SXSW14 - Veronica Mars (2014)

Attention Marshmallows - the Veronica Mars film is great!

Rob Thomas and his cast at the Veronica Mars SXSW premiere (Pic by me)

I need to be honest with you Marshmallows - I'm not one of you. I've watched maybe 6 episodes of the show, have a basic understanding of the character dynamics, know the major things like who killed who and why, and of course am familiar with the Veronica/Logan/Piz triangle.

So, sitting in the Paramount Theatre at SXSW surrounded by Veronica Mars superfans, cast and crew was a little terrifying.

Jason Dohring and Kristen Bell (Pic by me) 

I loved this film. The script is sharp and full of the kind of verbal sparring that Veronica is infamous for, with just the right amount of explanation along the way for people like me who don't know the intimate details of every single episode. There are clearly lots of referenced tucked in for the fans, I assume that's what the cheering/giggling was for at various points in the film, but nothing looks like a shout out. And even I grinned when Veronica put her trademark investigator gear on and took her Nikon camera out for a spin. It was just like old times.

"I'm glad that your alter ego is a teenage girl." - Kristen Bell on Rob Thomas' writing skills 

The story itself is interesting and mysterious and a little bit dark, which is no surprise considering it takes Veronica back to her home town of Neptune, California. Fans of the show will enjoy seeing how their favourite characters have aged, I particularly enjoyed seeing Max Greenfield as Deputy Leo (he is hilarious), but shouldn't assume that everyone is safe from harm (because they aren't).

And by the way, if you don't catch your breath at the sight of Logan meeting Veronica at the airport I don't know what's wrong with you. I won't tell you what he's wearing, but handsome doesn't cover it.

Check out The Guardian review if you feel like it.