Lars was a little lame at the beginning. Very cheesy, but not, oddly enough, Fry cheesy. As the movie progressed, the Lars angle progressed very well, and it was probably one of my favorite sub-plots of this movie/plots from the show as a whole. Originally, I thought that the Copy Fry storyline would be a shorter joke with him being killed in an hilariously ironic way. However, I am definitely happy with the way they did it. It made it so the ending of the movie was open for Fry/Leela, even though the movie showed progression in the relationship.

The jokes weren't the greatest ever. For some of them, I got a little giggle; for others, I laughed a lot. I do agree that the early-mid section of the movie dragged a little bit.

On the time travel aspect: I thought the explanation that it was paradox-free time travel definitely helped the possibility of the story, although I don't think that paradox-free travel is possible. I'd think more of a Back to the Future approach, where a person will not notice changes personally and will live life through that timeline, although, if they were to travel back to the fracture point and try to travel back to their time that they'd travel instead to the alternate timeline. Thus, some of the things made sense, although, some others didn't at all. One thing in particular was Bender from the end traveling to Applied Cryogenics on New Year's 2000, since, using the principles from the movie, we wouldn't see this until the end. However, a simplistic explanation was that, for that part, we were seeing the scene from the end and not from the exact point in time we were watching it. Either that or that it was solely for a joke and was not an attempt at preserving any continuity whatsoever.

Lars, man. I swear, one of the curses of being a film major is learning how to spot plot twists way too early. I got it about two seconds after he showed up on screen. I was like "That is clearly Billy West, sounding like he's trying too hard to disguise his voice. And Lars looks like Fry. I bet it's a time travel thing." The worst part about it is that, if you have a hunch before you watch it the first time, every scene with Lars in it feels like you're being beaten with a bag of hammers.

On the second viewing, though, everything leveled out for me a bit more. The Lars plot line made sense, and I can see how it really wasn't that obvious unless you were (subconsciously and sadistically) trying to figure out the twist in the back of your head.

I for one had no problem with the retconning of Jurassic Bark or Luck of the Fryrish. It worked, and we still have those episodes anyway. The other thing is, if we're allowed to be upset by the timeline changing and things generally going berserk, shouldn't it bother more people that there's a gigantic crack in SPACE ITSELF? I figure they've got three more movies to work out the universe before we can really judge them, and maybe by the time the last one ends, we'll have more important issues on our minds.

It did bother me that there was no mention of Devil's Hands. I wasn't expecting a full-on love story, but I thought there might be at least a reference or two. That last shot of the series, with the holophonor Fry and Leela holding hands and walking away, is permanently burned into my memory as one of the most touching moments in the entire series. It always felt like such a final word, despite the fact that so little was really resolved. I wish there could have been, at the very least, a little more tension between Leela and Fry. If she'd just had a little bit of conscience about Fry's feelings, for crying out loud. I don't need Calculon-level emoting here, but something would have been a relief... Instead, Leela ended up as a plot device instead of a character. Object of Fry's desire, object of Lars's desire, ditzy girl who likes to be flattered by a suave dude... that's fine for Plot Device Girl #5, but where was Leela? Maybe she found her way back for the next movie. At least, I certainly hope she did. It would be kind of a huge slap in the face if she still didn't give two shits about Fry after the whole Lars incident.

Anyway, despite my ranting, I found the movie really enjoyable. I didn't get that "wow" feeling I got from some of the greater episodes, but it's really never a bad thing to have these guys back. And this is only part one of four. I'm really excited to see what they do from here, especially with the commentary hinting that the next movies aren't so complex and scattershot.

Either it will continue solving the rip in the space story in much detail or it will be like some episodes that kind of end on a darker tone like War is the H Word and we it'll start a new. The reason why I think that is simply because all the stuff from the storyboard of TBWABB can't possibly be related to BBS. Especially the Death Ball scene (which I cannot wait to watch).

Musical parts. I never was a fan of those, and that hasn't change. They were not bad, but I just hate those parts. Also, Fry story while he went back in past was a bit strange. I tought it was off a bit, compared to everything else. Also, as much as I like emotional stuff in Futurama, I had the feeling that those moments in the movie were forced a bit. Finally, not enought Zap !

I sorta felt like this had nothing to do with anything. This wasn't what I would have done. It's clear they know they have 3 other movies in which to wrap this up. That said, I liked the movie for what it was.

The Fry/Lars connection
I did not make this connection til the very end. In fact, I sorta *rubs back of my head* was going along the lines of the grandfather paradox short. In my defense, they kept switching to Leela every time they showed the whale. They had me thinking it was some ancestor or something.

Other than that, I was touched by the plot twist. I didn't mind the reset of Fry and Leela's relationship (It's par for the course around here)

Bender
Some people say that the movie was misnamed. Actually, any other name might have revealed the plot. I found his time under the control of the nude aliens to be quite hilarious. Rather than become some boring zombie, he remains the Bender we all know and love. I also felt that the title fit not only because he goes on a crime spree, but because he also helped save the Earth.

Leela

Like most others, I'm getting rather tired of her shoving her relationships in everyone's face. However, I do like that she can take charge in any given situation and kick butt.

Fry
For a guy who's supposed to be an idiot, he sure knows his way around time as opposed to other episodes in which he shows poor math skills and poor understanding of time. That said, it was fun to watch him try to win Leela and ruin her wedding.

Hermes
Did we really need this? I've lost my interest in LaBarbara. She's as faithful as a cat that doesn't get the attention it wants right now. Watching Slim say goodbye forever was worth a chuckle.

I did enjoy the movie, it's just that the wait has been so long and nothing has truly been resolved thus far. Once you accept that this movie exists in its own world for the most part, you can enjoy it simply for the sake that Futurama is back.