Veronica Mars 2014

Warning: This review refers to some events that happened in the TV-Series this is a sequel of. If you haven't seen the series yet and don't want to get spoiled, don't read this and don't watch the movie.

After just watching all 3 seasons of the series this movie is a follow-up and thought to be a conclusion of, I feel disappointed with this outing. Many people have stated that this feels like a long episode of the TV-Series. And this fits pretty well, considering it features just one case. But for a single case it runs longer than it should. But for a case like the one which is being presented, one that would have normally been a season wide case, it runs too short. This creates the feeling of it being rushed while being too slow at the same time. It has an uneven balance, if you will, which creates an awkward feeling of being bored even though you think you have all the ingredients. And that's disappointing because you actually don't have the ingredients that made the series good. You have some of them, yes, but the proportions are all wrong.
The series had a good balance of case solving, school stuff, banter between different characters and daddy-daughter interactions. The latter of which was the heart of the series, at least in my ees, and is painfully kept to a bare minimum in the movie - but with a reason, as Veronica is not a kid anymore. The movie also replaces the school stuff with Veronica trying to get a job as a lawyer at some firm, kept to an even barer minimum, or the school reunion. I'm not sure what is meant to be the replacement. What runs wild is the case solving (which is one of the worst and boring compared to other Veronica Mars cases) and the banter between characters, which is mostly limited to interactions between Logan, who is yet again a murder suspect (third time's the charm I guess), and Veronica - who is currently dating Piz again - whose appearance is also kept to a bare minimum. I don't know why he's even there, but apparently the movie needed to find a way to put every old player back into the game somehow. There also is a Lamb back as sheriff in Neptune.
But it's not Don, because he's ... you know ... dead. It's his older brother Dan, whose name doesn't sound like it was meant bring back Don in any way, shape or form. He also doesn't feel like a copy of Don. Nope. Not at all. Mac and Wallace are also back, both still living in Neptune but not living their dream job-wise - but this can happen in life and is actually something good the movie is doing. They don't really do stuff in the movie besides getting Veronica to the school reunion and talk about the good old times. Then we have Weevil who, surprisingly, evolved the most out of all characters during the time between the series' end and the movie, which makes what happens in the movie only more disappointing...

And that is my biggest gripe with the movie: It feels very contrived and is not giving the promised closure. Hell, the Season 3 finale gave more closure than this. This is a new beginning, already setting up stuff for the next movie, which perhaps will be the closure we've been promised.

Here be movie-spoilers:
Even Rob Thomas stated he originally wanted to tell a different story (The Ten Thousand Dollar Tan Line), but he had to tell this one first. And this is why I think the story feels contrived and like a set up: because it is. But bringing every character - even a Lamb one - back into the roles they had during the TV series doesn't bode well for future installments, which are surely coming.

I've been a big fan of VERONICA MARS since the beginning. It's writing is clever, it's characters well defined and engaging. The mysteries have depth and layers of social commentary and no small amount of a cynical, world weary, tough view of life. The TV series had all of this. This crowd funded movie, which is a product of the longing of it's audience ($2,000,000 was raised in 10 hours), however, missed the mark. Many of the things we admired about the series were missing in the movie. The acting was sluggish, the plot was secondary, it lacked the quick wit and crisp writing. It did, however, give fans lots of inside jokes and cameo snaps of former characters. However, when Hulu brought us a fourth season of the beloved series, everything that made this series great was back in place. The series is on my Top TV Series list, and I rate it a 10 (perfect) out of 10. The movie has now become a blip in the inbetween and I rate it a 5 (a place holder for fan value, only) out of 10. I truly hope Hulu will continue giving us more seasons of this treasured series. [Teen Noir Drama]