Like any good sci-fi movie, throughout the film, we learn why Ander really left for Gallesha for Earth, and we see a blurring between good and bad—them and us—of this war. This gives a fresh perspective of the interplanetary conflict from Ander’s earth family, who are, in an instant, brought into the battle.
The Exigency has been a thirteen-year journey for filmmaker Cody Vibbart, and it would be fair to say that the quality of computer animation has evolved by leaps and bounds since 2006 leaving director/animator Cody Vibbart far behind. From the start, you will notice that the animation has much to be desired and falls far short of the 2020 quality of Disney, Pixar, and Illumination. But then again, Vibbart did it all on his own and as “bad” as it is, you can tell a lot of work went into the final feature.
Vibbart, at times, leans into his limitations. One moment that stuck out was when Mr. Valentino is using the city as his driving range atop of his penthouse office and nails an old lady in the face. The golf ball just sort of burrows itself into her forehead, and then she walks along defying all physics and laws of inertia. Just modeling an entire cast of characters is enough for me to give up.
“There’s just something to be said about never giving up…”
When you don’t have the money or resources, all you now have is a story to lean on. Quite frankly, the story reminds me of all the B-sci-fi films I watch on TV as a child. There is depth to this relatively simple story, particularly in bringing Ander’s family into this new world. It’s a tried and true story of warring factions as one side wants peace, and the other wants conquest. There’s nothing earth-shattering in the story, but it has a cohesive beginning, middle, and end.
Why should you watch The Exigency? Passion, that’s why. There’s just something to be said about never giving up, which would have been easy and understandable to do. In the end, yes, it may have taken thirteen years to complete, but Vibbart never cut corners. He modeled entire cities, spaceships, human characters, and a monster here-and-there all on his own. One thing you can never call Vibbart is lazy. I’ll hazard a guess that perfectionism might have played a role in stretching the project out.
I don’t want to make watching The Exigency feel like a charity case. Still, if you’ve ever uttered the words, “Support Indie Film,” then The Exigency exudes the spirit of independent filmmaking, deserving both your support and 112 minutes of your time. Plus, I don’t think Cody Vibbart is going to make another animated feature (kudos if he does).
"…exudes the spirit of independent filmmaking..."
