Tuesday, November 18, 2008

Movie review: Bender's Game

The scheduling imbeciles at Fox killed Futurama a few years back by giving it a time slot that was often overridden by football. But a change in management and high ratings for the reruns made Fox take a second look. Instead of producing new episodes they're making straight to DVD movies that will then get broken up into half hour bits for television broadcast.

The first was Bender's Big Score.
The second was The Beast With a Billion Backs.
Tuesday they released "Bender's Game," the third of the new Futurama movies.

"Bender's Game" was very much like the TV series. It was funny but not as funny as the first two movies.

The main story line is about Bender trying to learn to play Dungeons and Dragons. But once he managed to develop an imagination he couldn't shut it off. His whole world got twisted to fit his D&D fantasy.

A side story is about a fuel shortage being caused by billionaire oil and robot tycoon Mom in order to drive up prices. But Professor Farnsworth knows the secret of her power source and vows to destroy it and free the world from her monopoly.

The two stories collide in a fantasy world that spoofs "The Lord of the Rings", Dungeons and Dragons, with a dash of Harry Potter.

This movie isn't as self referential as some of the previous Futurama movies. But I also didn't laugh as much. Even so, if you were a fan of the show you'll want to pick this one up.

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