Bender's Game reviews (Spoilers ahoy!)

[Reply #200 on:]

Show spoiler

Bender how could you be with that slut

[Reply #201 on:]

Show spoiler

Bender how could you be with that slut

Show spoiler

Same reason he went for Lucy Liu!

Loved how the professor and him just watched Amy and Leela: bown chicka wown wown!

Now the question is, what will it take to get them to do that in their own universe, and what will fry do when he sees? I vote head explode.

[Reply #202 on:]

Show spoiler

My guess that if Fry sees Leela and Amy making out. he properly want to go to the bathroom and play with himself.

Yeah I do love the hobo and rabbit joke. It makes me laugh 

[Reply #203 on:]

Just watched it and I have to say I enjoyed it. I still think BBS is the best of the three but this one comes in at second place.

The humour was great for the most part though it did seem to fall away slightly as the film went on and whilst at times the plot didn't make that much sense it managed to hold my interest right to the end (which is something that BWABB struggled with).

Can't be bothered doing that lengthy a review as I'm sure I'll be able to share more of my opinions on the film in the near future but this one gets the thumbs up from me.

Which leaves the current standings like this -

1. BBS
2. BG
3. BWABB

Despite it being slated by some I'm still very much of a fan of BBS though I reckon ITWGY will topple it if it's as good as I expect it to be.

[Reply #204 on:]

I was a bad boy and watched a pirated copy last night.

I enjoyed it, but not as much as the first two. I guess I'm just not a fan of D&D. Great to see alot of Mom, which was sorely lacking in the previous installments.

I personally think that it would have worked better as a standard, 30min episode, rather than a feature film. It just seemed that they didn't have alot of material to work with, and stretched it way past it's limit.

That's not to say it was a bad, far from it. Comparing it to classic episodes, I'd put this maybe as a "Bender Should Not Be Allowed on TV".

7/10

[Reply #205 on:]

Just finished watching my 100% legal copy (never been so glad to be British) and I didn't laugh much at all.

Having said that I am currently fighting a cold virus and probably wasn't in the mood like I was when watching the first two.

First cold-ravaged impressions are agreeing with Nasty Pasty in that it felt like an overlong episode but the whole thing is saved by the hoard of Morcs moment (even feeling like crap I managed to do a serious "lol" at that bit).

6/10 (probably will rise with repeat viewings)

Additional: Love the anti-piracy warning.

[Reply #206 on:]

Buy it tomorrow! Can't wait to go over the movie with commentaries / see all the goodies.

[Reply #207 on:]

Show spoiler

The whole deal with the shock collar seemed to me like it paralleled Eric Cartman's "V-chip" in the SP movie. She hates the collar at first, but then uses it to her advantage. God, I love this woman when she's empowered!

[Reply #208 on:]

Show spoiler

The whole deal with the shock collar seemed to me like it paralleled Eric Cartman's "V-chip" in the SP movie. She hates the collar at first, but then uses it to her advantage. God, I love this woman when she's empowered!

Show spoiler

Got to say that I loved the scene where she was initially forced to wear it. Farnsworth gives her the list of things that triggers it before going onto -

"...or perversions of a sexual nature"

*Leela thinks for a second"

"Ow!"

Perhaps a predictable joke but it made me chuckle all the same.

[Reply #209 on:]

I got my pre-ordered copy from Amazon today, and I thought it was pretty good (less confusing than BBS), but the ending was extremely stupid IMHO.

[Reply #210 on:]

I got my pre-ordered copy from Amazon today, and I thought it was pretty good (less confusing than BBS), but the ending was extremely stupid IMHO.

I must admit I didn't think that much to the ending, it just seemed a bit underwhelming considering what had happened during the rest of the film.

I wasn't that keen on the ending to BWABB either, they both seemed like "quick fix" endings for want of better phrasing. The pacing was a bit off in both.

I did feel that the BBS ending was well done however.

[Reply #211 on:]

I'll get my pre-ordered copy from Amazon next Monday. It sucks but hopefully I have already seen the movie. Can't wait for the commentary and the extra features !

[Reply #212 on:]

I've literally just watched this for the first time, got the DVD today. In a word I'm disappointed. To sum up my main thoughts, it lacked humour, was generally quite boring and never really picked up pace. It relied too much on references to the series, but all that did was remind me of how good those episodes were and how much of a failure this movie has been. The saving grace is the story of dark matter and Nibbler on Vergon 6, but that is only a small part of the movie. Worst of the 3 movies so far, and yet all of the movies are worse than the TV series. I'm a huge Fururama fan, and it saddens me to write this...

2/5

[Reply #213 on:]

Spoilers!!




I was very dissapointed. I've been looking forward to this for a long time. The plot line wasn't great, and was made worse by the sudden, quickly thrown together, ending. And with a not great plotline, the laughs should be non-stop. This was not the case, i found myself laughin very little, and even less as the show progressed. I think the jokes were decent, but somehow they were brought up terribly, like an observational comedian. Then goes the unsolved issues of the last movie! Where the hell was the resolution of Kiff and Amy's fight, where was the resolution of the entire universe hating Bender? There was 0 talk of eh last movie. Also, there were, what? 5 characters besides the crew that played a role? Scruffy was in it for like 2 seconds, a lady with the cats parody for a few scenes. And worse! Three of the five were terrible characters! On the subject of characters, it felt like Bender wasn't himself. He didn't approach issues right, didn't play out his jokes like himself, no sensational catchphrases. And speaking of characters no being like themselves! An Amy/Leela make-out scene for a quick joke? I expected more in the continuity department from Futurama.

As for the score:
Episodes
BBS
BWABB


Bender's Game...


Still counting down days for wild green yonder, though

[Reply #214 on:]

I have identified my problems with BG now.

There is only one plot, as in no sub plot at all. All the events progress in a very linear fashion one to the next (only Bender's exploring of his imagination and descent into insanity in the early part of the movie can be considered as a sub plot).

Compare this to the intricate story of BBS and the excellent League of Robots sub plot from BWABB which had a huge impact on the main plot at the end.

I hate to say it but the writing reminded me of Family Guy. In that show they often base an entire episode on parodying a film or TV show, the Futurama team have done the same thing here without managing to cram the script with jokes.

Furthermore they have parodied The Lord of the Rings. There's nothing wrong with that as such but it would have been prudent to avoid referencing the recent movies so much and instead focussing on the books themselves, sadly every joke seemed to stem from Peter Jackson's trilogy and not Tolkien's work. Also parody gets dull quite quickly (one of my main problems with Family Guy) and they weren't able to keep up the story and maintain the humour in that section.

So we have a rather aimless and linear beginning followed by a very incongruous period in the fantasy world and then an incredibly rushed ending.

I think my score is actually dropping.

5/10

[Reply #215 on:]

This is not fair.

The nearest future shop is an epic bus ride away, video store here doesnt have it.

So after I'm done classes today, epic bus ride time.

[Reply #216 on:]

I just put one on reserve at TLA Video! $21.99! I considered driving the additional 5 minutes to Wal-Mart so I could save $3, but then again I'd be shopping at Wal-Mart :^P

Despite some smarmy reviews, I'm pumped to see the movie! Considering AOI2 is one of my favorite episodes, BG is right up my Futurama ally!
In fact, Anthology of Interest II is the perfect primer for Bender's Game; Both have Bender receiving something robot's lack (humanity and imagination), the crew dropped into a fantasy setting (video games, Oz and D&D/LOTR), Leela's anger issues (squishing Amy, turning on her friends in Oz and whatever she does in BG) and Mom as a villain in a fantasy world (a witch both times and a dragon once).

[Reply #217 on:]

What about the extras and the commentary? I'm so curious about that cross-breeding featurette... Do you have any screencaps?

Damn, January is so far away.

[Reply #218 on:]

What about the extras and the commentary?

I'm waiting for some kind of transcript of the latter, and I'm also curious about that cross-breeding featurette... Do you have any screencaps?

Damn, January is so far away.

Aren't you able to get a copy until January?

[Reply #219 on:]

No, here in Italy BG will be released in January, because they have to dub the damn thing. I wish they could just sub it...

Luckily, there's the Infosphere.

[Reply #220 on:]

No, here in Italy BG will be released in January, because they have to dub the damn thing. I wish they could just sub it...

Luckily, there's the Infosphere.

Couldn't you just grab yourself a Region two copy from Amazon or something?

Or isn't it that simple? I get the feeling that I'm probably missing something here...

[Reply #221 on:]

For those itching to sample the genetics lab, check out a stripped down version on the Futurama Bender's Game widget:

http://widgets.clearspring.com/o/49021f3bead699b5/49107833f4c362db/4908bf05050debc5/7a1d8c9a/-cpid/eded9ad4769c20b3

LOL @ Froidberg and Friender! Get them a spin-off!

[Reply #222 on:]

As far as I know, Amazon doesn't deliver here. It used to until a couple of years ago, but then - unluckily - some problems arose.

But it isn't very bad, for me Futurama will last more (assuming that ITWGY will be the last Futurama).

JK

EDIT: Thanks, Binder! 

[Reply #223 on:]

Sure thing,  Angelikfire!

I'm curious to know if the cover is gold embossed?

[Reply #224 on:]

What about the extras and the commentary? I'm so curious about that cross-breeding featurette... Do you have any screencaps?

My favourite.

[Reply #225 on:]

I thought it was pretty dire to be honest, somehow futurama's just not that funny anymore. Maybe it's because we have some sort of idyllic view of the old episodes.

[Reply #226 on:]

YES!!!
I'm totally buying BG today. I think I'm going to leave my house right now and take the bus to the nearest mall and go to HMV and buy it!

[Reply #227 on:]

I give it 5/5

Pure AOI fantasy, which is what I was expecting.

The post cards included with it were a nice touch as well!

[Reply #228 on:]

More postcards?? Woooo!

[Reply #229 on:]

Just got it home! Cant watch it yet though! have to go back for stupid Eng Mgmt... love the postcards, and this box is hands down the coolest.

[Reply #230 on:]

I really enjoyed BG the most of any of the DVD's.  The wife-unit feels it's the weakest.  She loves BBS (whereas I totally despise it) so the stories may a "Different Strokes for Different Folks" deal.

Show spoiler

Things I loved:

1) The "Yellow Submarine" beginning.
2) The Demolision Derby
3) The arc about Leela's anger.  (That damned collar was going off every few seconds)

[Reply #231 on:]

Show spoiler

Things I loved:

1) The "Yellow Submarine" beginning.
2) The Demolision Derby
3) The arc about Leela's anger.  (That damned collar was going off every few seconds)

Agree in full, opening was amazing, lunar lander is made of win (and the enterprise joke) and we all know why the collar was going off, and it wasn't anger.

Think we can ditch spoiler tags now its out right?

[Reply #232 on:]

I echo that; can we drop the tags now? I've put my review under for now, but it'd be nice to take them off.

My take thus far (I reserve the right to change my mind after a few more viewings):

Show spoiler

Pluses: The story might have been the thinnest of the three, but overall, I liked it. Leela's arc I liked, especially when she learns to love the shock (her expression in the elevator in Mom's base is classic!); I echo the person here that said they loved it when Leela was empowered! (And they respected her more this time, which is a plus in itself.) I just hope they don't just take off the collar and don't mention anything about it. (I guess they could, seeing as how it's apparently served its purpose, but still.) Her 'I don't have a go-*shock* mother-*shock* anger problem' line is the best in the movie. The demo derby was wonderful; jokes and destruction are a good mix. I'm not nuts over D&D, but they mixed in LOTR and Star Wars, so there was geek aplenty, and it was mostly accessible, which I liked a lot. (Though maybe some of it being about 'hardcore' fantasy dimmed the humour somewhat.) And there were several points where the jokes made me laugh out loud, which is always good. The opening was cool, although I half-expected them not to do another 'enter the screen' thing. The revelation concerning Professor Farnsworth was interesting, though if I recall, the comics'd dealt with this first; well, now it's canon. The rocket ship song was cool, as was the rest of the music. Apparently, they skimped cash elsewhere. 

Overall, 7/10 at least.

Minuses: the DVD extras. (This is where they skimped.) The 'gene lab' thing was okay, but not great. (I agree that the Fry/Leela picture was indeed put there to annoy shippers.) The featurette on D&D sucked, and the 'how to draw' one was 2/3 good, with only the part about how to draw Leela letting it down. (Take a look; you won't learn a thing about drawing Leela, but you will learn what happens when animators try to be 'funny'.) The blooper section this time around wasn't as good; they tried to marry it up to a soundtrack, whereas in BWABB they just let it run naturally, which was more entertaining. Also, they didn't refer to what happened to Kif and Amy; I wasn't expecting anything major, but Amy acts as if nothing happened - of course, she also acts like she's single in the fantasy world, so maybe that's an answer in itself. I dunno. Again, this is also going to be part of a series, but still; either they're going to wrap things up in WGY, or there are going to be a lot of hanging questions.

In conclusion, my 'list' looks as follows:

1) BBS/BWABB (tied)
2) BG

Show spoiler

They did, however, mention a fifth movie (possibly just in passing as a joke), so maybe...well, we'll see. I'm sure that the writers and crew have been hard at work lobbying for more Futurama, and another movie would certainly be better that the show going into total hiatus again. Time will tell.

[Reply #233 on:]

Just finished BG and loved it. Not as good as BBS but still better than BWABB. I agree with Ralph the whole thing with Leela and the collar is absolutly perfect. Even if it wasn't doing the full shock it was still going off in the background almost constantly. Leela also kicks some serious ass in this movie which is always good. I kinda got the impression that this was her movie like BBS was for Bender and BWABB was for Fry. I think they did a great job with the characterization. Add to all that the fact that they actually make a reference to Xanthor. All in all I give it a 9/10.

[Reply #234 on:]

Just picked mine up!! The Best packaging yet! I loved the B-movie look of BWABB, but this one is much more polished (its also the first one that I successfully removed all security stickers from).

Due to the election, I won't have time tonight, but you can bet tomorrow over lunch I'll be Futurama-ing it up!

[Reply #235 on:]

quick and dirty review:

Story:
BBS > BwaBB > BG

Mindless fun:
BG > BwaBB > BBS

Huh.

Also, needs more Leela on Amy action.

[Reply #236 on:]

I watched it with a bunch of people. My girlfriend fell asleep halfway through, I hated it, everyone else loved it. The first half had its fair share of laughs but the whole thing was ultimately pretty pointless and hollow... Hell, the entire fantasy act serves NO purpose whatsoever, and given my distaste of the fantasy genre, I was not amused to say the least. I'd say I was disappointed but it's not exactly like I had high hopes for this one to begin with. I just hope the last movie makes up for it.

[Reply #237 on:]

Watchedd it twice, both with & without the commentary; which is great, as always, & I thoroughly enjoyed it.

Okay, so the plot isn't as complex as BBS & for the most part it is a straight forward parody of The Lord of the Rings movies, but they do make a better job of the latter than Epic Movie managed.

Just wondering if anyone else has managed to find the 2 easter eggs?

[Reply #238 on:]

Well I really enjoyed it. The first part I absolutely loved. I was laughing hysterically all the way through. "Way to kill the franchise, Bakula!"  , the derby, Leela's collar etc, shower scene.   The other part with the D&D/LOTR parody was ok but nothing special, although Leela kicking ass is always good. Loved the homage to "Yellow Submarine" during the 'classic animation' sequence in the titles.

I rate it 4/5 and definately the best of the three movies so far.  I bought the blu-ray edition and they've done a  fab job with it, it looks fantastic in HD, comparing it to the DVD of BWABB that just looks utter crud by comparison. The PiP feature is real nice, as well listening to the audio commentary you can see a box onscreen that contains a video of the commentators as they're doing the commentating. Very nice.

So -
BBS - Ok
BWABB - Awful
BG - Loved it

[Reply #239 on:]

for those you have the blu-ray edition, does it come in a regular case, or is it the environmental/disc scratch to hell "case"?