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Friday, February 13, 2009

Movie Review - Futurama, Into The Wild Green Yonder

This is the last in a series of 4 movies from the Futurama franchise, Matt Groening has said this will almost certainly be the final movie (I know that a figure of 4 was mentioned in various commentaries in the 3 previous films but this is definately the last of the series) but they may explore the franchise further in other ways, possibly online.

The movie starts in deep space with some reference to DNA then we get the typical Futurama episode (although they start on Mars Vegas as opposed to normally being in New New York) with the little message being written in one of the alien language fonts they use so much so thats the 1st thing for geeks to decode.

The plot revolved around Amy Wongs family having just demolished Mars Vegas to build a bigger better one, after an accident involving campaigning feminists Fry becomes a telepath and he discovers that a foil hat filters them out. Bender watches some Robot Erotica and falls in lust with a Robot Mobster Dons wife.

Fry decides to use his ability to win a million dollars in a poker tournament that Bender also enters to impress his gangsters moll. Fry eliminates the 1st and 2 are killed (and Bender really shouldn't win that hand as those aren't the cards he was dealt) leaving Fry to play Bender for the prize money. Fry should win (4 aces) but Bender has 5 Kings (so should be instantly disqualified for cheating surely?) and tries to flee with his squeeze but they are left digging shallow graves (to those wondering why there are 2 moons thats Phobos & Deimos because the film is set on Mars) but both obviously survive.

Leo Wong (Amys father) sets out his plans for the Universes biggest minature golf course stating he will destroy 12% of The Milky Way to build the whole course. The fact that this is most of the plot of Hitch Hikers Guide To The Galaxy (who did it far better and much funnier in 1979) goes to show the lack of creativity in these films.

The body of Spiro T Agnew is killed and action finally returns to Earth (30 minutes into the movie) where the head of Nixon orders the hunting down of the feminist activists and Leela who has now joined them. They sabotage the removal of Saturns rings and Leela decides they will need a mascot in the shape of the last living Martian Desert Muck Leech, Fry is captured and we discover the fate of the Universe rests in his hands like it normally always does.

We get a nice Heinlein reference (most non-readers won't pick it up or understand it) and the origins of life in the Universe are explained (it was caused by Chi), Fry is then told he must stop Leo destroying the Violet Dwarf. Bender sells out Leela for money (by bugging Fry's phone) and Fry joins Wongs as a security guard to smash the system from within.

Planet Express Ship is hijacked by the feminists and we finally discover who "The Dark Ones" are. We discover the feminists and the crazy people are both hiding in the same place and Zapp Branigan tries to capture her. Leela takes Fry with her as she is saved by the feminists, the Nimbus is sliced in half (so exactly how DO they lose ALL the men from only half the ship?) and theres an extremely weak bit of scripting that even Duran Duran can't save.

Theres an awful goof about what fuels the Planet Express Ship (purists will be screaming loud swear words!) and they are captured by The Nimbus. There is a trial & the feminists are found guilty and sent to prison for 50 years. Bender breaks them out and the repainted Planet Express Ship makes the save. Fry discovers Nixons secret of the moon landing and Fry reaches the same conclusion everyone else had guessed about 20 minutes previously (which is wrong).

The real Dark One is revealed and Groening rips off 2010, The Year We Make Contact. The new lifeform rips off an episode of Star Trek The Next Generation and Fry makes a scary statement. Fry gets soppy and Groening writes the worst and most opening ending ever. It's an awful end to a generally awful series of films and Fox really should have left Futurama the way is was as it'd gone out on a high.

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