Review. The Veronica Mars movie delivers what was promised in this fan-funded movie. Veronica Mars was a cult television series for three seasons that aired on the UPN (season 1 and 2) and CW (season 3) networks before being canceled. As a fan of the Veronica Mars television series (season one was the best), I’m forever hooked into Neptune, CA.
How the Veronica Mars movie came to be made is fascinating and trail blazing (perhaps impacting future movies). The movie couldn’t get traction until creator Rob Thomas decided to launch a Kickstarter campaign so fans could fund the production — raising the minimum amount of two million dollars in less than a day, and winding up with almost six million. Rob Thomas kept all the Kickstarter donators informed of the movie’s pre-during-post production via email. If you had donated a certain amount, a free download of the movie and script was available on opening day (March 14, 2014) – I loved that!
I loved that most of the characters were able to return to the movie.
- Veronica, played by Kristen Bell, is someone you’d want to know or be. Kristen Bell breathes life into Veronica portraying this cynical, smart, sassy character with a vulnerable edge to her seemingly invincible facade.
- Logan, played by Jason Dohring, is like catnip to Veronica. It took a couple of scenes for their chemistry to click, but click they did.
- Wallace, played by Percy Daggs III, as always provided a true friend for Veronica in a small number of scenes.
- Mack, played by Tina Majorino, is working at Cane Software (potential for a future story there) in a cameo role.
- Keith Mars, played by Enrico Colantoni, is a terrific dad that wants the best for his daughter (and that means not getting sucked back into Neptune). Keith and Veronica had good chemistry and dialog though not quite as zippy as the TV series.
- Dick, played by Ryan Hansen, is still one with some of the best one-liners in the movie.
- Weevil, played by Francis Capra, is now an ex-biker gang member proudly married with a kid (gasp) in a cameo role.
- Sherriff Dan Lamb, played by Jerry O’Connell, was a replacement character for his brother Sheriff Don Lamb (killed in season 3). Dan did not top Don, played by Michael Muhney, who was a fascinating mix of smart, arrogant, snarky, and mean.
Logan has been accused of murder so Veronica returns to Neptune to help him pick a lawyer. Soon she’s uncovering all kinds of leads and finds it impossible to walk away, much to the chagrin of her father Keith and boyfriend in New York, Piz (from season 3 of the TV series). The murder mystery is decent and wraps up well. The movie felt like an expanded TV episode in the first half but stepped it up a notch in the second half (turning point was when Weevil was shot).
I missed certain characters and hope if another movie is made they can be woven into the story line. How is the Cane clan? We saw Celeste Cane for a micro-second, but Duncan Cane, Veronica’s first love would be a rival to Logan in another film.
In the end Veronica Mars was and still is a dream character – the toughest, coolest girl to inhabit the small screen since Buffy (Joss Whedon’s finest female creation). The TV series had and the movie maintains a steadfast feminist outlook.
It was fun to catch up with these characters and see where their lives have taken them since the show ended. Rob Thomas was loyal to fans in creating this movie. The Veronica Mars movie is watchable, nostalgic, and mostly the sassy-and-snappy film I expected.
Grade: B+
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