It's 2044. The Robotech Expeditionary Force is fitted with new shadow technology provided by a secret alliance with isolationist Haydonites. They are aiming to retake Earth from the conquering Invids. Scott Bernard and his band of resistance on Earth have to take down Reflex Point to pave the way for the REF. Meanwhile Admiral Rick Hunter on the SDF-3 is delayed joining the offense after discovering a problem with the doomsday weapon Neutron-S missiles. All of this pales in comparison to the pending invasion by the Children of the Shadow who abhors any race that uses protoculture.This follows the 85 episode TV show. The characters are stiff. They had a humanity to them in the TV show but they are 2 dimensional cardboard cutouts in this movie. The animation is a blend of 2D and 3D CGI. The animation is fine for a kids TV show but not much more. The story is overflowing with plot rather than a story with relationships. It may work as a comic book but it lacks heart. This is interesting for fans of the TV show like me but nobody else.

I wasn't sure how I would react to this movie follow-up to the Robotech saga that I loved so much when I was a kid. I was even skeptical as I started the DVD, but soon all that slipped away and I started enjoying it. Something about that theme music that really takes you back.It was really nice to see the Robotech mecha and ships get a fancy computer animated upgrade while keeping the characters hand-drawn. It's also good to have the original voices back for several characters, especially Scott Bernard and Rick Hunter.The story in the movie starts near the end of the last episode of the original series with the REF trying liberate Earth from the Invid occupation. A few details are added this time to make way for a new enemy, we meet new characters and a couple characters stories are changed from the stories set forth in the Robotech novels.***MINOR CHARACTER SPOILERS AHEAD***The android Janice was introduced in the Sentinels novels as having been constructed by Dr. Lang before the Expeditionary force left Earth after the 1st Robotech War, in this movie she was partly constructed by the Haydonites.We are also introduced to Maia Sterling, who must be a daughter of Max and Miriya. In the Sentinel novels Miriya has another daughter named Aurora, but she would be a lot younger than Maia, and there's no other mention of them having a child.***END SPOILERS***It somewhat ignores events that happen in the novel The End of the Circle, which I wasn't real happy about since I'm a big fan of the novels. I know in Star Trek and Star Wars novels aren't considered official cannon, but with Robotech there is only 1 series of novels, and it directly follows the animated series, where as the Star Wars and Trek novels are all over the place.I know it's tough to revisit a beloved property 20 years later and please all the fans, but I think they did really well with this. If you loved the cartoons, you should enjoy this. I hope they are able to make another one of these that's also good.

All in all I found that TSC was a fairly good production, nothing to rave about mind you but a nice effort non the less. As I watched the show the fan in me leaped for joy but the movie enthusiast in me cried. Dialog was clumsy and stilted in parts, character animation was OK with the 2D parts actually looking better then the 3D and the story was hurried. In the original series the mecha were fluid and moved as if they were alive, here the fighters looked... well like plain machines nothing special. There was no flair, no flash and the battle scenes were not inspiring.One of the best features in this rendition of classic Robotech was that the ships weren't made of paper as was often the case in the original trilogy. The use of actual formations for battle groups lent an aura of believability and helped to reinforce the idea that it was an actual military op instead of a bunch of high-tech barbarians hurtling towards each other. I actually appreciated the fact that the capital ships kept their distance and attacked from range rather then get in to the thick of it.Another aspect that I liked was how the characters of Bernard and Marlene/Ariel and developed. Scott is no longer the angry young man but more like a man who has seen enough death and wants no more of it. The hothead role is now passed on the Marcus Rush (org. Marlene's brother). The scene were the two meet up on the moon reminds me of the interactions between Rand/Lancer and Scott in the series but this time its Scott taking up the more rational less bigoted view.Though there is little mention of certain other characters from the series I don't think this a bad thing, too many old faces would have diluted the story even more with each hero jostling for screen time. However on the flip side i did feel that the REF was composed of only about a dozen pilots. The vast expanses of corridors seemed empty and lonely. A few added extra's would have certainly spruced up some scenes.By the end of it I felt that it would have probably been better approached a mini series instead of a feature. At least in that format the writers would have had more time to build up the characters and story. Somehow I couldn't shake the feeling that harmony gold were intentionally keeping the budget tight on this, probably not wanting to risk a huge amount of capital on reviving a long dormant franchise.So with that in mind, i give this flick a 7 star rating. A must see for fans, A fairly entertaining spiel otherwise.

This is a great comeback for Robotech!!!!!even for new generations who had no clue the saga even existed, I'm sure that if the producers decide to give continuity to the saga, there will be a great outcome out of this plot; My only complaint is that it was too short, way too short to develop the story with more intensity, but at the same time it was action packed from start to finish; Trust me, You will not get bored!!!! To catch up with the plot I would recommend everyone to watch the New Generation Saga all over again and to read the comic book mini series: Prelude to the Shadow Chronicles, as they will introduce you to the whole panorama seen in the movie; Then again I'm just a long-time fan from the original series and this movie made me re-live and recall the good times I had 17 years ago, Definitively a Must-seeThe Lord of the X-Dreams