TheLittleSongbird I do like Babylon 5, and was anticipating yet also was dubious of The Legend of the Rangers. Seeing it for myself, it was left wanting and had a lot of problems for me. However, it was not as bad as I'd heard and feared. Technically it was not bad at all, in fact quite good. The scenery is lit well and are intriguing, the special effects are decent(if not really great) and the photography is not too haphazard. The music is beautiful as well, while the character of G'Kar was fun in a hammy sort of way even if his main role in the movie was to tie the movie with the series. On the other hand, the script is of really banal quality and feels very hackneyed. The story has some great ideas, but never develops them all that well, and a vast majority of the storytelling felt thin and uneven in pace. The characters are not compelling in personality and felt cardboard in how they were written. The Hand especially were not handled very well at all. The acting felt bland, with the exception of that of G'Kar. On the whole, not terrible but it could have been much better. 5/10 Bethany Cox

Faena I think my father summed it up perfectly with the breakfast question about 30 minutes into this film. Both of us were huge B5 fans and had been chomping at the bit ever since we'd heard a new B5 series was in the works, and one that focused on Rangers. You'd think B5 had nowhere left to go but up following the embarrassing Crusade, but that's not the case here. There is a perceptible and curious decline in the quality of JMS's scripts since Season 5 ("Sleeping in Light" withstanding since it was produced during the fourth season): The TV movies beginning with Thirdspace, up to and including A Call to Arms, then Crusade and now this. His dialogue is rough and unpolished, the humor weak and generic -- nothing like the original four seasons which are incredibly sharp and rewatchable; exceptional storytelling. Quite simply, Babylon 5 the series is the best fictitious television series I've ever watched. But it's as if JMS became too comfortable within his own universe, or else burned out. Were it not for the writing credits to identify those responsible, one could mistake Season 5 onward as being helmed by an all new writer or staff; that's how distinct the styles are. The Legend of the Rangers really plays out like something a teenager could have written in study hall. I swear by this time they must have been locking and shooting his first drafts. There's also a problem with the actors here: Dylan Neal and Andreas Katsulas seem to be the only ones capable of subverting the trite material with thoughtful performances. The visual effects are passable for a 2002 telefilm, but what's with the unnecessary makeover for planet Minbar, and the TOTALLY DISTRACTING absence of Epsilon III when we see Babylon 5? Let me throw in a compliment: I actually liked the idea of the (notorious) virtual gunnery port. Notice I said THE IDEA OF.In closing: B5 the series is amazing, however JMS's later excursions into his universe have done nothing but dilute its legacy. The Lost Tales was a marginal improvement over Crusade and Rangers, but still fair game for B5 skeptics who may never give the series a chance after discovering such weak ancillary material.

tom-1382 This film contains some very good dialogue, excellent special effects and a fine performance from the late Andreas Katsulas as G'Kar. However one particular scene in the film lets it all down- the way in which the Liandra fires its weapons in battle. The idea of someone holographically floating in space and punching and kicking to fire weapons is somewhat out of place in an otherwise excellent addition to the Babylon 5 universe.The performance of all the actors in this film is good in my opinion. The film should in my opinion definitely have been made into a series and the only reason it didn't attract large enough audiences was its being shown alongside a very popular and one-off football game, which was the last thing it needed.

siderite I have seen B5 and enjoyed it immensely, this movie has almost no connection to it. It is set in the same universe, but the only recognizable link is G'Kar, played well, as usual, by Andreas Katsulas.The plot looks a lot like the premiere of a spin-off. You have the charismatic captain, the loyal specialized crew, the promise of a dark enemy, all the ingredients that start a sci-fi series. The movie is not bad, but it is certainly not exceptional. I have read a review here that compared this to the original Babylon 5 series which was so much better, brilliant and all that. Come on! Babylon 5 was a good idea, but the lack of funds and experience did provide, along with good scripts and depth in characters, really stupid scenes and dumb fill-the-season episodes. So in comparison, the "Legend of the Rangers", is not so different. Same low budget effects, same geeky humanoid aliens and the stark contrast between "dark" and "light" that annoyed me in Babylon 5 (after such a gray beginning).In conclusion, it is worth a watch for any sci-fi fan, even a Babylon 5 zealot. Oh, I almost forgot: casting the sidekick of Chuck Norris in a movie about rangers? Puh-lease! Some casting people should be shot.