Bender's Big Score may have been a pleasant feature film in its own right, however when faced with the nearly flawless original series and the three years of anticipation by eager fans, it sorely disappoints. A number of elements of this new release unfortunately do not measure up to the genius that was the original run.
While the writing in the film was capable of producing a number of chuckles and a few big laughs, it suffers from an overuse of self-reference. A few inside jokes may have been amusing, but the viewer is eventually bombarded with a bulging cast of characters and a dizzying array of references to previously established canon. Not only that, quite a few jokes attempted to derive humor from meta-reference alone, something that the original series never resorted to. The opening sequence, for example, went as far as using puns for meta-references. Such jokes may blend in with Family Guy or even The Simpsons, but are terribly out of place in the Futurama universe. Even worse, the sort of satire involved with this sequence is not the gentle, prodding kind we've come to known in the original series, but a mean-spirited, sardonic sort. While its understandable that such emotions may prevail after the frustrations over the premature cancellation of the show, expression of these feelings in the first few minutes of the comeback seems to be in poor taste.
The movie is filled with little details that remind you of just how great the original series was, by falling short of the standards set by it. There is a general excessiveness surrounding this film, expressed with nudity, crude behavior, violence and gore. This excessiveness leaves one with the impression that Futurama was a beast shackled by the draconian regulations of the FCC, finally gaining its freedom thanks to the liberating nature of the DVD medium. Unfortunately, the original series never gave the air of a beast attempting to break free. Rather, the original elevated above such crudeness with intellectualism and smart satire. Thus, the viewer is confused by the sudden onslaught of gore and crudeness, which seemingly to have joined the series from nowhere. The writing attempted to weave musical sequences into the film, however these attempts too fell short of the original's greatness and were as shoddy imitations. While the original series managed to incorporate singing and dancing transparently by cleverly embedding them into the storyline, for example as part of an opera or a concert, the musical sequences in this film were utterly forced into their places.
Which brings me to my final point. The awful transitions into singing may have been forgiven if the songs were actually good, but that is not the case. It seems after a two year hiatus, some of the actors may be well advised to get some voice acting practice sessions before jumping into this production. The singing in the original series may not have been paragons of musical talent, but they were well-done and represented the characters and the situation beautifully. The musical sequences in this film were poorly executed and out of place by comparison. In addition, a number of otherwise genuinely emotional and poignant scenes were drained of their emotional component due to poor acting.
After all this, though, I still think Bender's Big Score is a movie worth owning, especially for long time Futurama fans. The disappointments that I pointed out were only due to the incredibly high standards set by the near-perfection of the original series. This film may have not lived up to expectations, but it is still a quality piece of work that's probably better than a lot of other things out there right now; and though it may not be as good as the best episodes of Futurama, it will still be loved by someone who loved every episode of Futurama.
While the writing in the film was capable of producing a number of chuckles and a few big laughs, it suffers from an overuse of self-reference. A few inside jokes may have been amusing, but the viewer is eventually bombarded with a bulging cast of characters and a dizzying array of references to previously established canon. Not only that, quite a few jokes attempted to derive humor from meta-reference alone, something that the original series never resorted to. The opening sequence, for example, went as far as using puns for meta-references. Such jokes may blend in with Family Guy or even The Simpsons, but are terribly out of place in the Futurama universe. Even worse, the sort of satire involved with this sequence is not the gentle, prodding kind we've come to known in the original series, but a mean-spirited, sardonic sort. While its understandable that such emotions may prevail after the frustrations over the premature cancellation of the show, expression of these feelings in the first few minutes of the comeback seems to be in poor taste.
The movie is filled with little details that remind you of just how great the original series was, by falling short of the standards set by it. There is a general excessiveness surrounding this film, expressed with nudity, crude behavior, violence and gore. This excessiveness leaves one with the impression that Futurama was a beast shackled by the draconian regulations of the FCC, finally gaining its freedom thanks to the liberating nature of the DVD medium. Unfortunately, the original series never gave the air of a beast attempting to break free. Rather, the original elevated above such crudeness with intellectualism and smart satire. Thus, the viewer is confused by the sudden onslaught of gore and crudeness, which seemingly to have joined the series from nowhere. The writing attempted to weave musical sequences into the film, however these attempts too fell short of the original's greatness and were as shoddy imitations. While the original series managed to incorporate singing and dancing transparently by cleverly embedding them into the storyline, for example as part of an opera or a concert, the musical sequences in this film were utterly forced into their places.
Which brings me to my final point. The awful transitions into singing may have been forgiven if the songs were actually good, but that is not the case. It seems after a two year hiatus, some of the actors may be well advised to get some voice acting practice sessions before jumping into this production. The singing in the original series may not have been paragons of musical talent, but they were well-done and represented the characters and the situation beautifully. The musical sequences in this film were poorly executed and out of place by comparison. In addition, a number of otherwise genuinely emotional and poignant scenes were drained of their emotional component due to poor acting.
After all this, though, I still think Bender's Big Score is a movie worth owning, especially for long time Futurama fans. The disappointments that I pointed out were only due to the incredibly high standards set by the near-perfection of the original series. This film may have not lived up to expectations, but it is still a quality piece of work that's probably better than a lot of other things out there right now; and though it may not be as good as the best episodes of Futurama, it will still be loved by someone who loved every episode of Futurama.