Review of Veronica Mars (2014) by Thomas B — 01 Feb 2015

It's insane that this movie exists. It really is, more so than most other TV to screen adaptations. The path it took to get from dead and buried to alive and kicking is an unconventional one to say the least, and it signals an interesting change in the way films could be getting made in the future. But is the actual movie any good? In short, yes.

When an old friend contacts Veronica to help him get out of a bind, Veronica has to choose between her new life that she's built for herself and returning to Neptune once more.

The movie quickly establishes the idea of Veronica outside of her hometown and then just as quickly moves her back in when the plot begins to move. It's a quick snap from one to the other, but it's effective in helping fans of the show understand just how much has changed since the show's end. Veronica is moving up in the world; having shed her Neptune skin and attempting to make it is as a lawyer in the real world. It's a natural progression for the character and it's good to see that Rob Thomas and co. Haven't let her stagnate in the time we've been away. There's a great scene with Veronica and Jamie Lee Curtis and an instantly classic application of some fake lipstick that immediately joins the kind of brilliant level the show could achieve at its best, but it doesn't feel like itself until we actually hit Neptune. Thankfully we're there pretty quickly and the story kicks into motion. It's a classic V-Mars tale, with conspiracy and plot twists all over the place, and it's a credit to Thomas that he's able to weave most of the major characters and a whole lot of the minor ones as well without it feeling like simple fan service and actually feels like a part of the larger story. The mystery runs deep and has no clear suspects, especially considering the fact that most of the characters are total tools. It keeps you guessing the entire way to that creepy, tense climax and manages to maintain the tone of the original show the whole way through. There are some standout moments but most of them are difficult to talk about without giving away some pretty major plot points, but it's clear that no one is safe and that Rob Thomas is going for broke with what could be his final run with this group of characters. The dialogue is typically witty, with plenty of straight-up jokes but mostly it's about the way these characters interact with each other, their easy chemistry, the clever responses and quick wit. Veronica and her father Keith are the standout in this area, as they usually were on the show. You can have Logan and Piz and Duncan, I'd take a father-daughter conversation over any of that melodrama any day. They're both still so perfectly written while also sounding like the continuation of years has changed them in clever and specific ways.

The cast make brilliant work of these lines too, especially Kristen Bell and Enrico Colantoni. Most of the major characters and a lot of the minor ones are given some fantastic scenes together, but those two were always the show's strongest elements, and they're the movie's best parts as well. There moments together are so great, keeping the same easy, relatable nature and breezing through the sparkling dialogue. Bell has the tougher job of the two, of course, and there's barely a frame of the movie that she isn't in, being the title character and all. She nails it, of course. After playing the characters for three seasons, Bell still seems to relish the opportunity to play a character as witty and smart as Veronica and she completely owns it and the movie around her. Her performance was never particularly showy or eye-catching, she was simply smarter than most of the people she encountered, and it was so much fun to see just how quickly she could cut them down to size with a withering remark. As well as that, she had such great chemistry with so many of her co-stars that their performances were made even better by her being there. It's no wonder that she's become a movie star in her own right, but it's great to see her back in the role that made her famous and doing so well in it. The co-stars shine pretty brightly as well, especially Francis Capra as Weevil, a role that the show always did well by in showing the divide between who he was and who he has to be. His character gets some interesting advancements in the meantime and he gets a great character arc in the movie which pays off in a big way by the end. I've never been a huge fan of the love interests on the show, but Jason Dohring and Chris Lowell do well in their roles as the vie for Veronica's affection. The minor characters all have funny, specific moments to play as well, and Ryan Hansen douches it up to the extreme with his role as Dick Casablancas. There's a great scene between Kristen Bell and Max Greenfield which shows exactly how far the two have come, and the two of them are so great together in it that I wish they'd had more time together by the end. But overall, the script does well by the cast and they do very well in their execution of it, in their funny, creepy, moving, unique ways.

The tone for the show was always entirely unique, a strange mix of noir, humour and drama, and Rob Thomas is able to extend this to the film as well. The mystery itself is shot in classic noir style, evoking the great detective stories of the past while also feeling fresh and unique. He nails the lighter moments as well, able to turn the tone on a dime with the subtlest of changes to style which makes the whole thing feel of a piece with itself while also showing a huge deal of range within those set parameters. There are a couple of bravura sequences involving some vehicle collisions and that final, tense climax, but for the most part the shooting style is quietly understated, content in the knowledge that the cast and the script are both as sharp as they are. Veronica Mars was always a show that played with lighting in a way that not too many other shows would, and here Rob Thomas and Ben Kutchins work together to create something eye-catching and unique, while still feeling right at home with the three seasons that have come before it. There are some stunning shots throughout the runtime, but it's the way the scenes are staged and the deliberately restrained framing that gives some of the bigger plot-beats their punch. It's clever, assured work from the show's creator and it helps to make the movie believable and tense when it needs to be.

If there are any problems with the film, it's the fact that it doesn't feel quite as welcoming to new viewers as it could be. The same risk is a part of any adaptation and Veronica Mars definitely feels like you need to watch the first three seasons before you turn on the movie. As well as that, for the most part it feels more like an episode of the show than a movie unto itself, but there are moments that shake it out of that routine so that doesn't feel entirely like you should be expecting an ad pretty soon. But seeing this cast together, back in Neptune again should appease any fan of the series, and anyone just coming in will definitely find something to like and hopefully be inspired to watch the amazing and sadly cancelled show.

Defining Scene:

That scene between Leo and Veronica is one of the film's highlights for me. Both of the performers have refined their abilities since the show and it's great to see them together in such a clever, witty scene.