Review of Veronica Mars (2014) by A T — 09 May 2014

It's sometimes good seeing old friends again. But for most media, it really isn't. Take Arrested Development. A great show, that ended in a satisfying way that really didn't need it's wounds opened again, other than to provide more satisfying hijinks.

Mars, similar to such effect, feels more necessary needed from it's abysmal third season finale (it's a trend here that after two seasons things so sour. Community much?). But it probably wasn't the creative fault of anyone involved, but more The CW finding their footing.

But beyond that, Bell has blown up to be a name and with the clear focus, Mars should have fired on all cylinders. But the problem is, nostalgia is a power too strong. It's a great throwback to the earlier seasons, and is great to see most of the characters back, even though in far reduced roles than necessary (even in a 1h 48 min movie).

But you never get the sense they mean much, it's more (just like the reunion) an excuse to pop by and see "oh that's what they've been doing". The focus here is Veronica, but with that and an extra hour of screen time, the focus is the eclectic cast that made the series gel so well.

Again, the film falls on the sin of "casting" as by knowing the names, you can easily solve the mystery. And that's where the movie's biggest fault is. The first two seasons (and I'll admit even season 3) had some great plot twists of villains and their arcs to solve the mystery.

They even do a great job of those red herrings (save for maybe season 2). They try to do a bit of it here with all the characters returning, but it just doesn't feel satisfying in the end. There really isn't any good reason, beyond the triumph of good for her to solve the case which is a bit disappointing.

Overall, it's great to revisit these characters again like Arrested Development, and my return on investment I still believe was reached. But you go to Veronica Mars for the mysteries (well...I guess the LoVe triangles too.

..) and even that just feels a bit drawn out for a movie. I just hope if a sequel is made, maybe it could reach a bit more into the other characters but be a bit more focused in that regard (instead of small snippets of everyone).