Veronica Mars - Blu-ray

Movie: It's been nine years since Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell) turned her back on her hometown of Neptune, California and moved to New York with her boyfriend Piz (Chris Lowell). This means that her days as an amateur detective are now a thing of the past, as Veronica is about to take a job at a prestigious law firm. But then her ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring) gets into serious trouble once again. Logan, who is now in the Navy, is accused of murdering his girlfriend, pop star Carrie Bishop. The evidence is overwhelming and Logan faces a long prison sentence. Only Veronica, with her unique sleuthing skills, can stop that from happening. So she sets out for Neptune - just in time for her graduating class's 10-year reunion - to prove Logan's innocence. She can count not only on the help of her father, private investigator Keith Mars (Enrico Colantoni), but also her old friends Wallace (Percy Dags III) and Cindy (Tina Majorino). And it quickly becomes clear that things are still as corrupt and mendacious in Neptune as they were ten years ago. And that doesn't make it any easier to unmask Carrie's real killer. But Veronica wouldn't be Veronica, of course, if she still had an ace or two up her sleeve.

When the series Veronica Mars was cancelled in 2007 after only three seasons, an outcry went through the small but very passionate fan base. Although the critically acclaimed series was never quite the ratings smash it was, the outcry was so loud after the far-too-early ending that series creator Rob Thomas decided to offer fans a small glimpse of what Veronica's future at the FBI might look like on the third season DVD box set. A sequel in the form of a movie was always an option for Thomas as well. But it quickly became apparent that such a project could not be financed. And so the end of Veronica Mars seemed indeed to be final.

But what probably nobody counted on was the loyalty and persistence of the fans, who never stopped calling for a continuation of their favorite series. And since Rob Thomas and leading actress Kristen Bell were also always interested in diving back into the world of Veronica Mars, they decided in 2013 to tackle a financing of the film via crowdfunding on the internet platform Kickstarter.com. Should they succeed in raising 2 million dollars, production could begin. Within hours, that goal had already been reached, and by the end of the campaign, 91,500 fans had contributed $5.7 million to make the Veronica Mars movie a reality.

Thomas, Bell, and everyone else involved were well aware of their responsibility to their fans because of this extremely positive feedback. And so it's no wonder then that Veronica Mars has literally become a movie by fans for fans. True, they have tried to make the film accessible to viewers who have never seen an episode of the series before by including opening credits that summarize the series. But overall, this feature film is a big thank you to everyone who has remained loyal to Veronica and her friends even after the series ended, keeping them alive with their passion over the years.

And so it's no wonder that the film is filled with references to the series, from a very nice variation on the theme song to numerous guest appearances and direct references to old episodes. The fact that the story isn't one of Veronica's best cases and doesn't actually have any real cinematic quality doesn't bother much. Because it's just nice to be able to meet beloved characters once again and say a proper goodbye to them.

It's clear to see from the actors, especially the once again great Kristen Bell, how much joy it gave them to be allowed to return to Neptune once again. The chemistry between the actors, some of whom hadn't seen each other in over six years, is still as good as it was in the show's prime. That chemistry goes a long way toward making the film exactly what all the backers invested their money in: an entertaining conclusion to a great series, infused with a certain nostalgia. And even if the story itself won't win any awards for originality, the film still deserves a clear absolutely worth seeing. Because the goal of making fans happy was most undoubtedly achieved!

Picture + Sound: Technically, the film presents itself on the Blu-ray from its best side. The picture is absolutely clean, the color scheme very coherent and also the matching of contrasts and black levels provides not only in the brighter outdoor scenes, but also in darker scenes for the right atmosphere. When it comes to sound, of course, the English audio track in particular scores with a very lively DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 mix. But the German Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack is also powerful enough to leave a positive overall impression. This is also helped by the occasional good surround moments achieved by the soundtrack, atmospheric ambient noises and minor sound effects. Good!

Extras: The Blu-ray has plenty of nice extras to offer, which, like the film itself, are primarily aimed at loyal fans of the series. Things kick off with an in-depth making of (approx. 55:43 min.) that follows the production from the first day of the Kickstarter campaign to the big presentation at Comic Con 2013. Throughout, the documentary also focuses on the fans who invested their money in this project and the series stars' interactions with their supporters.

Continue with the More Fun on Set section, which consists of six short featurettes. These focus on Keith Mars (approx. 2:59 min.), Kristen Bell and Chris Lowell (approx. 4:30 min.), New Girl star Max Greenfield (approx. 3:10 min.), the Kickstarter supporters (approx. 4:45 min.), an extra in a monkey costume (approx. 2:59 min.), and the young version of Veronica (approx. 0:58 min.). While these featurettes aren't necessarily particularly meaty, they are absolutely worth watching for fans and are occasionally very amusing.

A couple of unused scenes (approx. 4:20 min.) and funny outtakes (approx. 4:35 min.) round out the very good supplementary offerings. Absolutely worth seeing!

Conclusion: Veronica Mars is literally a movie by fans for the fans. With an incredible $5.7 million in support, the film is one of the most successful Kickstarter projects of all time. Even if the new adventure of the popular detective is not one of her best cases, the Veronica Mars movie is overall an absolutely successful gift to all fans, which clearly shows the passion that everyone involved put into the project. An entertaining conclusion to a great series, which presents itself on the Blu-ray in very good technical quality and also has some nice extras to offer. For this there is a more than deserved: absolutely recommendable!

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp