I was a pretty hardcore Futurama fan back when the show was still airing.  So I was excited to hear about the direct-to-DVD movies being produced.  The first one I saw, Bender’s Big Score, didn’t blow me away, but I definitely liked it.  I just finished watching the second entry, the The Beast with a Billion Backs, and, unfortunately, it wasn’t even as good as Bender’s Big Score.

I’ve just grown accustomed to the brilliant writing that was a hallmark of this series and I didn’t feel that this movie lived up to that standard.  The truth is, a lot of the gags in this flick were pretty lame.  That’s not to say that there weren’t some awesome jokes…there were.  But the whole thing felt kind of aimless and drawn out and there were too many comedic misses.  I actually enjoyed the main storyline quite a bit, but most of the other storylines felt very uninspired.

Just for the record, I’m not one of those people who are trashing this movie because Fry and Leela didn’t get together or something.  I still care about these characters but I don’t rate movies on whether or not Fry and Leela make out or whatever.  I just expected better from the Futurama crew.  

But…I’m not sorry I Netflix-ed this movie.  It was still an enjoyable viewing experience and I don’t feel like I wasted my time seeing it.  The glimmers of genius that are still present make it worthwhile and I’ve really grown to love the whole Futurama universe and the people who inhabit it.  

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