Alright. There. I've watched them all.
Ladies and gentlemen, it's time for:
THE FUTURAMA MOVIE REVIEW ROUNDUP
~~~Brought to you by Fishy Joe's~~~
Futurama: Bender's Big Score
Score: 2/5
~This was the first of the four Futurama movies, a revival to the series. Naturally, the writers would find getting back into the groove a bit awkward, but I had no idea when I bought this movie that they would be this far out of practice. Bender's Big Score, aside from time travel and Bender's usual hi jinx, is nothing more than a rushed collection of cameos and gay jokes. It's as if the intention of the movie was to draw in the mainstream crowd, somehow, not realizing that the Futurama name just turns off people for no good reason at all, and that there's probably no reaching out to them. Even so, there were enough sightgags, puns, and general mindplay to make me feel like watching some of the older episodes again. And even with all of those negatives said, it's still passable. But...ugh...just barely.
Futurama: The Beast of a Billion Backs
Score: 3.5/5
And now we're talking. I'm not sure what got the writers' shiny metal asses in gear, but this movie was much better. The movie had a far, FAR larger cameo cast than BBS, but focused more on and better-developed the main and secondary cast, rather than try to force everybody that has a name and career chip into some kind of semi-major role. Now some of the deleted scenes (like the extended Scruffy the Janitor role) should have been kept, but other than that, it got close to the perfect balances of corny humor and outlandish story writing that made the series great.
Futurama: Bender's Game
4.5/5
...then Bender's Game came along and perfected those last traits on top of throwing in preposterous ironies and some long-standing secrets to some of the series' questions that have never been answered. This movie even managed to work in references to other works (and modern culture) without seeming forced. Especially the mock-QVC scene. It's so funny when it hits you, I won't spoil it. Even the characters' actions and expressions do the series justice. Out of the 4 movies, this one is perfection, and you might actually wind up re-watching this one.
Futurama: Into the Wild Green Yonder
Score: 4/5
And finally, Into the Wild Green Yonder winds down this crazy hayride, hodown, hectic haze of havoc. Granted, it also reminds you how environmentally mental our friends in the entertainment industry actually are, but hey, that's to be expected. It's not like the "green" in 'Into the Wild Green Yonder' is about greenhouse gases or global warming or anything of the sort, it's about...oh wait...that's a spoiler in and of itself. Thankfully, Futurama has a history of showing how both sides of the aisle are wrong in some instances, and that keeps the series alive, instead of being written off as an animated version of "The View" if it had aliens and more males. Back on track, this movie carries on what Bender's Game started and took the already headstrong Leela and made her adorably so, even while she's spouting off such colorful metaphors as MOTHER[hard knuckle]ER, etc. Yes, that's bleeped. ...it's almost a shame; it would be worth hearing. Other than that, just about every genius writing tool Futurama ever used is here, and after a few big surprises, we watch as Planet Express' crew takes a big leap through space. Where they are now is anyone's guess.
Hopefully at the animation studio, gearing up for a new season of shows and a revival. I never have looked at news about the futurama of this great franchise called Future, but I sincerely hope to get some more laughs out of the great animators, writers, and voice actors that radioactively brighten up any day.