by Gema Luna, Assistant Editor

“The Bitch is Back” is the title to the open-ended episode that left all the “marshmallows” (the name that Veronica Mars’ fans give themselves) with an empty space in their Tuesday nights back in 2007 and questions all-around about what would become of their favorite witty sarcastic heroine? It would take 7 years, faith from the fans and a “put your money where your mouth is” attitude, but Veronica Mars is back, and this time we get our answers and our ending… at least for now. With a record breaking Kickstarter campaign, may I dare say the first of its kind, the short lived series- created by Rob Thomas (90210)- comes to the big screen March 14, 2014.

Nine years after leaving the class-ridden Neptune, Veronica (Kristen Bell, House of Lies) thinks that she has moved on from her days of sleuthing and helping her friends get out of trouble. Interviewing for a high-paying dream job in New York on the eve of taking the bar exam, and living a normal life with the normal guy “Piz” (Chris Lowell, Enlisted), Veronica thinks her life is on track. She has fought very hard to get away from her past, but then an old high school classmate gets killed and all signs point to the ex-boyfriend, Veronica’s old flame Logan Echolls (Jason Dohring, Ringer).  When the past (wrapped in a Logan package) calls for help in choosing a lawyer, Veronica cannot refuse to get sucked in just for a weekend. She soon realizes that Logan needs more than a lawyer, he needs the old Veronica, putting everything she has worked for to get out of Neptune in jeopardy, and just in time for her high school reunion.

If you never watched the series, you will after watching the movie. Yes, it is a weekend shut-in series, which sadly was only three seasons long. But you do not have to watch all three seasons before you go to the theater and watch this movie, there is a very informative intro. Besides, the movie on its own is a good character driven whodunit story. Yes, there are a lot of inside jokes, but you don’t have to be a fan to enjoy them.  The thing that we have to understand about this movie is that we wanted it, we wanted it bad, like an addict needs a fix, and we got it. It is full of greatly written characters that are a little overshadowed by the time constrains of a feature film, but have so much brilliance that it doesn’t matter. We learn how their lives have been since we last saw them, and we get a more grown up version of them, but they are still the same and almost all come back, from Wallace (Percy Daggs III, Southland) and Mac (Tina Majorino, True Blood) to the outcast Weevil (Francis Capra, Heroes). Kristen Bell was born to play Veronica Mars, her sarcasm, cuteness and deliverance of lines is like no other, she is Veronica in the flesh. Another character and actor worth more than a mention is Enrico Colantoni (Person of Interest) who plays Keith Mars, Veronica’s father, a shamed-out-of-office ex-sheriff turned private detective. The interaction, since the series, between Veronica and Keith is one of the best Parent-Child interactions on ANY screen: they have a loving, trusting and honest relationship that is enviable, and it shows without Colantoni having to be in the movie for longer scenes. And there a lot of cameos from different actors including Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) and James Franco (This is the End) just to mention some, but my favorite was Dax Shepard (Parenthood). When you see the movie will know why. The writing is as expected, a clever mystery that needs wit and persistence to be solved, with a lot of the sharp-tongued remarks that made the series so popular. Like I said before, the film also possesses a more mature tone that has grown up with the fans. The movie also leaves the potential to revamp the series or to do another full length movie, either way I am on board.

The movie is fun, funny, clever and a true thank you for the fans that have been waiting 7 long years. There is great acting and great writing. But overall it is a little engine that did, and it was worth the effort and the wait.

ComicsOnline gives Veronica Mars 4 out of 5 S’mores.

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