I was a little surprised when I first heard that there was a Futurama movie. I have always been a big fan of the show ever since I saw they began to play the series on Cartoon Network (yes, I missed its original showing on Fox). For those of you who don't know what the series is about, look up the wikipedia article, because I have neither the time nor the patience to explain it now. I can tell you it is created by Mat Groening, the man that brought the world "The Simpsons" so the show is fantastic, witty and at times slightly immature.
With a lot of movies based on TV shows, there is always that fear that after the first half hour of the movie, it will die because the writers just don't know how to write a long plot line. But its clear that Mr. Groening used his experience in writing The Simpsons' Movie to good use. Needless to say, the movie is fantastic from the beginning, starting strong with a unabashed, well bashing of the semi-retarded Fox executives (referred to as the "Box Network") who canceled the show several years ago. The plot revolves around the usual gang trying to win the company back after a group of aliens steal their company using an internet scam. The plot takes off from their, and never looks back.
Time seems not to have affected the writers to much as the characters are the same as always, and the running gags and recurring themes/characters make an appearance, such as the Harlem Globe Trotters, Evil Santa and Fry's fossilized dog. As you can guess, Bender plays a big part in this movie, but the movie spends a lot of time as Fry (which I guess makes sense considering the series is really about him). Fry's love for Leela also is key to the later part of the movie, which I always have big mixed feelings about, but the movie handles it pretty well.
Pro's:
Its about Bender isn't it?
Enough homages to earlier to the original show to satisfy even the most demanding fan
Hilarious in general
Con's:
Lots of the comedy depends on the watcher's knowledge of the show
Love story is iffy
Final rating: 4/5
