Reviews WesternAnimation / Love Death And Robots

Mixed bag.

In an anthology of eighteen short films, some will inevitably stand out, some will be middling, and some will be, well, subpar. I had trouble parsing which Love, Death & Robots fell into which category, probably because so many of them were middling. But the ones that shine do so very well.

A rundown of my opinions of each episode, which may be different from yours (and that's ok):

1. "Sonnie's Edge": The fight scene animation is stellar, but the plot and characters are lacking. The cyberpunk is very visually interesting, however. B
2. "Three Robots": An very touching little story about three robots looking back on human civilization. A-
3. "The Witness": A smartly-animated, mind-bending short with a very interesting setting. Directed by a guy who worked on Spider Man Into The Spiderverse, and the animation recalls that in several positive ways. A
4. "Sucker of Souls": Cute, smoothly-animated manga-like visuals aren't enough to make me attached to this oft-told story about some tomb raiding gone wrong. C+
5. "When the Yogurt Took Over": Contrasts the cute computer-generated visuals and a whimsical story with a more sombering message about humanity very well. B+
6. "Beyond the Aquila Rift": I had the viewing order that had this one first, and I'm glad for it. Its plot twist is rather predictable and animation is at times wonky, but the emotions and the cosmic horror story are done well. B+
7. "Good Hunting": Since I'm a fantasy fan, this had my favorite characters of the bunch, and they're set in a beautifully animated steampunk/urban fantasy Hong Kong. The plot is great as well, raises questions not just about robotics but about industrialization and Westernization, but is hampered by the issues of female autonomy (it's not just this short, see below). A-
8. "The Dump": Interesting visuals, but with a one-note story. Also kind of gross, but that's to be expected. B-
9. "Shape-Shifters": An okay-ish modern fantasy story about the US Marines in Afghanistan is hampered by the generic visuals and color palette. (I get that it's an army in a desert, but c'mon.) C
10. "Helping Hand": It's Gravity...as a ten minute short! You definitely manage to empathize with the protagonist by the end. B
11. "Fish Night": Gorgeous visuals of a ghostly underwater scene, but with a plodding plot that doesn't amount to much. B
12. "Lucky 13": Samira Wiley brings the magic in what's otherwise a fairly straightforward action story about a bond between a rookie pilot and her plane. B
13. "Zima Blue": An extremely touching story about art, humanity, robots, and our place in the universe, bolstered by lovely stylized thick-line animation. A
14. "Blind Spot": This is another of the "interesting visuals/blah plot" ones — it's an car chase heist with the aesthetic of 80's/90's anime, and...that's it. C+
15. "Ice Age": The only live-action entry, a charming little tale about civilization and human potential. The young couple's clunky dialogue detract from it, however. B
16. "Alternate Histories": The most outright comedic, and a welcome breather following all the heavy subject matter that proceeded it. Plus, who doesn't want to see Hitler get offed and the world go down the crapper anyway, all narrated by a soothing computer voice? A
17. "The Secret War": I was prepared to dislike this one, but it turned out to be an increasingly well-paced action piece with an emotional ending and a stunning fight scene. B+

Plot- or theme-wise, don't expect anything on the level of, say, Black Mirror, to cite another Netflix scifi anthology. With runtimes of ten-ish minutes each, the shorts feel less like ruminations on human nature and technology/magic and more like impressive tech demos. I found many of them rather lacking in heart, which I personally seek when dealing in stories about technology. Overall, the oft-cited criticism of misogynist visuals is very fair. There's a lot of violence against women, and a lot of nudity to the point that it often detracts from the short. Some of it is also blatantly gratuitous. This is something I hope the creators address should there be more seasons.

The animation is mostly strong across the board, even for episodes with weak plots (eg. "Fish Night"), which is impressive considering all the styles the series juggles. Some episodes have styles reminiscent of a Playstation 4 cutscene (eg. "Shape-Shifters") but even those would come through; the fight scene in "Sonnie's Edge" in particular is a standout. If you're an art/animation fan as I am, it's probably worth watching just for the variety of visual styles alone.

As for which episodes I'd recommend: I believe you should still watch the whole thing and figure out which ones in particular you would like. As I said, you won't find all of them good, but you will like some, and that's just fine.