Review of Veronica Mars (2014) by Opinionatedguy — 03 Oct 2014

Imagine myself being a fan of Veronica Mars back when the show first aired in 2004. I would be 7 years old by that year but let's just say I am quite older than 7. Like 17 years old, my current age. Anyway, I would have no idea what the show will have in store for the next three seasons. Murder, potential incest, a deadly bus crash, frame, rape, adultery, corruption and the list goes on in Neptune, California. I would be intrigued with the show because of the titular character. The way she deals with the mysteries despite her difficult personal life is amazing for a teenager and I get to experience that with many other fans tuning-in.

Fast-forward to 2007, The CW announced that the show is cancelled leaving numerous fans trying their best for the network to reconsider renewing the show with no avail. I would have been devastated.

Then fast-forward to 2013, the creator of the show Rob Thomas created a Kickstarter campaign asking for fans to donate with a goal budget of at least 2 million dollars to finally have the Veronica Mars movie we have been asking for so long. If I have seen the show before the movie is announced, I would be excited. But I heard this news with no idea about the show itself. Having a fan-funded movie of 5 million dollars is impressive for a show that has a small yet loyal fanbase.

Because of that, I decided to check the show before seeing the movie. Of course, I enjoyed the show for reasons above. Watching the entire series before watching the movie was the best decision I have ever made. If I have not seen the series before watching the movie, I would be totally clueless.

But that's what it bothers me. The movie lacks appeal for non-fans as the movie is totally for the fans of the show. If you're going to make a movie continuation of a TV show, you have to make sure it appeals to non-fans as well. Clearly, this is not the case and it bothered me.

However after watching the movie, I felt very satisfied. This felt like a series finale to me. All the loose-ends left by the TV show are tied in this movie and I am happy that this movie existed. I also liked how the end of the movie sets up a potential sequel. I highly doubt that it would continue in a form of a movie but if there is a sequel, I will try to donate this time if it needs to be funded by the fans again. Sequel or no sequel, this is a satisfying conclusion for one of my favorite TV shows of all-time.

The character development was well done. They have matured very well as an adult. Their character development was the reason why this movie felt matured from its TV show, which is quite teenager-y at times. This is a very nice transition.

The plot was well-organized and the mystery in this movie was very intriguing even though this movie is more of the "tying loose-ends" type of movie. My only problem with the plot is its subplot, which I am not going to spoil what it is. It felt rushed and it didn't have a proper ending to it. I think this was left intentional as a way to set up a sequel. Nonetheless, it could have given more time for that subplot to have a proper ending.

The script was amazingly well done by the creator of the show. It felt like watching a brand new episode of the show in a good way. The dialogues were freshly delivered by the characters.

The direction in this movie however felt a bit weird. It's like a new experience for me as a fan of the TV show. Overall, the direction and the cinematography is really good. That also explains the movie's maturity from its TV show.

The cast performances were very good in this movie. Not only the actors remained faithful in playing their characters but they also much improved their acting in this movie. I guess with a better budget, that's when they can get full potential in their acting.

The humor is the highlight of this movie for me. It's classic Veronica Mars humor and I love it! It's funny, sarcastic and witty which is also one of the reasons why Veronica Mars is one of my favorite TV shows.

It's not the greatest movie ever. If you haven't seen the show, don't watch the movie as you will be completely clueless on what's going on. But if you're a fan of the show like me, you will be satisfied with this movie and you're going to be happy seeing your favorite characters once again on the big screen.