@LennertMP]

@@InquisitorRomanov Yeah, Astartes really defined how we as a community want to see Space Marines. For example the cold, almost machine like effectiveness of their movements.

[@CryptofNightmares]

Awesome

[@Ridgelinehunter007]

This is a big click title. And there's no way you can even begin to compare the 2. Since says Amazon, which is a multi-billion dollar company, developed this VS aversus a fan made. One man creation😅 Which is undoubted better as an original creation

[@InquisitorRomanov]

The same guy made both. GW is also a multibillion dollar company 😀 This is what the astartes team has been up to. I respect your opinion, but disagree. To me this is better because it shows what Pedersen can do with a bigger budget (ostensibly).

[@dirtyjack6300]

No it's not. Astartes is way better.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

Some say that. Same folks made it. Honestly, a matter of opinion. I like this one better myself, because it looks more refined, and the action is more badass. I like the story of Astartes better though...and that it isn't about Ultramarines.

[@TheRealSoldatmesteren]

I thought it was mediocre at best. Syama Pedersen is still the only person that have been able to depict space marines in a way that feels real. Secret Level just felt like Space Marine 2 gameplay footage with pre-rendered graphics. If Secret Level was an intro cinematic or cutscene for a video game it would be good, but this is a professional cinematic piece of art and it fails at that. With that said; I do think it is the 2nd best 40k animation that exists and with a couple of upgrades it could become very good.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

I heard Syama actually worked on this. Wait…you said both, mediocre at best. And, second best animation.

[@TheRealSoldatmesteren]

@@InquisitorRomanov Yeah I saw that too. They even used a shot directly from Astartes; when they step into the boarding craft and you see a close up of the foot stepping down, in Secret Level you see the same shot when stepping onto the drop pod. But in the Secret Level you get no sense of weight and mass. In the Astartes shot you see the whole boarding craft shaking when they step into it. Cinematography like that is something that Secret Level is lacking. The first 30 seconds of Astartes is cinematic brilliance, just seeing them walk down a hallway into the boarding craft gives us so much information about what a space marine is without any action or dialog. Astartes is cinematic, Secret Level is a video game.

[@InquisitorRomanov]

I disagree. But I see where you're coming from.

[@nanadrawslot]

@@InquisitorRomanov Yes , he is credited as a layout artist.