The Veronica Mars movie is unique in more ways than one. Following the cancellation of the cult American TV show, the film funded via-Kickstarter – 91,585 devout fans contributed $5.7 million to ensure their favourite series got its shot on the big screen. Released in cinemas and on VOD, the film acts as a barometer of how successful fan-ordered-and-determined media can be – and if it has any merit beyond sheer pandering. As it turns out, the answers to those questions are “incredibly” and “not really, but it doesn’t matter.

”Essentially a three-part reunion episode, Veronica Mars’ opening sequence provides a summation of three series’ worth of plot and character entanglement, introducing neophytes to the titular gumshoe prodigy (Kristen Bell, sassy and vulnerable), on the brink of nabbing a job at a top New York law firm. When an old classmate is murdered and her ex-boyfriend Logan (Jason Dohring) implicated, she returns home to Neptune, California and finds old habits die as hard as her acquaintances do easily.The high-school reunion conceit is clever, allowing for the legitimate return of beloved characters. There are also witty jokes and layers of fan-massaging references, including a shout-out to Kickstarter itself and the show’s proposed spin-offs. As a stand-alone film however, the B-movie mystery narrative proves weak and the chemistry behind romances, feuds and friendships remains unseen, the writers lazily deferring to the audience’s knowledge of the characters’ history.

It matters little. As an exercise, this is merely an encore, an excuse for the cast to return to the stage, play an indulgent version of their greatest hits, and enjoy the rapturous applause. It’s for the fans, and they’ll love it.