Thanks to a legendary Kickstarter campaign, fans of the Veronica Mars TV show now get to see their hero, the title character played by Kristen Bell, back in action. The resulting movie doesn’t feel like a movie at all: It looks, smells and tastes like a TV show, with a hokey and half-baked plot to go with it.
Veronica has moved to New York and is about to get a job at a law firm when old boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring) gets into trouble. He’s the focus of a murder investigation, so Veronica puts her private-investigator cap back on, leaves her boyfriend behind, and comes to Logan’s rescue back home—while also attending her high school reunion.
It’s all pretty lame, but Bell is on her game. While the murder-mystery is a dud, the cameos (James Franco, Dax Shepard, Justin Long) are fun, and it’s great to see the old cast back together.
The movie won’t knock anybody’s socks off, but it will satisfy fans and perhaps inspire a few new ones to check out the TV show, which went off the air seven years ago.
The film is available for rent via sources including iTunes and Amazon.com.