Customer Reviews

Futurama - Bender's Big Score

5 star:		(155)
4 star:		(78)
3 star:		(41)
2 star:		(29)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

Yes! The Year 3000 is back!! This is all-new material, NOT RECYCLED or from 4 seasons offered in volumes 1-4 or Monster Fun. All new from the Simpson's creator Matt Groening and the Futurama team.

It's here the first of the 4 "NEW" FUTURAMA direct-to-DVD videos, 3 of which will be released throughout 2008. Following "BENDER'S BIG SCORE" will be, "INTO THE WILD GREEN YONDER" then, "BENDER'S GAME" and THE BEAST WITH A BILLION BACKS." The features will be cut into an episode format to air eventually on Comedy Central, not Cartoon Network.

Each of these feature the brilliant original voice talent, from the short-lived fox series: John Di Maggio (as Bender and others), Dave Herman (as the Honorable Mayor C. Randall Poopenmayer and more ) Katey Sagal (Leela), Phil LaMarr (Hermes), Lauren Tom (Amy Wong), Billy West (Fry, Zoidberg, Farnsworth, an other Futurama, but known as Stimpy and from the Howard Stern Show, West does the best LARRY FINE in the business), old school veterans like Frank Welker (here for Nibbler but he's the original Fred Jones, if you saw Saturday morning, you can bet he was in it) and Maurice LaMarche (as Morbo, but LaMarche was on the original Transformers, amoung other projects) and Tress a.k.a. "Skinner's Mom" MacNeille (most recently played the "Spider-Pig" in Simpson's Movie). This time around Sarah Silverman is a guest along with others, like Star War's Mark Hamill.

The Story:
The Planet Express crew are back, only to be accidently sold to evil nudist aliens in an internet racket (remember kids don't give out personal info. on-line). The aliens desire information and upon learning the secret of paradox-free time travel is tatooed onto Fry's butt, the turn Bender into an evil (well more-evil) time-traveling killing/stealing machine. Incidently, Leela nearly wed, a major character is beheaded and the Universe is torn asunder.

This paradox-free nature creates an op for lots of return appearances and cool cameos. The opening credits goof nicely on the epic-DVD movie release, filled with glam-shots of the characters and their full names. Any questions explained are quickly replaced by more confusing questions.
The spirit of the original series is easily matched and able to sustain the 89 min. movie format.

As always the Futurama DVD extras are insanely funny and worthly of the name "special features." For example, a full-episode of "EVERYBODY LOVES HYPNOTOAD" (a 20+ min. gag that you need to let run in its course to fully appreciate the joke), an animated promo for Al Gore's Inconvenient Truth, a MATH LECTURE, I said a "MATH LECTURE" really! Many of the Producers & writers involved with Futurama are Math Majors even PHDs. So the Math Lecture is a full segment in which a Math Prof. discusses and explains the use of math in the original series as well as the new material. The lecture also explains the ALIEN SYMBOLS and even reveals a hidden character to help truly OCD fans to decode the latest symbols.
Other extras include Comic-Con full-cast Futurama comicbook reading!

I can't wait for the next installment of the DVD series.

Don't get me wrong, I love Futurama and I am very glad it is back, but this movie left a lot to be desired. The writing on the original series was tight, full of one liners and wonderfully dry humor, while this one felt like the writers were tied to a chair and forced to make one 22 minute episode into four. There were some very funny parts, but they were few and far between. I really don't think I was expecting much in the way of comedy either, as my favorite episodes are the character driven, newer ones ("Jurassic Bark", "The Sting", "Roswell That Ends Well", and "The Devils Hands are Idle Playthings"). I will continue to faithfully follow Futurama, but I hope for better things in the future.

I wasn't let down; if you're a fan, buy it, buy it now, maybe two copies. Supposedly we'll get four more of these, and if you're like me, you can't comprehend how Family Guy got revived while Futurama sat fallow these long sad years. All that said, this is a little long, a little light on jokes, and a little heavy on series references and in jokes for fanboys. As a fanboy, I love it, but if you don't know every episode inside and out, you might not be down. The villains are truly disgusting to look at; the letterbox format doesn't fit the format all that well; and the lines turned jagged and funky on my copy. Not the homerun we'd hoped for, but we'll take what we can get. The disc is worth the price for the full length episode of "Everyboyd Loves Hypnotoad," perfect to have on screen in the background of drunken parties. Commentary throughout as always, and the geekiest extra ever: a Futurama math lecture make this a must by despite the flaws.

It is hard for an author to satisfy fans after years of absence and months of great anticipation. Ones expectations will always exceed the reality, and thus, people are always disappointed.

Such is the case with Futurama: Bender's Big Score. Have fans legitimate gripes with the latest installment in the Futurama universe? Yes. But the pros at least negate the cons.

I am satisfied with this straight-to-DVD movie for the following reasons: 1) The animation is well done. Though Fry, in particular, looks slightly different than the Fry we all remember (mostly around the eyes), it is very subtle, and all other characters look exactly as I remember them. 2) The writing is still very witty. With a plot that is incredibly convoluted, the writers were not afraid to take jabs at themselves and their plot, while at the same time coming up with new jokes and clever jabs (Bender is still in great form). 3) For Futurama fans, so many references are made to the original four seasons that this alone will keep a fan pleased. The writers did not forget their original four seasons and made many references to them, and even used this movie to explain certain things (how Fry's dog got fossilized, for instance). I appreciated the writer's attention to maintaining story continuity.

For these reasons, Futurama: Bender's Big Score is certainly no miss, and indeed, it satisfies where it needs to. That said, there are a number of legitimate complaints a fan can have:

1) In order to bring in so many characters from the original four seasons, the writers took away the power from certain characters--Nibbler and Robot Santa, for instance. In the few original episodes where Nibbler talked and we got to see his home planet, Nibbler, while cute, certainly had a powerful role--saving the world from evil brains, twice. In this movie, he suddenly begins to talk again but then becomes impotent. For the rest of the movie all he does is nag and is promptly ignored. Likewise, Robot Santa degenerates from an evil creature with a sarcastic wit to a sniveling cretin who whines because his naughty list was stolen by scammers. Even in the final battle, he does very little--Quanzabot fires a missile and Robot Santa just... cheers.

2) The plot is far too convoluted, which is actually something recognized by David X Cohen in the special features. It was too confusing and a little weak, which is natural with time-travel plots, as again Cohen admits. They set out to try to do a time-travel plot right but failed, only redeeming themselves with their tongue-in-cheek demeanor and self abasement. There are far too many holes in the story that just don't make sense yet (for instance, Bender is the one that put that tattoo on Fry's arse to begin with, right? And he got the tattoo to put on Fry's arse from... Fry's arse. So how did it get there to begin with?) Let's not forget that the reason the Roswell episode did so well (and won an Emmy), even though it was a time travel plot, was because they worked out all possible bits of circular story telling (except for the silly "Fry is his own grandpa" bit--which was the entire joke to begin with). The story could have been better actualized, but even for what it is, it is still a vehicle that carries many great gags.

3) The songs seemed forced, unnatural and... awkward. Even the song on Neptune, which others excused, seemed a little forced and unnatural. None of the songs in this movie can stand alongside any of the songs from the series. Additionally, the background score is often conspicuous and out of place (the strange repetitious howling music during the montage romance between Leela and Lars, for instance.)

These nit-picky complaints aside, the movie is, overall, quite satisfactory, with plenty of replay value and some good jokes in very Futurama-ish fashion. It is not as good as the series, but it is hard to be when fans have placed the series on a sort of untouchable pedestal and maintain an opinion of it that might be a little unfair. Even though I was slightly disappointed, I am looking forward to the next straight-to-DVD movies.

Just got a chance to see this thanks to a friend in the dying newspaper industry who had the joyous task of reviewing it. It's nice to have friends.

The movie is hilarious. The jokes are fast and furious. Expect the classic Futurama experience -- visual gags, great one-liners, and a ludicrous plot.

Not all of the characters get a chance to shine (Zapp only appears briefly; Zoidberg is background and unfortunately Hermes gets more screentime than even the Professor). But any screentime is good for a show that has been off the air for so long (and the reruns don't count in my world!)

There are 2 great songs, one that is introduced in the most forced way possible. The other is sprung without warning.

The plot is crazy and I won't ruin it here. Suffice it to say it involves time travel and a number of familiar cameos from season's past (Globetrotters, Santa, and, yes, Al Gore).

The title is really just trying to exploint Bender's popularity. The "score" is not really "his" -- [the following is known early in the film, but you might call it a small spoiler]: he's just a tool of the scamming aliens that end up controlling earth.

But the real story is Fry and Leela -- and while it works, the movie doesn't handle it that well. Plus, it's not any better than the final episode of the series itself (which was more heartfelt.) The storyline ends up jumping back and forth between 3007 and a span of 12 years from 2000-2012 where a version of Fry is living. the jumps are a bit much and the stuff in the past is not nearly as funny as the stuff in the present. Finally, there is a plot twist that is blatantly obvious, even though the revelation of the twist is pretty funny.

I'm not complaining -- there are enough laughs to keep the thing moving right along. And if this is the first of 3 more great offerings, then I will be pleased.

That would describe what has happened to the Futurama series.It was cancelled after its fourth season by FOX in 2003,but its succesfull reruns on Teletoon and other channels brought the show back after stopping production years ago.It was decided that a direct-to-DVD movie would be made and here comes "Futurama : Bender's Big Score".Also announced are three other movies following this one.All the movies are going to be cut in regular 22 minutes episodes and will air on Cartoon network and eventually on other networks(at the time of writting Cartoon Network has already started airing those episodes)later on.This is Futurama's triumphant return and with this settled we can only hope the series won't be cancelled once again!Fans are just glad to be able to watch something new of Futurama and this movie will surely entertain them during its 1 and a half hour span(i have to say it seemed much longer to me,like 3 hours).

This is the first new thing from the show since it has been cancelled and the good thing about the movie is that nearly everyone who had previously worked on the show contributed to the movie and its the same team.The movie as one could expect has plenty of funny sequence,and its exactly what you get here.Bender's Big Score,however is an odd title really as the story isn't really focused on him and after seeing the movie a few times i still wondered why it was called that way.The title of the movie can be misleading.Another great thing,this is all NEW material nothing from the four seasons,entirely new stuff.They putted a lot in the film,in fact maybe a little too much but overral it lives up to the series and i didn't expect it to be this good honestly i expected some kind of flop.The great thing is that while the movie stays true to the serie its not affraid of doing its own thing,tell a different story and being creative but its no perfect be advised.

The story is interresting.After learning they have been cancelled,and then brought back again,the Planet Express company is accidently being solf by causes of tempting spam mails to evil nudist aliens.The aliens can "smell" information and they discover a tatoo of Bender on Fry's butt!Now that sounds odd but remember this is Futurama,where everything can happen.That tatoo as silly as it souds holds the secret of time travel with a combinaison of zeros and ones,anyone who reads the entire number sequence can go back in time.Meanwhile Leela meets a nice man unfortunatly for Fry and it turns into a great and quite intriguing story may i add.There is a lot of time travelling and it(the movie)turns out to be quite a surprise and makes you think a lot.The creators even joke about what really happened in the 200 presidential elections and i don't want to tell you too much but expect to see Al Gore a few times in the movie!The extras included are good,nothing supurb but its alright.There is a full episode.22 minutes of "Everybody Loves Hypnothad" wich may or may not be funny depending of you,some trailers a Math lecture(that's right!),the cast reading comic books and some other things.If you are a fan of the show you should enjoy this stuff,if not only most of it.I tought the commmentaries however could have been a little better but still this is worth it if you are a fan.

The story is great and you really get caught in it,and it proves to be another worthy chapter in the Fry-Leela relationship.If this is a preview of the nest three Futurama movies then count me in,i will see them all.It will surprise everyone and you will get a good laugh out of it.I think some characters should have gotten more screen time like Amy who wasn't much at all in it."Bender's Big Score" is a great adventure on its own and has proven to be better than fans tought it would probably be,i know i did!4 stars,not a five but still very good and pleasently surprised.

I started off watching the series on day 1, and wasn't really too in to it. I rediscovered it late in season 3 and was so disappointed when it was cancelled in season 4. I bought all the seasons and would say that it really hit it's mark midway to late in season 1 and was a solid performer, except during Zoidberg-heavy episodes; he's a character best served as a background character. The show has a huge heart and a left-wing agenda, which both suit my interests. Now that I've laid the ground work, here's my review:

This is the first of four direct-to-dvd movies, cleverly written and edited so as to be broken up into 4 1/2 hour episodes to air on tv later on. The story is a bit complicated and difficult to follow, even for the most interested viewers and probably due to the length, has long periods of uninteresting storyline and few jokes. The opening sequence was outstanding, and had it continued along the path of inside Futurama-Fox humor might have been better, but instead involves tying up loose ends and correcting time-travel-continuity errors. It relies on the fact that most viewers were avid and vorracious fans who know all the ins-and-outs of all the storylines and Fry's past and future life (lives). While attempting to continue Fry's pining for Leela and the sexual chemistry/tension between two cartoon characters, it falls short of the emotion and heart found in season 4, specifically the final episode of Futurama's run, the Devil's Hands are Idle Playthings.

Still, it's new Futurama after almost 5 years off-the-air and it does revive the franchise. I figure this is a tune-up for the other three movies, and maybe a stepping stone to a cable/satellite network purchasing more new episodes to air exclusively on their channel. For that, I say it was neither good nor bad - just an establishing new turn for this once creative, intelligent, vibrant and intuitive show. Let's hope it gets it's old magic back in the next dvd.

The rumors swirled for what seemed like forever: more Futurama on the way. Finally, a promise of new episodes, which would start as movies and then be cut up and combined with additional material for a new batch of episodes. As diehard Futurama fans, my 16 year old daughter and I were eagerly awaiting this DVD. We were not disappointed.

First off; this is likely the only chance to see this footage in this format. If and when the movies are cut up to make new episodes, large bits will undoubtedly be lost. Secondly, its a visit with old friends. All the voice talent is back, the animation returns with the same quality and the writing is sharp. The first half starts off with a reintroduction of nearly every in-joke and character you saw in 5 season's worth of episodes. If this were all the DVD was, it wouldn't rate nearly as highly. However, after the plot starts rolling, it keeps winding back and forth over itself into a delightful knot, with the same qualities and plot twists that made the original show great (to say any more would ruin the fun).

If that's not enough of an incentive, you also get an absurdist episode of "Everybody Loves HypnoToad." ALL HAIL THE HYPNO TOAD.

As I watched this movie I tried very hard to find something to laugh at, but it just was not there. The luster and joy that was the original Futurama series was completely absent in Bender's Big Score. It seemed as though the writers cast aside the characters' usual personalities and antics and attempted to float the boat by doing nothing more than reintroducing old characters and referencing old situations. Very doubtful Futurama will find new fans with this kind of weak writing, and they just might lose the old fans in the process. There was just nothing new and inventive and it dragged horribly; by the last 20 minutes I kept looking at the clock eager for the movie to be over so I could go do something more interesting. I have to say that I was disappointed to the point of embarrassment for the writers, producers, and voice actors. This is definitely not the fast paced, gut-busting Futurama that I still watch daily in 22 minute DVD episodes. I'm hopeful that the next movie they release will be better (now that all the characters have more than adequately been reintroduced), but I may not be so willing to part with my hard earned money next time to find out.

To start off with, I'm a huge Futurama fan. I've seen every episode at least 5 times. I've been looking forward to its return for years. I didn't just want to like this movie, I wanted to love it.
But through the whole thing, all I kept thinking was "When's the funny part?"

It reminded me a lot of the last episode of Seinfeld, where they tried to bring in every minor character and rehash every joke the series ever did for no reason. I understand the writers trying to throw in a few nods to past episodes, but the cameos just felt forced.

In fact, pretty much everything about this DVD felt forced. The jokes, which were mostly crude and completely lacked the wit of the original series. Even the title doesn't really feel appropriate to the movie; you can just picture some marketing team deciding to use Bender's name in the title, since "the kids all love Bender so much" even though he probably had the least amount of face time and story of the main characters. The stories were just variations on or expansions of jokes from previous episodes, too. And the "twist ending" was painfully obvious way before it was revealed.

From the opening, I couldn't believe they started off by introducing the characters, as if the people who'd be snatching this DVD up would all be new to the series, and it just went downhill from there. Every single Futurama episode, from the decent to the best, all had at least one or two absolutely classic lines you'd be repeating to your friends for days. I can't even think of a single memorable quote or joke from this movie.

I do have to say, though, it was good to see the gang all back and in widescreen format now. All I can hope is that the writers have now gotten this out of their system and we can look forward to a return to the good old Futurama for the next DVD.