ItWGY Reviews (Spoilers aplenty)

[Reply #440 on:]

I think it's a coincidence.

[Reply #441 on:]

Is anyone gonna change their avatar to Fry and Leela

[Reply #442 on:]

DONE! I was leaving it a little longer for the Aussies

[Reply #443 on:]

My not so lightspeed-brief review:

I've enjoyed each of the Futurama direct-to-DVD movies in their own unique ways. While I prefer certain movies over others, I appreciated that each film gave us a different "flavor" of Futurama. "Bender's Big Score" combined the complicated time travel plot (Roswell That Ends Well, Space Pilot 3000) with the sentimental tear jerker (Jurassic Bark, Luck of the Fryish) and a shipper story (The Sting, Devil's Hands). "The Beast With a Billion Backs" was a "monster of the week" plot (Parasites Lost, The Honking)  and an intersecting power hungry Bender story (A Pharaoh to Remember). "Bender's Game" was a genre love letter (Where No Fan Has Gone Before) dedicated to Lord of the Rings and D&D combined with a Mom vs. PE story (Future Stocks, Fish Full of Dollars). Finally we have "Into the Wild Green Yonder".

There are heavy environmental messages as seen in "Bender's Game" and episodes like "The Birdbot of Icekatraz" and "Love's Labours Lost in Space", a light shipper romance, a wacky Bender story and an open conclusion as seen in"Devil's Hands". But what places "ITWGY" apart from the other films is that this time it really feels like a film. While the intro of Mars Vegas and eventually New Mars Vegas was very much like a self contained episode, after the 22 minute mark I forgot that every preceding 22 minutes were another "episode". From 23 minutes on, the plot moved organically including every member of the PE crew and not abruptly stalling for a "goodbye" from beloved secondary characters (something which hurt BBS, too many abrupt "hellos"). The finale was perfect. The crew (minus poor Dwight and Cubert but plus a mysterious three eyed shadow) heading into a wormhole that could place them years from their current point in the galaxy, or simply pops them out right into the PE garage. Where they really end up is up to the future of the series. And if this is really the end then it's up to the fans to decide, giving this forum years of life.

9/10

[Reply #444 on:]

Is it just me or has the time between BBS and ITWGY really flown by?

[Reply #445 on:]

Is it just me or has the time between BBS and ITWGY really flown by?

The time between BG and ITWGY perhaps but it's been a hell of a wait since BBS.

The wait between BBS and BWABB seemed like an eternity too which made it one of the reasons it was such a shame that I found the movie to be a disappointment.

ITWGY was certainly worth the wait, it exceeded my expectations if anything.

[Reply #446 on:]

Between BBS and BWABB felt like forever (and was actually 210 days)
Between BWABB and BG felt a bit less longer (and was actually 133 days)
Between BG and ITWGY felt like no time at all (and was actually 112 days)

[Reply #447 on:]

Between BBS and BWABB felt like forever (and was actually 210 days)
Between BWABB and BG felt a bit less longer (and was actually 133 days)
Between BG and ITWGY felt like no time at all (and was actually 112 days)

I agree completely.

[Reply #448 on:]

Well, yeah, actually I do too, and it makes sense since every interval was, in fact, shorter.
I suppose that was probably done on purpose too.

Also, I like ITWGY's opening song.

[Reply #449 on:]

Also, I like ITWGY's opening song.

Second.

[Reply #450 on:]

Also, I like ITWGY's opening song.

Second.

Third.

[Reply #451 on:]

Well, yeah, actually I do too, and it makes sense since every interval was, in fact, shorter.
I suppose that was probably done on purpose too.

Also, I like ITWGY's opening song.

Probably. Since they were all made one after another, they could make the dates as close as they wanted.

Fourth.

[Reply #452 on:]

Fifth. Except I mentioned it earlier so first. Seth Macfarlene did a great job, even though I'm not a fan of Family Guy.

[Reply #453 on:]

Finally got to see it and I have to say it's by far the greatest of the movies. Words cannot describe its awesomeness.

[Reply #454 on:]

BBS: A-

TBWABB: A-

BG: B+

ITWGY: B

Liked this last one, lots of laughs and goofy asides, but what a horribly anticlimactic way to end the Fry/Leela 'ship.

[Reply #455 on:]

I just got my DVD earlier today, and I just watched it with the commentary. I loved it, as I always do.

Only Futurama commentaries are interesting...

[Reply #456 on:]

I liked ITWGY very much, although as the last two were so bad anything had to be better, it confused me a little in parts but I intend to rewatch it again later on. The final scene though was quite frankly amazing!

[Reply #457 on:]

I loved this movie. The bender story arc may put it in the top 10 episodes all time if compared to the series.

Some notes;

Show spoiler

Notice how the PE ship is run on whale oil instead of dark matter. Obviously the ships and cars have been retrofitted to something more "eco-friendly". Seriously, I'm glad they didnt forget that part from the ending of BG.

Suprised by no Nibbler/Nibblonians in the movie. What gives there? Figured they would have played a huge part of this for some reason.

Before Kif opens the safe in Nixons office, pause and take a look at the picture in front of it. I was laughing for 5 good minutes.

Despite all of the great slot machine names like Poverty Party, Grannys Last Nickel, Wheel of Fortran, Pull My Finger, and Yank My Doodle Dandy, my favorite Futurama game name is still Honkey Kong.

The eco feminists Dixie and Trixie.....they were Slurms McKenzies dancing girls, right? Some of the non-speaking role eco-fems looked familiar but I couldn't put a name/ep to them.

At the robot vegas show, I saw the crushinator. Was that Calculon sitting in her?

I haven't spotted any animation errors yet, so if anyone spots any, let us know with a framegrab.

I loved all the Celine Dion bashing, but it still wasn't enough IMO.....

Number 9 guy was not exactly what I was expecting.....he was even better then that.

Zapp singing "Hungry Like The Wolf".....classic

I was laughing at the donbots cluelessness.

This is the most we've ever seen of Mr. Wong, and he was good.

I loved the crack at the Windows Vista system with Calculon.

And finally, since I cant do it myself, I request someone make the following avatars; The King Of Beers card, Tellers rotting head in a jar, Fry with the tin foil Cowboy Hat, The nixon office safe photo, the pink eco-fem volkswagen bus, and lastly Leela with the leech stuck to her eyeball.

[Reply #458 on:]

Zapp singing "Hungry Like The Wolf".....classic

My God that was hilarious!

Zapp: "For me, there is only one eighties."

[Reply #459 on:]

Was it just me or did one of the Feministas look a lot like Jackie Anderson from 'A Leela of her Own'?

[Reply #460 on:]

ITWGY actually surprised me in a good way.
It was MUCH better than Bwbb and BG

Show spoiler

I actually knew/guessed who the dark one was
almost from the beginning 

[Reply #461 on:]

I figured out the dark one at about 3/4 the way through. I figured out who Lars was in BBS about halfway through. I still don't know what Hermes is. A space potato man?

[Reply #462 on:]

It didn't even occur to me to particularly wonder or think about who the Dark One was, or care, while I was watching it. Didn't give it much thought, I guess. As for Lars I had known about that beforehand.   So I have no idea if I would have figured it out or not.
Probably not though.

[Reply #463 on:]

To be honest I actually came to the same conclusion that Fry did. (Never a good thing.) That being the only person who's mind was unreadable he was somehow the dark one. The fact that it was the leech surprised me.

[Reply #464 on:]

The leech surprised me as well, as I had the Fry conclusion all along. However, I wasn't constantly thinking about who it was the whole movie through. With Lars, I didn't think about it either, which made the end of Score much more satisfying than knowing or guessing.

Also:

Zapp singing "Hungry Like The Wolf".....classic

My God that was hilarious!

Zapp: "For me, there is only one eighties."

That was one of the quotes from the movie that will endure with me.

[Reply #465 on:]

I thought that Fry being the dark one meant that while he was the one to bring destruction, he could also make the choice to maintain life. But that wouldn't be to climactic, as Fry would just have to not do what he was doing.

[Reply #466 on:]

I thought that Fry being the dark one meant that while he was the one to bring destruction, he could also make the choice to maintain life. But that wouldn't be to climactic, as Fry would just have to not do what he was doing.

He'd have to be worried that he'd fall into darkness later and make another attempt to destroy the egg though.  I guess he must have seen the ending to Minority Report.

[Reply #467 on:]

Got my copy yesterday!   Awesome movie!  Exiciting thrillride!  Liked the golf courses, Mars Vegas, Leela and her band of eco-feminists who turned  Leo sexist.   Leela joining the eco feminists was reminisent on BWABB when Bender joined the League of Robots.   The 9 Man was cool as well, and who thought the Dark One turned out to be that little worm Leela was caring for?  Bender's affair with Fanny was great, cool to see the Robot Mafia again.   Good to see Frieda Waterfall again, even though she dies.   The evolution was cool as well.   It was even funny when the ecofemenists went to jail, and Fry kept getting conked on the head everytime he meet the Legion of Mad Followers.   There was nothing bad about it.  Though the ending didn't sit too well with me.  I think it should've ended after they go into the wormhole, the closing credits shows what became of them, or a "Goldmember" type of ending where they watch themselves in the theater. 

It's a good thing Billy West said there might be a new season in the works.  That's probably it ended how it did.  Great movie, worth every penny for any Futurama fan. 

My ratings:

BBS:  50%
BWABB: 100%
BG: 87%
ITWGY 91%

I've seen BBS like five times, that's why I gave that one a low rating. 

[Reply #468 on:]

Great movie, the best of the 4 and a good closure

The 9 Man was cool as well, and who thought the Dark One turned out to be that little worm Leela was caring for? 

I watched it with two friends, and one of them guessed

[Reply #469 on:]

Though the ending didn't sit too well with me.  I think it should've ended after they go into the wormhole, the closing credits shows what became of them, or a "Goldmember" type of ending where they watch themselves in the theater. 

Strongly disagree.

Ok, things like this are down to personal taste but and ending like that would have cheapened Futurama as a show. Whilst we all know it's just a fictional TV show it's still an interesting story to be immersed in.  If they pulled off a Goldmember type ending it'd indicate that even in the fictional realm the story you'd just enjoyed wasn't even real.

Maybe I'm just picky but it'd have ruined Futurama as a whole for me if they did something like that. It'd be like getting to the end of Lord of the Rings only to find that "and then Frodo awoke - phew, it was all just a dream".

That'd suck.

[Reply #470 on:]

I just watched the film last night and I rather enjoyed it. I need to have another viewing to render a final verdict though. One thing I can say though, the opening sequences of the films have been great and ItWGY's is no exception. I loved the poker sequence as well.

[Reply #471 on:]

So I haven't been on these boards in...er...three years or so, but the release of ItWGY--and my ridiculous need to, you know, analyze the poor thing to death--has lead to my anti-climactic and utterly pointless return. I guess a howdy is in order, PEELers--I'm one of them vaguely-old fogeys of PEEL, the kind that distinguished herself in no way and was thus ultimately forgettable.

But enough with the self-serving re-introductions--here's a nice little copy-paste review that I posted over here (spoiler-tagged, just in case)...

Show spoiler

I thought it was easily the best movie of the four. The Dark One/Encyclopod aspect was kind of hard to follow--not bad, just kind of convoluted and confused--but the mini-golf/feminista/mind-reading/fugitive stuff was great. The second half of the movie seemed to be propelled by the Fry/Leela arc--and, since I'm a shameless 'shipper, I had no complaints there--but the first "episode" definitely could've done more to set up what was to become the main plot (though the Bender storyline was pretty funny).

As for the enviromental theme: it didn't do much for me. Not to say it was bad--just that, for all the reviews making a point of emphasizing Futurama going green and all, I don't think the movie was driven as much by the conservation plot as it was by the (IMO, much more enjoyable) battle-of-the-sexes stuff between the feministas and the guys. I loved Linda rebelling against Morbo, and the Amy/Leo conflict. And, you know, the Fry and Leela stuff was pretty great, too.

What made this movie so engaging, I think, is the fact that it was more character- than plot-driven (or at least that's how I saw it). For once, both Fry and Leela managed to be likeable at the same time (which was a pleasant surprise, after the train-wreck of shoddy characterization that was "The Beast With a Billion Backs" (and, actually, "Bender's Game", as well)). Actually, I found every character entertaining (Leo was such a hilarious asshole). It's just that the emotional arc--which, I felt, rested on the Fry/Leela relationship--was much more satisfying because there was more affection between them, and less snark. That the fond feelings were mutual this time around--that it wasn't just Fry pining and Leela flat-out rejecting--gave the romance some much-needed momentum.

Although I do think the "I love you"s at the end (which I was spoiled for) were kind of tacked on. Don't get me wrong--I loved that moment. It just seemed like a throw-away. I think the writers could have tried to develop the relationship a bit more in the beginning of the movie, because, as sweet as it was seeing Leela admitting to missing Fry, it was a bit out of the blue. I think, if the events of BBS had directly preceeded ItWGY, Leela's almost automatic affection would've made more sense. As it happened, though, I was happy to see her being, you know, pleasant for once. The Leela who I loved so much in the series was finally back--kind and caring, with strong convictions and ass-whomping abilities.

That's it for now--though I warn you, I may be back later for more poorly-articulated conjecture.

[Reply #472 on:]

Well, I'm off to Amsterdam and the DVD is coming with me incase they have a player on the bus. See you soon folks!

[Reply #473 on:]

I guess a howdy is in order, PEELers--I'm one of them vaguely-old fogeys of PEEL, the kind that distinguished herself in no way and was thus ultimately forgettable.

Holy crap, I remember you; I read some of your stuff.  So do you think you'll be back posting?

[Reply #474 on:]

I just left some of my droppings (by which I mean "posts"--honestly, the comparison is too generous) in various threads, so I think I may be stickin' around for a while, km73. PEEL is pretty much the place to be if you're as obsessed with this show as I am; it's kind of like a socially-acceptable insane asylum.

[Reply #475 on:]

BBS:  50%
BWABB: 100%
BG: 87%
ITWGY 91%
I've seen BBS like five times, that's why I gave that one a low rating. 

So you rated BBS lower because you've seen it too much? Doesn't really make a load of sense. If its because you now know the surprise ending on repeat viewings, then I might as well say Empire Strikes Back is a bad film because I now know that Vader is Luke's father.

[Reply #476 on:]

Binder, you know that does ruin the rewatch quality of the film though, right? The first time you watch it, the shock of this revelation makes it so good. Watching it again and again, you know exactly what's going to happen, it's less interesting. However, just because a film doesn't have rewatch value doesn't mean it isn't good. I still love Empire and Reservoir Dogs even though I know the ending.

[Reply #477 on:]

But you could argue that after watching the end of ANY Futurama movie you know whats going to happen on a repeat viewing, and thus it deserves a lower rating. Knowing who the dark one is doesn't hurt my third viewing of ITWGY any more than knowing that Lars=Fry on my eighth time of watching BBS. Luck of the Fryish and Jurassic Bark are other examples of the twist ending, and those are my most re-watched episodes.

I guess what I'm saying is that there is more to a story than just the twist... except for an M. Night Shyamalan film It's about the journey.

[Reply #478 on:]

Some things I forgot to mention were that it's too bad the thing about Leela being 'the other' wasn't mentioned in the movie.  Guess that was a forgotten angle.  Also, there was no Nibbler, either.

[Reply #479 on:]

If you really try you could say that "the other" thing did come up. They didn't specifically mention it but she was the only one who trusted Fry at the end. By giving him the detonator she allowed him to trigger the events that lead to the egg hatching and the Dark One being destroyed.