Being a natural cynic, I wasn't expecting much from this. B5 is my favourite show of all time, but it's had three sequels (Crusade, Legends of the Rangers, Lost Tales) and none have been successful. It's been 16 years since the last aired B5 story, and a huge number of the cast members have passed away.
B5's strength was a strongly plotted, well thought out story arc that was closed off with no loose ends, so what story is there to tell? There are numerous sagas that have been referred to but never seen, such as the Dilgar War and the Telepath War. There are also many novels written from jms' outlines that would make for a great series, such as the story of Bester and the history of the Psi-Corps, the rise and fall of the Centuari, and the story of the Techno Mages.
Any of them would be wonderful to see, but those aren't going to fit in a 78 minute run time any more than Lord of the Rings would. So what story did we actually get?
Indulgent fan fiction made by the actual creator (jms), that's what.
This is to B5 what the "What If?" television show is to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A cute afterthought, but not essential viewing.
If you treat this as being a fan project (like Star Trek Continues), made with decent production values for showing at a convention to nostalgic fans, it's fantastic. Every surviving cast member has at least a cameo role. Those who have passed away have been recast with voice actors, so all characters (except for Vir) are present. And for good or bad, the fanservice is off the charts (it makes Picard season 3 tame in comparison).
But as a standalone movie, or a B5 installment, it adds nothing to the series, and actually undermines some of the established narrative of the original show.
The good:
The okay:
The bad:
B5's strength was a strongly plotted, well thought out story arc that was closed off with no loose ends, so what story is there to tell? There are numerous sagas that have been referred to but never seen, such as the Dilgar War and the Telepath War. There are also many novels written from jms' outlines that would make for a great series, such as the story of Bester and the history of the Psi-Corps, the rise and fall of the Centuari, and the story of the Techno Mages.
Any of them would be wonderful to see, but those aren't going to fit in a 78 minute run time any more than Lord of the Rings would. So what story did we actually get?
Indulgent fan fiction made by the actual creator (jms), that's what.
This is to B5 what the "What If?" television show is to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. A cute afterthought, but not essential viewing.
If you treat this as being a fan project (like Star Trek Continues), made with decent production values for showing at a convention to nostalgic fans, it's fantastic. Every surviving cast member has at least a cameo role. Those who have passed away have been recast with voice actors, so all characters (except for Vir) are present. And for good or bad, the fanservice is off the charts (it makes Picard season 3 tame in comparison).
But as a standalone movie, or a B5 installment, it adds nothing to the series, and actually undermines some of the established narrative of the original show.
The good:
- Animation quality (outside of certain character designs)
- Voice acting and direction
The okay:
- The music was not up to B5's historical lofty standards, but was serviceable
- The pacing felt neither rushed nor overly plodding
The bad:
- While Sheridan and Londo were recognizable, many of the cast were not. Ivanova, Lochley, Marcus and Sinclair looked unlike their respective actors. G'Kar and Garibaldi get a pass as the only Narn and the only bald character, so they were identifiable by default.
- Although the replacement voice actors did good work, few sounded like the actors that they were replacing. There were a few times G'Kar sounded like G'Kar, and Garibaldi sounded like Garibaldi, but for the most part, they were clearly different actors.
- There are a few fourth wall breaks that are simply distracting.
- A Minbari tachyon-based power station? That's ridiculous on the face of it.
- Sheridan trips through alternate universes are dictated by his desires and emotions. He is god.
- The Jiminy Cricket ending where Sheridan and Delenn love each other real hard and save the universe.
- The Shadows in B5 were able to go one on one with the Vorlons (two of them were able to murder Kosh), and a single Vorlon nearly destroyed B5 on his own. But in this movie, the Shadows use Zerg rush tactics, and one is killed by Sheridan with a simple PPG.