Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs Reviews

• The Proud Result of Prison Writing

  
  By A2B9Y0WXNSN17U on 2008-06-30
  While I'm a truly devoted Futurama fan, I'm not one of those condescending supergeeks who claim to love Futurama so much that I have the authority to tell everyone else how virulently they're supposed to hate anything even slightly different than my favorite old episodes. (That's right, you heard me.) I'm ecstatic that Futurama has returned from the dead, and I totally loved "Bender's Big Score." But this new Futurama flick disappoints. Most of what we know and love about Futurama is still here in spades, but this flick suffers from a poorly-developed plot and a degeneration of the show's formerly deep and subversive humor.
  
  The 88-minute format is either too long for a compact and focused plotline, or too short for the type of complex story the producers appear to be striving for. The story here jumps around at a very awkward pace and shows signs of severe over-editing. The jokes have been reduced to Family Guy-like asides played for cheap guffaws rather than deep thoughts. (The caped superhero is an unfortunate example, and Bender's firstborn son is a very unfortunate example.)
  
  Many holes and inconsistencies in the storyline show that plot construction took a backseat to the more easily written sight gags and cheap asides. (Here's an example that hopefully won't be condemned as a spoiler. Late in the film the new Yivo character says he [sklee] sent an image of himself to artists in our universe, but most of the story is built on the idea that Yivo thought he was alone in all universes.) The fundamental story has also trumped the longstanding strengths of the show. The personalities of Fry and Leela (and important supporting characters like Kif) are inconsistent, Bender has been demoted to an unworkable subplot, and Zoidberg does little more than vomit for simpleminded laughs. There are also many missed opportunities for building upon the cliffhangers left from "Bender's Big Score."
  
  You can rest assured that the great Futurama animation, music, and voice acting (the actors have always been the show's unsung heroes) won't disappoint this time around. But the writing will. Certain fans may or may not like the basic story, but the bigger point is that everyone will notice the careless and unprofessional defects in the story. Hopefully this flick will just be a temporary misstep. Console yourself by remembering once again how lucky we are to have Futurama back among the living. [~doomsdayer520~]
  
  

• Great Movie, PLUS Best DVD Bonus Item Ever

  
  By A1ISTETP0SR6UE on 2008-06-19
  Having seen an advance copy, unlike some of the other non-reviewers, I can say that the movie is excellent. But I mainly want to point out that the bonus features include the "lost Futurama episode", a full-length 30-minute CGI episode originally produced for the old Futurama video game (never aired on TV, but featuring the actual voice cast and written by the show's original writers). This is also very entertaining, and is undoubtedly the best DVD bonus item in Futurama history. What's with the one-star reviews from people who haven't seen the DVD?
  
  
  
  
  

• Too late to go back to the future?

  
  By ADTZWVMMFTRAV on 2008-06-25
  I bought this on the day of release, so of course I'm a big Futurama fan and expected to like it. I thought Bender's Big Score was a decent effort showing some rust, so to speak, and that the new releases would get better from there. This one is a letdown, though. No doubt, there are some good jokes, and I laughed here and there during the 90 minutes. But the writing really doesn't feel like Futurama. The grossout and mildly sick humor is amped up (it was always there but balanced with the show's sophisticated writing), and in particular, some of the humor that plays on the film's "rape" plot has a slightly ugly edge. There's also a lengthy subplot with Calculon that really drags down the film while offering almost no laughs.
  
  The special features are pretty weak too. The deleted scenes reel is very short, the "blooper" section is just 2 minutes of the voice actors mugging for the video cameras (though this guy is happy to look at Tress McNeill and Katey Segal), and the full-length "episode" created for a video game just doesn't have the laughs.
  
  Bottom line: I eagerly awaited this and bought it day of release; I won't be in such a hurry for the next one (which doesn't look so hot, based on the preview included with this one).
  
  

• Lives up to the Hype

  
  By A3RYJ7AUYANOWY on 2008-05-28
  I saw an early release of this movie and it is insanely good. If you liked episodes such as "When Aliens Attack" or "A Tale of Two Santas", then you will love this movie as the humor seems to be very similiar. My favorite part was when the purple tentacle grabbed Leela and squezed her. What she says at that point is so funny, but I won't drop any spoilers here.
  
  Buy this now if your looking for some good laughs!
  
  

• Looks like Futurama, tastes like Futurama . . . but what the heck is it, really?

  
  By A2UM6ZZSLTV15E on 2008-06-26
  If anything, "The Beast with a Billion Backs" has helped me to recognize that while I am a fan of Futurama - I am, thankfully, not a fanboy. I've read over some of the previous reviews extolling the outrageous humor, deep meaning, and (god help me, no pun intended) biblical parallels . . . and I'm afraid that I have to side with the minority and say that this latest effort felt like a half -hearted attempt to try and put a shiny Futurama wrapper on a mish-mash of storylines without direction that get slammed together at the end for an unsatisfying finish. I was so disappointed with this release that it moved me to write my very first review here on Amazon. My one . . . lonely moment of laughter was the guest appearance by Stephen Hawking. That at least justifies the one star rating.
  
  The developments of "Bender's Big Score" are all but forgotten and almost every character is out of character. Not to mention the big payoff, the moral after 89 minutes is . . . love isn't really love without jealousy. The End. Wow. I realize that this particular story arc isn't trying to bury us in pointless humor, but when putting it up against previous stories like Jurassic Bark . . . the writing doesn't even compare.
  
  Die hard fans will rave about this video and five star it all day long no matter what anyone says. Weak jokes, even weaker self-references, and a thin plotline lead me to recommend that regular fans of the series rent this and save themselves $16. For me, the true measure of how much I enjoyed this movie is that while I do and will continue to watch seasons 1-4 of the series over and over, I highly doubt this disc will ever come into contact with my DVD player again.
  
  My expectations aren't high for "Bender's Game" when it comes out this fall.
  
  
• The Laughs are Solid in this new outing for the Planetary Express crew.
  By AEJ0EGQ79Y0KK on 2008-06-08
  The second of the straight to DVD Futurama movies, "Futurama: The Beast with a Billion Backs" has arrived and it comes loaded with laughs.
  Picking up shortly after the end of the previous film, "Bender's Big Score", the people of our universe are in fear of what the new inter-dimensional rift will mean to them and there are those that predict an end to everything is coming soon.
  Back at the Planetary Express Office, life is pretty much as it always is with one exception, Fry (Billy West), has a new girlfriend named Colleen (Brittany Murphy), and is doing well in his new relationship.
  Amy (Lauren Tom) and Kip are also doing well in their relationship and buoyed by the success Fry is having decide to conduct a marriage like ceremony on Kip's swamp filled home planet.
  Soon after, a delegation of leaders from around the cosmos gather to listen to the head of (Steven Hawking) discuss options on how to deal with the latest threat from the universe. Naturally nobody can agree and when Professor Farnsworth (Billy West) runs afoul of his nemesis Doctor Wernstrom they decide to settle their dispute in a hilarious live action version of title ball. Of course the fact that their debate stems from which of their crews is best suited to get slaughtered by exploring the rift is of little consequence.
  Once settled the crew of the Planetary Express under the command of Turanga Leela (Katey Sagal), shifts into high gear as their interpersonal relationships and quirks all come into play, often at the worst time which further complicates a bad situation.
  While this is going on, Bender (John Di Maggio), becomes infatuated with television personality Calculon, and starts down a path that will lead him to becoming part of a secret robotic society whose stated goal is death to all humans.
  As events unfold, an entity known as Yivo (David Cross), who inhabits the dimension on the other side of the rift, starts to control all of the people of our universe which places Fry in a Pope like position as he and the people start to discover the real reason Yivo is interested in our Universe.
  Along the way, there are numerous subplots and some truly classic lines from Zap Brannigan and others as the fate of two universes will soon depend on the actions of the highly dysfunctional characters of the story.
  While some may say the plot of this new Futurama does not grab you the way past episodes did, it does have plenty of humor; much of it comes in scenarios outside the main story arch and allows for some very nostalgic looks book at some of the classic moments from the series. I do not want to spoil any of the surprises, but let's say that the phrase Snu Snu comes back as does some of Bender's past.
  Since this is the second of four planned DVDs, it is clear that the new offering is laying ground work for the next two films as it does not wrap things up in a tidy bow when finished. Instead it provides plenty of laughs and great moments of nostalgia for fans of the series and loads of extras which include deleted scenes, commentaries, and a look at the next film "Bender's Game".
  All in all a welcome and satisfying film that should delight fans and help keep us happy until the new film arrives in time for the Holidays.
  4 stars out of 5
  
  
  
• They Family Guy'd Futurama!
  By AMQYCOCAK2XRV on 2008-06-24
  And by that I mean that while all the one-off jokes work (hell, many of them are downright hilarious!), they have little of the plot- and character-relevance that made Futurama such a great series. And for the record, I really liked "Bender's Big Score". It was FUN ON A BUN.
  
  In fact, this film's plot itself ventures into a genre that I'd much rather have seen Futurama stay at two removes from: romantic comedy. Except this time it's all the inhabitants of our universe ("Universe Gamma") in a romantic comedy with a planet-sized tentacled monster from another universe. There's a Bender sideplot that serves absolutely no purpose except to give Bender screen time and ultimately give him a reason to basically undo everything that happened in the movie, just when one would expect a perfectly Futurama-style twistedly happy ending.
  
  Speaking of undoing things that happened, I really must complain that this film literally resets the past eight years of Futurama continuity. Since the Niblonians and Brainspawn are no longer in Universe Gamma and every single romantic relationship has been reset to a basic state of "not existing", it really appears as though the writers behaved exactly like a dog encountering a chess board: knocking every piece out of its place with no real character development just so they could put them into the absurd places their canine brains desired.
  
  Finally, it has come to my attention that a lot of people got a lot more out of this film by reading it as a portrayal of the events described by the Book of the Revelation of John (aka: the Book of Revelations, aka: that crazy Apocalypse thing). Despite my knowledge of the story, being a Jew I guess I just can't see the parallels. You can only see them after someone else tells you about them, which means they aren't really there.
  
  
• This movie was so terrible, I think it gave me cancer.
  By A3076LRPPZVR1U on 2008-06-11
  The Beast with a Billion Backs just flat-out isn't good... at all. Right from the start, this "movie" completely ignores not just the plot and developments from Bender's Big Score but from the series itself. Except the professor and perhaps even Zoidberg, just about everyone is out of character. The whole Fry/Lars and Leela thing was a wasted hour and a half as Fry apparently would rather date the chick who loves everyone and then gets back at the chick who loves everyone by using a giant Koosh ball that loves everyone. Oh, that little rip in the universe? Nothing to worry about, it doesn't get bigger, the universe isn't really in danger like Nibbler forewarned. In fact, it stays the same size, despite having a giant tentacle monster that has a mouth that looks like a certain part of female anatomy with teeth on it. Oh, and don't forget the massive plot holes throughout the movie. Aside from the aforementioned, Kif dies and magically comes back to life, because he's not really dead, though he was killed? Or not. And when the tentacle monster retreats at the end, the universe rip closes like a zipper for no reason. Just like Fry doesn't try to get with Leela at all. Bender is whiny and annoying, just like every other character. But forget that, and prepare to see the same jokes repeated from the series forced into the show and lame, new jokes crammed down your eye sockets. This movie insists upon itself, it's a self-conscious entity that tries too hard. The Beast with a Billion Backs is NOT the Futurama we have come to know and love, but instead a bad spin-off unfit to bear the title of our beloved series. For all our sakes, Bender's game better restore the slick edge and familiar depth and intellect we've grown to appreciate, or the future of Futurama is doomed to be over-run by those undeserving of a fan-boy stature and direct our beloved series straight to Robot hell.
  
  But that's just my review, you give it a watch and see what you think. I could be hypercritical, but only because Futurama used to reside in a certain level of class The Beast with a Billion backs is unfit to mingle with.
  
  
• I want to know what love is. I want Futurama to show me.
  By A3HOI0Z8RRG4L6 on 2008-06-26
  Love has always been a topic of movies and TV, but "Beast with a Billion Backs" is one of the most encompassing and non-polemic explorations of the emotion I have ever seen. It covers the entire gamut, from monogamous relationships to polyamorous ones, individual love to universal love, platonic love to erotic love, new love to loss. And it humorously juxtaposes the cultural trappings of one kind to another to explore the ramifications of each.
  
  It is pretty common to see TV shows that might tackle one of these, and either give a "hey, isn't this great" message (like most sit-coms) or a "it looks good at first, but it isn't so great after all" angle (like a Twilight Zone "what looks like heaven is actually hell"). Maybe that's all you can do in half an hour. But this movie doesn't give an answer. We see humanity (at least the Planet Express segment) individually achieve love, and have a couple of chances for universal love by different means, and by the end things end up shattered. We end up puzzling the issue of what is best ourselves, with some new brilliant insights we had not thought of before.
  
  And I find it surprising that people claim the movie is terrible because it isn't funny. It seems like they have not seen the show recently, and misremember how it actually was. Go back to the original series, especially the third and fourth seasons, and see how many jokes there really were. Humor is not the show's reason for being, it is the wrapper for philosophical and character explorations, just as in most sci-fi. But don't think this movie isn't funny as well, because it is. If you thought "The Sting" was one of the high-points of the series, and ended up crying at the end of "Jurassic Bark", I am certain you will enjoy this movie.
  
  
• Worst Episode Ever!
  By ACXKWHXILD90U on 2008-06-11
  First of all, fix the typo in the main Amazon review - they are dealing with a cosmic TEAR, not a cosmic team. Secondly....good grief! Bender's Big Score felt like it dragged things out and repeated itself but it was still enjoyable and undoubtedly it was 'true' Futurama, finally back on our screens after far too long. BBB is NOT real Futurama at all. I haven't checked the credits but it feels like the writing is WAY off normal quality and style. Who created this stuff? Do they even know what Futurama is about? Why are we representing everyone in this universe coming together into a single collection of characters, and having Fry act as their spokesman (even when he isn't 'Pope')? Throwing in a quick shot or line from characters from previous episodes is not fun nostalgia -it's a cheap gimmick from someone who's trying to make it look like they know what they're doing (and failing).
  
  For completists only, and even they would be advised to use the FFwd button whenever things get tedious (which is quite often).
  
  
• Futurama preaching UNIVERSAL LOVE...literally
  By A3MHGA6BJJ7P27 on 2008-06-24
  Beast with a Billion Backs, from what I imagine watching the preview, caused me to think this movie would be dull, or one dimentional. NO WAY IS THIS A DULL FILM. In fact, this movie is really cool. Much of the film revolves around strange, freaked outed twists on "permittable" love. LOVE and LOSS is a big part the movie, right up to the film's funeral ending. In the last film, it ends with a funeral too. Plus, love themes once more predominate. Lars and Leela's relationship hurt Fry more than it appeared, cos now, Fry is out for vengence. Jealousy is what's behind most of this film's plot. In a way, it pleads for the nessecity of a committed relationship, in order to be happy. The Beast from the other Universe is attempting to seduce and controll the universe, thru a parody of 1950's trite mating behavior. That was a fun part of the film. During the film, Leela becomes more and more isolated from everyone. Even when the whole universe falls in love with a space octopus monster, Leela resists, because she is very skeptical about love, bottom line. Plus she wants the perfect man, and he's not out there. Anyway, when's the last time a film made you wonder, "Should a Gigantic space monster fall in love, and mate, the species of another Universe?" Let me know if you have seen one, cos I'd like to see it too. It's surreal, and overintellectualized often, but the film has some classic themes behind the humor. That's what makes FUTURAMA fun to watch for adults. (This is not a children's show at all.) This Futurama film has great Scifi spoofs, a humorous view of the folly of love, and FUN ON A BUN!! Beast of a Billion Backs has a TON of fantastic one-liners, hilarious sight gags, and all the twists and movements of LOVE'S GRAND FOLLY. (Not unlike a Shakespeare comedy...which is where "THE BEAST WITH TWO BACKS" comes from, BTW.) Even tho the film's funny, a farce, it often seems real. People grieve, get depressed, elated by love, jealous, and everything else. Strangely once more, the film is filled with loss. At one point or another, everybody or another becomes broken hearted. Everyone is this film is jealous, and deeply so. But it seems these characters just love to make bad choices, when it comes to love, they do it consistantly. The innocence of the love choices, made by fools, and not cruel people, is why this is a comedy film. That it's animated, is incidental. So, I would buy this, for the movie alone. HOWEVER............
  This movie has some INCREDIBLE movie extras. First off, is the 30 minute extra cartoon episode, that was made for the video game. The game's animation look was a little odd. The characters were a cross between 3-D, and line drawings. Even with that, the extra show's jokes, wierd plot, and wild fantasy of invention, (like an earth sized space ship), made that the best extra since HYPNOTOAD. The parts of the extra cartoon where the Futurama characters are "playing the video game", is minimal. It's such a cool extra for a movie...a short film!! Along with that, comes a big chunk of "Animatics", for the first part of the film. It's like watching hand drawn comic book windows, without the dialouge balloons. Also, very cool. And as always, the commentary is at least as good as the film dialouge. After so many DVD commentaries, for the original series, and now these films, this crew has their off the cuff banter/ comedy routines polished bright. PLUS, the DVD threw in a GREAT teaser.....a coming attraction of the next Futurama film! THANK YOU.
  Unlike the "cliffhanger" on the first film, ie the end of all creation, this movie does not end on an unresolved note. If anything, it seems as tho the film wants to drive home the belief " JEALOUSY PROVES TRUE LOVE." It also shows that using jealousy to test love, only ends in broken hearts. My guess is that revelation to the Futurama characters, is going to be important in the next 2 films. I think that BWABB is A GREAT MOVEMENT FORWARD for the series' story arc. Hopefully, the experiences that both Fry and Leela have gone thru, might have showed them both, to accept each other, faults and all. I can only imagine, that by the last film, wedding bells might be ringing.
  
  
• Yeeessss
  By A2D1UE54QIJ46I on 2008-05-19
  Bender's Big Score was brilliant. This DVD should be no different. Anyone who has any arguement to that needs to watch the episode of Everyone Loves Hypnotoad from the BBS DVD and have their brain re-adjusted.
  
  
  
  
• Really Awful
  By A1BM5NSK4S99RL on 2008-06-25
  This is terrible. There are a few good jokes, but for the most part it isn't funny. Bender's Big Score was well written; it was funny and sweet and clever. This latest Futurama lacks all the qualities that made the first movie and the show enjoyable.
  
  I usually give a synopsis of the story of a movie or book in my reviews. I don't see much point in trying to provide such a summary in this review. The movie interweaves several different story lines together (Bender and the league of robots, Fry and his new girlfriend, the Universe and Yivo) and none of it is done well. What happened to Fry's feelings for Leela? Why does the movie switch from a scifi monster flick to bad chick lit? How could anyone write something as boring as this movie?
  
  The packaging for the DVD is terrible and makes the DVD prone to scratches prior to ever even opening the case.
  
  I bought this without having seen it because of my love of the show and my love of Bender's big score. For any future Futurama products I am going to have to rent them first before I choose to own them. I highly recommend that other fans of the series rent this one before committing to purchasing it. Beast with a Billion Backs is a big bust.
  
  
• Huge Fan of the Show and First Movie BBS
  By A2G0XHKNBSSKIG on 2008-06-26
  I'm not some purest expecting this movie to be 4 solid episodes of the show. That's just not realistic. That said, the first movie genuinely surprised me. It had spot on Futurama humor, and more than enough laughs, even if it dragged a bit later on. I gave it 4 stars, and that's what it deserved, not perfect, but very good.
  
  My rating for this movie is a solid ONE star. The plot line went on forever, and had this constant "somethings wrong" "something isn't wrong" "somethings wrong again" "nope everything is fine" plot line that was truly infuriating. The jokes were stale at best. Everything felt as though it was being forced, nothing came naturally. The Yivo plot line (no spoilers) just kept going, and its as if your waiting for some big payoff that never arrives. At the end of the movie, you just sit there, and feel bored.
  
  I did feel that the first 30 minutes was very promising. The rip, the league, the Wernstrom bits, all classic. After about the 25 minute mark, you might as well shut it off, the movie has run out of gas.
  
  
• Some funny sight gags, but overall weak
  By A1QNYLBG73QRNF on 2008-06-17
  I get the sense that this movie didn't benefit from the same team that wrote the Futurama TV show; it's not as funny and the characters differ from their personalities in the series. The plot involves a creature from another dimension that wants to mate with every sentient being in ours. Some of the visual gags, including the opening credit sequence, were original and funny. The movie ran out of steam, though, about 2/3 of the way through. The jokes weren't funny enough or numerous enough to support the plot, and the writers played fast and loose with the characters and their relationships. The final "punchline" is obvious about fifteen minutes into the movie.
  
  
• So bad I think it just gave me cancer.
  By A1VM56YZK2Y6B4 on 2008-06-27
  I am a massive fan who can give you the production no. of an episode from a single line. But this movie wasn't futurama & wasn't funny after about 20 min.
  I spent longer looking at the time stamp than the screen and was begging for it to end.
  I will continue to watch and rewatch the ol' 72 and BBS but this will never be touched again.
  The commentary is better than the movie. Alot More.
  You have been warned
  
  
• Way Way Way Way better than Benders Big Score
  By A1HD5HCMCW0PQ6 on 2008-06-29
  Simply hilarious. It featured a baseline of comedy at least as funny as the previous season. punctuated with crescendos of comedy gold that surpass even some of the funniest episodes of the series. Tons of cameos from characters from one shot episodes, and references to previous episodes (Something I feel the series was missing in the past.) I watched it with a friend that didn't like Benders Big Score, and he picked up his own copy of Beast With a Billion Backs at the mall the very next day.
  
  
• Warning: disgusting, putrid, awful and not funny
  By A1TIUDAQNVCH7Q on 2008-06-10
  I got a hold of an advance copy.
  
  Although I was a big fan of the series this DVD is to be avoided at any cost.
  
  They dont even attempt comedy, just bizarre perversion so disgusting that
  HP Lovecraft might come back to life just to throw up and then die again.
  
  Do not alow anyone under the age of 18 see this movie.
  
  NO stars, F-
  
  
• disappointed!
  By A28JBKA13QPVFN on 2008-06-26
  that's all....a very disappointing movie. The plot was all over the place, the animation seemed lacking, it honestly reminded me of a family guy/ aqua teen show.....not in the good way. Futurama was one of the best, creatively ingenious animated shows I've ever watched. And now......wow, that was disappointing
  
  
• God, I hope that this is better than Bender's Big Score...
  By A3L5NE3OATY960 on 2008-05-12
  Bender's Big Score was the biggest let down of my life! I hope that they fed those writers to a pack of hungry wolves.
  
  
• Another great addition the the resurrected series
  By A17LWZIZCG9N28 on 2008-06-09
  I managed to view a copy of this movie that was leaked to the internet today. This is the second Futurama direct-to-DVD movie to come out as part of the series' semi-revival after being canceled by the executive morons at Fox a couple of years back. Now I'm a big Futurama fan so I'm probably biased but I enjoyed this movie. The first direct-to-DVD movie was probably a bit better as it had a more diverse storyline and musical numbers but this one was thoroughly entertaining and I highly recommend it to anyone who's a fan of the series.
  
  The best thing about this movie is the use of secondary characters. Futurama developed a ridiculously expansive cast during the course of its original 4 year run and the creators are now (wisely in my opinion) expanding beyond focusing on the Planet Express crew. The use of the many robot characters in this one was great, especially Calculon, Millionairebot, Hedonismbot, a large heavily armored robot (whose name I can't remember), and of course the robot devil, who is voiced by Dan Castellaneta. Aside from the bots, we also see the return of President Richard Nixon's head, who delivers one of the funniest lines in the movie.
  
  The worst thing about this film may be that fact that the guest voices are underused. Brittany Murphy's performance as a new romantic interest for Fry is well done but ultimately forgettable. Steven Hawking plays himself and while he makes a nice addition with some genuinely funny lines, he's often hard to understand. Also, David Cross plays the role of the giant tentacle monster who is the focus of much of the movie. While he is given some good awkward material to work with, he is never given a chance to shine like he did in Arrested Development. Even so, this is a minor gripe.
  
  The bottom line: This is another cleverly written and enjoyable entry to the series. The lack of musical numbers was a bit of a let down but I liked the movie and I'll be buying it as soon as it's available in stores.
  
  
• there are fans who get it, and posers who dont.
  By APKO12L23OI1L on 2008-06-26
  Okay, I have been watching Futurama for years and am an avid fan, and I've noticed while reading through the reviews that the ones who didn't care for this one, liked Bender's Big Score. Which honestly, as a die hard Futurama fan, i kinda hated Bender's Big Score, there was a couple of funny parts, but they gave everything away in the trailers they had released ahead of time.
  
  THis one on the other hand, The Beast With a Billion Backs, was freaking hilarious. For the ones who didn't care for it stating that Futurama is some kind of ingenius amazing deep cartoon, you've got it completely wrong. It's an adult cartoon meant to be funny and random. Period. Some people just read way too much into things.
  
  That's why The Beast With a Billion Backs lives up to my Futurama expectations and I expect nothign but goodness from the next one also, especially seeing as how it's going to be riddled with D&D puns and jokes. (I have a few friends that play D&D and we're all looking forward to it).
  
  So basically what I'm saying is, it's a great movie, really funny, and very Futurama. To me they are finally getting back to the Futurama I know and love.
  
  
• Disappointed. Sad and disappointed.
  By A1GRJ2ZP09JKW9 on 2008-06-26
  First of all, I am a huge futurama fan. Pretty much a ridiculous fan, I own all four seasons, plus the comics, plus the DVD collections that are just compilations from the seasons. And I love them all. The first Futurama 'movie' "Bender's Big Score" was great. I really enjoyed it. This one however... It just wasn't coherent.
  
  The plot was seriously lacking, and the storyline wasn't strung together very well at all. In certain points I found myself thinking "You mean there's still more? Shouldn't it be over?!". Also, it seems like they've taken writing cues from the more recent seasons of "The Simpsons", many of the jokes were a bit over the top and at the same time low-brow. One of the things I love about Futurama is the creative and clever writing, the jokes that are a bit more clever, and not all physical comedy.
  
  This movie was rife with moments where you just say "Yuck. That's not funny, it's just kind of gross". Which I think would be a great way to sum up the movie in general. It's not funny, it's just kind of gross.
  
  
• A Few Positives But A Billion Negatives (not really)
  By A35KAJ9OXIMDXG on 2008-06-27
  First, allow me to say that I'm a huge Futurama fan. I have all the TV sets, some comics and a few other odds n' ends. I watch the reruns almost daily and use Futurama quotes frequently in my vocabulary.
  
  Sadly, I did not enjoy this movie very much, and it seems I'm in the minority on that. While the first movie showed us some of that original spark, it felt like they were a little rusty and needed to get back into their groove. "Surely they can only get better from here?" I thought.
  
  **WARNING, SPOILERS BELOW!**
  
  **
  
  **
  
  **
  
  **
  
  **
  
  **
  
  1. What the heck happened to continuity? Apparently Leela and Fry have completely forgotten about the Lars drama from the last movie and we're back at square one again (or, really, nothing at all). Fry is dating another woman, and Leela shows absolutely no emotion or any kind of jealous reaction towards it. So, the fact that Lars was Fry and you claimed he was the only man you'd ever love meant nothing?
  
  2. And Fry, what about you? In Big Score you were desperate to win Leela's heart. After you broke up with Colleen I assumed you'd go right back to that, like always. No, it didn't even occur to you. You just put on a space suit and left the universe. If he's going to lose interest in Leela completely (and vice versa) at least tell us why, give us some backstory on it.
  
  3. Despite the fact that Nibbler was freaking out at the end of Big Score, and there came a huge rift in the space-time continuum in the sky, it took them weeks before they even started to investigate it. I don't know, I should think a huge, potentially deadly hole in the sky should get top priority on the world's "to fix" list. Besides which, Leela didn't seem to care or notice that Nibbler had run away. Isn't he supposed to be her beloved, spoiled pet?
  
  4. The whole "lonely" space monster who secretly mated with everyone on Earth literally behind their backs was... yeah. Then when people find out about what's really happening, he offers to be friends with them, woos them with candy and flowers, and then dates everyone at the same time? The heck?! That's not funny, that's just incredibly weird and skeezy :/
  
  Granted, there was some really funny stuff in there, and I enjoyed it a lot for the first half hour or so, but towards the end I was actually Fast-Forwarding. I was all, "Shouldn't it be done?".
  
  I'm not saying Futurama can't be too weird or too serious - they've done both in the past, and done it well (I still can't rewatch Jurassic Bark to this day). But this just isn't what I expect from this show, and I'm both saddened and disappointed. I hope the last two movies will be better. This will be the least watched for me, and that's assuming they don't get worse.
  
  
• Just terrible
  By A1OZTU15Q3ISFL on 2008-07-10
  I can't begin to count the ways this movie went wrong. The two that get me the most are the poor writing and the tentacle violation.
  
  This was more disturbing than funny. Even as a big fan of Futurama, I can't recommend this entry to anyone.
  
  
• Bring back Futurama!
  By ANEUPVXP9GKJQ on 2008-05-15
  There will be two more strait to DVD futurama movies to be out after this one. Hopefully this will bring back the show on FOX or on Comedy Central. There is still a fan base hungry for new ep.
  
  
• Disappointing
  By A3V1V02OT7NFT8 on 2008-06-25
  I was disappointed, it could have been funnier but the story was a touch weak, the jokes a bit worn.
  
  
• Oh god, this was bad...
  By AE68I04K30VHS on 2008-06-30
  Sigh... Love Futurama, hate this movie...
  
  It just isn't funny and the writing is awful. I was so, so, so bored. The last movie was so-so. This one just stinks. For whatever reason the change from a 22 minute episode to a full length feature has proven to be an impossible task for the writers.
  
  Bad, bad, bad, BAD!!!! I would have never thought I'd say it, but sadly the abrupt end of the series on a high note was a better end to Futurama than the garbage they've turned out in the direct to DVD features. The really sad part is they are obviously trying, it is just apparently beyond their talents...
  
  Again, sigh....
  
  
• This better not suck
  By A3TSL7KNEFIFEN on 2008-05-21
  Let's set this straight....Bender's Big Score sucked compared to the any other episode put out thus far. If you say otherwise you're a commie. Seriously though, it i fell asleep 5 times trying to finish it. I'm just that if they had that long to work on it, it could have been funnier than that.
  
  
• Worst Packaging Ever!
  By AXH907C9E72NJ on 2008-06-25
  It's all well and good for Fox to want to be green, but their carbon neutral packaging of this DVD is even cheaper and flimsier then it was for Bender's Big Score. In attempting to get the plastic off the DVD case, it nearly folded in half on me since it's made out of cheap, thin cardboard. Also, there's no plastic spindle in the middle of the DVD case, just a slot in the cheap cardboard and my DVD came scratched up already because of that. It still plays but how cheap can Fox be? The movie was fun but I just can't get past the DVD box. It's just terribly cheap.
  
  

• Futurama: Bender's Game
• Futurama - Bender's Big Score
• Batman Gotham Knight (Two-Disc Collector's Edition)
• The Simpsons - The Complete Eleventh Season (Collectible Krusty Head Pack)
• Stargate: Continuum