The third and thus far worst of the Futurama feature films see's our heroes stuck in a world of dungeons and dragons and for that reason I expected great things. It most certainly did not deliver!

Being the big ol' nerd that I am I thought that could be the thing that takes the distinctly average Futurama and makes it enjoyable for me but instead it seems to have gone the other way.

The jokes are just not on point at all, they're worse than ever. I was shocked at a couple of them, I know that Futurama does adult jokes all the time but they're always done in such a way that a child wouldn't understand. A couple here were really obvious and blatant, a kid would get that!

As usual it's not bad, it's just not great either. The more of these movies I watch the less I'm looking forward to my Futurama binge. If a d&d setting can't make it enjoyable than what chance does it stand?

The Good:

A few decent jokes

Great LOTR parodies

The Bad:

Most jokes miss the mark

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

I don't think I'll ever get the appeal of this seriously overrated tosh

Having been a little disappointed with "The Beast with a Billion Backs" I was pleased to find a return to form in this film. For the first time in the series of films we have a villain who was a regular from the television series rather than a one off villain, that villain is Mom. This time she is claiming that dark matter is running out so the price is rising, of course this being Mom there is plenty of dark matter; she just wants more money. Meanwhile Leela is having anger issues which lead to her being fitted with a shock collar and Bender is saddened to realise he doesn't have an imagination so decides to develop one... this is too successful and he finds himself believing he is a character in the game of Dungeons and Dragons he is playing. The first half of the film sets up this situation and follows Fry Leela and the Professor as they attempt to break into the dark matter mine to neutralise the dark matter for reasons I won't spoil here. As they are close to their goal something strange happens and they find themselves in the strange world of Bender's imagination, hear they find themselves on a quest that mirrors their mission in the real world.

I enjoyed both parts of the film as they were full of good jokes. The fantasy section might not seem as funny to people who haven't seen The Lord of the Rings though as the quest is clearly based on the quest to destroy the ring... it even features Fry turning to a Gollum like creature as he nears the end of the quest. Some of the jokes aren't really suitable for younger viewers although I don't think they were ever the main target audience for the series. I'm glad that they used a regular villain this time as Mom is a lot of fun and as an established character no time is needed to show the viewer what she is like. Despite the title this is not a Bender centred story although he as a major role, Fry, Leela and the Professor's parts are more important to the story.

This is the third straight-to-DVD film from Matt Groening's second most (if not more) popular show Futurama. Basically prices of fuel of rising, especially for dark matter which is declining, making Prof. Farnsworth (Billy West) to cancel ship travel in case they waste fuel. Leela (Katey Sagal) of course breaks this rule and as a result has to wear a shock collar to control temper tantrums, but later she enjoys the shocks. Meanwhile, Bender feels left out of a game of Dungeons & Dragons because he has no imagination, but when he does he gives himself the new name "Titanius Anglesmith" in the realm of Cornwood, he believes he is a knight, has gone crazy and is put in an institute. Farnsworth finds out that even with the fuel shortage, Mom (Tress MacNeille) is still making a fortune, and the only way to stop her is to get the "anti-backwards" matter next to dark matter, rendering it all useless. It is when Bender shows up that everyone is plunged into his mad medieval world to continue the fight as the mythical characters they have become, with segments spoofing both Dungeons & Dragons, and The Lord of the Rings Trilogy, Fry (also West) is the one who obsesses over the power of the opposite matter, and becomes a Gollum like character. In the end, Mom does manage to get her opposite matter back, only to have Cornwood collapse on itself, Farnsworth hugs his newfound son (with Mom) Igner (also Di Maggio) as they both swallowed the opposite matters, and dark matter is now worthless, meaning they must find new source of fuel. Also starring Billy West as Dr. Zoidberg, Tress MacNeille as Nurse Ratchet, Maurice LaMarche as Morbo and Calculon, Phil LaMarr as Hermes Conrad, Lauren Tom as Amy Wong, Frank Welker as Nibbler, Rich Little and George Takei. It has its moments of action, and there are some good small gags and spoofs, but the story isn't the most engaging, but it is worth watching. Oh by the way, the new fuel is apparently whale oil, according to the next, and possibly last (?) film, Into the Wild Green Yonder. The TV series was number 26 on The 100 Greatest Cartoons. Good!