This is a review as told by someone who watched the series as it aired. Now I started watching this show just as I rolled into highschool, this is also the same time I discovered Angel, Buffy, Firefly, Tru calling, Wonderfalls and an assortment of other highly Canceled television series. Now I adore all of them, but its been a few years since I've seen or really thought of the series. So when I started watching I was pulled in with all of my heart so I knew if they Fucked this up I would be pissed. And it was gooood.
Firstly, the most notable disappearance is two key cast members. Rube, played by Mandy Patinkin in the show is *spoiler* dead when the film begins. The other thing you'll notice is that because this is five years later, Ellen Muth's voice is much much deeper. One suspects that she smoked WAYYYY more than any human should(which is to say any at all) and so it takes time getting used to. The other missing cast member was _ as Daisy. She unfortunately dropped out at the last moment and they replaced her. The new actress Sarah Wynter isn't bad as Daisy, she just doesn't feel like the old Daisy. Ellen, other than her voice, feels like George, as do the supporting cast members basicly all of whom are back. Callum Blue, who played Mason, steals the show by feeling like he never left the role. Oh and the one new comer who plays Cameron, Henry Ian Cusick, Is freaking Desmond from Lost. This caught me off guard but he adds in a well fitting cast.
The story and movie works great for many respects. Unfortunately all of Daisy's material feels very flat compared to the rest of the movie. I'm not going to spoil the premise for this because a lot of that would in turn spoil the series, which I refuse to do. To say the least A large number of storylines do feel closing to the series. There are some elements that are left open ended, mostly because these writers and crafters of the movie are hoping for a sequel. I want to say right now that if your show gets canceled, and you have the opportunity to finish the series, don't leave things open ended. You got canceled once; hubris only fucks the fans over so don't do it.
The movie is damn near spot on for the first half, mixing in the light dark humour and the drama stuff. A little past the half way point the attempts at humour feel much more flat and so much more insignificant compared to the first half. Some of the emotional beats feel forced, but a number of them, particularly the Dolores and George scenes, feel better than they ever did in the series. But all in all, I honestly felt like I was watching a series finale to a series that deserved it. It's not entirely proper, but it does a damn good job trying. But in that compliment there is also a complaint. This has been billed and marketed as a movie. It feels like a two episode finale.
One last note, the movie does a good job setting up the basic premise of the series for the first 5-10 minutes or so, but does it in a clever little comic book sequence(along with the one in Repo, they seem to be moving into style) and it honestly feels completely lost. The sequence itself is well done and will catch anyone up on the premise, the important aspect aka the relations of all of the characters established in the series aren't there and thus people watching who didn't watch the show will still be lost. so as a general viewer I'd say its akin to watching just the Sopranos finale or just the Angel finale and not the accompanying series. Your just going to be all "whaaaat?". In that regard I give it a 5. As a fan(which really if you are reading this and you aren't a fan go out find someway to watch the pilot and then be hooked from there onward) I give it a solid 9.1 ratting. while not nearly as good as that first season of the series, it does a better job than the second season and as such I found it most enjoyable.
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