I never saw a single episode of Veronica Mars when it was airing back in the mid 2000’s. I admittedly watch a lot of movies, but don’t watch many tv shows. And Mars didn’t look like my cup of tea on the surface. The story of a high school girl going all P.I. on her classmates and neighborhood seemed a little campy for me. And I wasn’t the only one missing it; despite nearly universal critical acclaim (especially the first two seasons), it drew low ratings and was cancelled after its third season. However, almost immediately talk of a film started up, fueled by a rabid fan base. After a kickstarter campaign very quickly raised the funds, this film was made.
Veronica Mars the movie is getting very good reviews and is extremely highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes, IMDB, etc, but it is always hard to go on this alone when you are talking a fan-flick. Its loyal base could be (and probably are) artificially raising the ratings. However this is actually a very good movie. Having gone into it cold, not ever having seen a single episode of its show or really knowing much about it, I didn’t know what to expect. I was happily surprised. It isn’t going to win any awards or anything, and I don’t think it is necessarily a very memorable movie, but it is a funny and interesting film. Veronica’s witty quips to those she doesn’t care for, and even those she does, provide plenty of humorous dialogue, and the mystery who-done-it story has plenty of subtle surprises.
The movie is a little hokey at times, but the writers keep it moving, and Kristen Bell is a very likable Veronica Mars. It was most definitely made for its fans, as there seems to be a lot of “hey former classmate, what are you up to these days?” stuff going on throughout, but that never detracts from the pace of the film. I’m not quite sure it is enough to make me go back and watch the show on Netflix, but the movie is definitely worth a watch, even if you aren’t a die-hard fan.
Jons Movie Takes 