Movie versions of Gundam shows are very common. Ever since the Mobile Suit Gundam Movie Trilogy which covered the first Gundam show and was released just a year after the show had ended, movie versions have followed with most being good and others being not bad but not good either to being a complete bastardization.
After the Turn-A Gundam and Gundam SEED movies which weren't as good as they would thought to be, once the Zeta films were announced, fans were happy but were braced for the worse at the same time, luckily that wasn't the case. The first part of Zeta Gundam A New Translation opens with similarities compared to Mobile Suit Gundam Movie I of the first Gundam trilogy. Because of that, this movie is good in all respect.
One of the highlights in movie versions is new animation. In the Zeta movie(s), there is three different animations: old animation digitally remastered, old animation with CG tweaks, & completely new digital animation. Telling apart what was new and old was easy from both age and who were the animators from 1985 and now. The remastered animation was clean. The difference between 1979's 0079 animation and 1985's animation from the Zeta series is that the animation from the first show didn't age well.
It's very easy to tell the difference from old to new. I had no problem from changing from seeing Camille from 1985 to seeing Camille from today. The new mecha animation sequences were superb, especially the last part of the movie (last 10+ min) where 95+% was new. But still, the old doesn't hurt the new nor vice versa.
For the music: the movie uses the same music from the TV series version. It sounded great and fit the part for this dark and serious series when I first saw it, and it's the same for the movies. Although, I could be wrong, but it sounded like the music was newly recorded. But that might not be the case. The sound effects were the updated traditional anime sounds. It wasn't like the first series' trilogy from the DVD, since they didn't need it. Both of Gackt's songs (played at OP and ED credits) were good.
As for the storyline, the storyline is told clear. You understand the story, the characters, the actions and feel for the reactions and their results. However, the only thing that I would consider a flaw of sorts is the first five minutes. The first five is told in a fast pace that while it doesn't affect the overall point in the movie, it does make people crinch, even for people who are new and didn't see the show the first time around.
Overall, Zeta Gundam A New Translation Heirs of the Stars opens with promise not only for old fans that have seen the old shows, but for the new fans who are experiencing Gundam SEED. Before; the Turn-A movies suffered because they crammed so much story of the first act and half of the second act in the first film because they didn't have a third part, just two parts. The Gundam SEED movies suffered because of editing and unresolved points in the whole story. We were braced for the worse no matter what good we heard. But now; the first of the Zeta movies opens with no problems that echo the previous films.
The Gundam compilation movies are fun again.
