Review of Veronica Mars (2014) by Ahnehnois — 14 Mar 2014

The fan support for this movie was really unprecedented. Those supporters will likely be pleased. The story advances the timeline, brings back almost all of the characters, and reprises the twisty, mildly provocative mystery plotting and snappy dialogue of the show. There's even a joking reference to the fan support that nudges the fourth wall.

As someone who had watched most of the show several years ago but wasn't enough into it to rewatch it or memorize all the details, there were a lot of inside references that I'm quite sure I didn't get. Don't get me wrong; it's better to do fanservice than to dumb it down for the masses, but be aware that if you haven't seen the show you'll be a tad lost, despite the prologue the movie has explaining the gist of it all.

The movie looks like an extended TV episode; the locations feel small and the action is minimal save for a few jump scares. However, given the budget I think they got what they could out of it, and you weren't watching the mystery series for its visual art anyway. The murder mystery is indeed mysterious, but the climax didn't do much for me, and of course you can't develop as much in a movie as in a season of television.

It ends with a new direction for the characters that I frankly did not like. I won't spoil it, but most of the major characters make a certain choice with regards to their old lives that felt wrong to me. I don't know how the true blue fans will take it; maybe they'll like it more than I did or maybe not.

All told, though, anyone who liked the show will find it worth the wait. So many of these projects never get off the ground that it's gratifying to see when the fans get something made that Hollywood producers gave up on. The jokes and plot twists are entertaining enough.