Quick "Beast With a Billion Backs" review

[sigma7]

I was glad to see Futurama revived with the Bender's Big Score DVD. It was, mostly, very good new material with a ton of old favorite characters and a variety of new humor.

Beast With a Billion Backs is...not. About the only interesting returning character is Stephen Hawking, and if you want to get technical, he doesn't count (being in an Anthology of Interest episode). The overarching plot is tedious, the jokes are tired and reused beyond the point of exhaustion, and there's one character moment which is as contrived as anything we've seen in the show so far. (And Fry, so soon after the events with Lars/Leela, gets a...new girlfriend? WTF?)

Murderball is great. David Cross is always welcome, even if his character is integral to one of those worn, endlessly-repeated jokes you can't wait for the movie to stop dwelling on. And that's about all I liked this time out. For every bit that the last movie succeeded, this one fails. It's bad enough that I wish it never happened.

I can't think of a Futurama episode I liked less than this movie. Don't buy it, don't even rent it. I'm not sure you should watch it for free. Certainly don't show it to anyone not already a committed fan of the series, as it might just turn them off it altogether.

Comments

[maggiebloome.livejournal.com]

Beast with a billion backs? Really? I think I saw a porno like that once.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

*insert sly grad school reference here*

You'd think an irreverent cartoon with a lewd Shakespearean line made even lewder would be good. Alas, it is not. Murderball is the best part of it; the title is second. And actually, that's about all.

[autobotsrollout.livejournal.com]

You know, I have to disagree. I thought it was hilarious. A bit stretched out and the ending kind of sucked, but mostly hilarious.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

Dude, I'm just glad you liked it. I'd hate to imagine if everyone had a reaction equivalent to mine.

Hell, I just had someone tell me today that she liked Crystal Skull more than Iron Man. She is, of course, Sick and Wrong and should be studied from behind bulletproof glass.