37 reviews
The only good B5 movie so far. But boy, it sure is good.
- Kefka_8203
- Mar 16, 2006
- Permalink
Fine telemovie that should be watched by all fans of the series.
Before watching In the Beginning I had only ever heard of Babylon 5 in passing. I knew it was well respected amongst its fans and had earned critical acclaim. After watching this film I became an avid fan of the series. In the Beginning tells the tale of the Earth/Minbari war, Earth was on the rise as an interstellar power and filled with confidence after defeating the Dilgar. Many races were courting Earth's favour, in particular the Centauri, a former power in the cosmos now in the twilight of its Empire. The tale is told in retrospect by Londo Mollari (Peter Jurasik), then just a lowly liason to the Earth government, but now an aging and sad Emperor. Through his narration you get a sense of the importance of the events surrounding the war and the consequences for all life in the universe as a result of it.
The special effects are of good quality, on par with the series but not of the same quality you'd find in a cinema release. Some of the scenes have been recycled from the first season of Babylon 5 (particularly those shots involving the Battle of the Line and Michael O'Hare) but coupled with Peter Jurasik's voice over they prove to be very effective in portraying the relentlessness of the Minbari and the courage of the humans in the face of destruction.
Despite the conspicuous absence of Micheal Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), all of the series regulars make an appearance. It was interesting to see a young looking John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) in his much talked about battles with the Minbari and the events surrounding Delenn's (Mira Furlan) proclamation of war against the humans after the death of the Minbari leader Dukhat. However, it must be said that the star of the film is Londo Mollari. Anyone familiar with the regular series will appreciate Peter Jurasik's performance and his subtle references to the mistakes he made in the past.
In the Beginning can be watched by anyone. I came to it with no knowledge of the regular series and enjoyed myself immensely. It tells a stirring story of heroism, courage in the face of overwhelming odds and hope for the future. Those fans of the series that haven't seen it yet will no doubt come away with a greater appreciation for Babylon 5. It fills in a lot of the history surrounding the Earth/Minbari war and has a great ending that links in directly to the double episode War Without End from the third season of B5 (it my confuse those not familiar with the series though). That said, those interested in good sci-fi would do well to see this telemovie as it shows what can be done with good writing, wonderful acting and good special effects. The best of the Babylon 5 telemovies.
The special effects are of good quality, on par with the series but not of the same quality you'd find in a cinema release. Some of the scenes have been recycled from the first season of Babylon 5 (particularly those shots involving the Battle of the Line and Michael O'Hare) but coupled with Peter Jurasik's voice over they prove to be very effective in portraying the relentlessness of the Minbari and the courage of the humans in the face of destruction.
Despite the conspicuous absence of Micheal Garibaldi (Jerry Doyle), all of the series regulars make an appearance. It was interesting to see a young looking John Sheridan (Bruce Boxleitner) in his much talked about battles with the Minbari and the events surrounding Delenn's (Mira Furlan) proclamation of war against the humans after the death of the Minbari leader Dukhat. However, it must be said that the star of the film is Londo Mollari. Anyone familiar with the regular series will appreciate Peter Jurasik's performance and his subtle references to the mistakes he made in the past.
In the Beginning can be watched by anyone. I came to it with no knowledge of the regular series and enjoyed myself immensely. It tells a stirring story of heroism, courage in the face of overwhelming odds and hope for the future. Those fans of the series that haven't seen it yet will no doubt come away with a greater appreciation for Babylon 5. It fills in a lot of the history surrounding the Earth/Minbari war and has a great ending that links in directly to the double episode War Without End from the third season of B5 (it my confuse those not familiar with the series though). That said, those interested in good sci-fi would do well to see this telemovie as it shows what can be done with good writing, wonderful acting and good special effects. The best of the Babylon 5 telemovies.
How to watch the B5 movies
A good movie that adds important detail missing from the series
As with most TV movies that are effectively a story arc, "In the Beginning" is only attractive to fans of the series. But for these people, this movie adds critical background information only hinted at in the series, and as well, casts one of the significant characters of the show into a different light. Now we can see a little of why the first four Babylon stations were destroyed, and how Sinclair and then Sheridan were fated to be the keystones in the development of Earth-Mimbari relations.
Finally the linked histories of Delenn, Sincliar and Sheridan that are alluded to throughout the series are explained, revealing some of the deep background created by J. Michael Straczynski that helped add to the series strength. The acting is well crafted, highlighting the depth of skills in their craft of the major cast. What I found particularly intriguing was the manner in which Straczynski rounded out the character of Llando by having him slightly distort the historical events covered in the series (only apparent to someone who had paid particular attention to the original TV screening).
Finally the linked histories of Delenn, Sincliar and Sheridan that are alluded to throughout the series are explained, revealing some of the deep background created by J. Michael Straczynski that helped add to the series strength. The acting is well crafted, highlighting the depth of skills in their craft of the major cast. What I found particularly intriguing was the manner in which Straczynski rounded out the character of Llando by having him slightly distort the historical events covered in the series (only apparent to someone who had paid particular attention to the original TV screening).
Essential viewing for fans of the TV series, but still enjoyable for those who haven't seen Babylon 5 before.
All stories have a beginning. The five year TV tale of Babylon 5 did not however begin with the first episode. This story told in semi-autobiographical form by one of the TV series' main characters sets the scene for what would become the TV series storyline. Babylon 5 has consistently shown what can be done in the science-fiction area with intelligent writing, a good cast, and a decent budget for special effects. This is no exception, the acting is its usual standard - with particular mention to Peter Jurasik, always excellent entertainment in the form of Londo Mollari. The effects are of the same standard as the TV series, still the benchmark of computer animation for the small screen.
Most of the principals of the TV series are there - although some are reduced to almost cameos. The plot line is somewhat disjointed, but that's offset by the way it is told by Jurasik's Londo Mollari. The individual scenes are just long enough in most cases to carry the plot and allow the actors scope, while still making sure that those who watched the series find out the pasts of all the characters, although Garibaldi is conspicous by his absense.
For those who want a rollicking good tale of heroism, triumph, tragedy, humour and big explosions, then this is a movie for you.
Most of the principals of the TV series are there - although some are reduced to almost cameos. The plot line is somewhat disjointed, but that's offset by the way it is told by Jurasik's Londo Mollari. The individual scenes are just long enough in most cases to carry the plot and allow the actors scope, while still making sure that those who watched the series find out the pasts of all the characters, although Garibaldi is conspicous by his absense.
For those who want a rollicking good tale of heroism, triumph, tragedy, humour and big explosions, then this is a movie for you.
Goosebumps!
I was a fan of Babylon 5 as a kid, but I didn't remember the story before seeing this movie. However, seeing this brought out a whole lot of goosebumps. Not because I am the greatest fan, but because of the amazing acting and setting in some of the scenes
Without doubt the movie that has brought me closest to crying in a whole lot of years.
An absolute recommendation goes out to all! But be bewared: It will be tempting as hell to join the wagon and see the series :D
If you are already a fan of the series, you have no choice. An absolute must-see for fans, and a "should see it anyways" for all others!
Without doubt the movie that has brought me closest to crying in a whole lot of years.
An absolute recommendation goes out to all! But be bewared: It will be tempting as hell to join the wagon and see the series :D
If you are already a fan of the series, you have no choice. An absolute must-see for fans, and a "should see it anyways" for all others!
Wow, it doesn't get any better than this.
This B5 movie was AMAZING. It fit together all the complex plot lines of the series, answered many questions, and still left open some uncertainties. It does have some cute kids which usually kills a movie, but they are not plot devices but instead a way to segue to more important things. If you kept up with the entire series, by the end of the movie you know exactly where the movie is chronologically, and you know the tragedy that is about to unfold. Thankfully the movie doesn't cover it, because as the emperor of Centauri said, "That is another story, for another time". Great acting by everyone.
An interesting tidbit about one of the alternate language tracks is if you turn on the German language dubbing, Reiner Schone, who plays Dukhat does his own dubbing because he's from Germany.
This is a must-have movie for a B5 fan, Its the best of the bunch.
An interesting tidbit about one of the alternate language tracks is if you turn on the German language dubbing, Reiner Schone, who plays Dukhat does his own dubbing because he's from Germany.
This is a must-have movie for a B5 fan, Its the best of the bunch.
- savagesteve13
- Jun 30, 2008
- Permalink
EXCELLENT made for TV Sci-Fi movie
"In the Beginning" is a mark of brilliance...a perfect made for TV movie for the Babylon 5 series. It is the best of the B5 movies with the second being the pilot episode.
ITB chronicles the genesis of the Earth Minbari war which was a holy war started by misunderstanding between Humans and a powerful alien race called the Minbari. In the struggle, a huge chunk of humanity is killed as the Minbari march towards Earth, destroying human colonies on the way.
Since this movie comes near the end of the 3rd season and out of chronological order, it answers many unanswered questions that B5 watchers would expect to be answered from the 1st Season onwards.
On its own, the story is PERFECT. There is plenty of CGI war scenes, plenty of dramatized war scenes and plenty of intrigue. A perfect reason to bother getting into the series itself if you weren't a fan.
ITB chronicles the genesis of the Earth Minbari war which was a holy war started by misunderstanding between Humans and a powerful alien race called the Minbari. In the struggle, a huge chunk of humanity is killed as the Minbari march towards Earth, destroying human colonies on the way.
Since this movie comes near the end of the 3rd season and out of chronological order, it answers many unanswered questions that B5 watchers would expect to be answered from the 1st Season onwards.
On its own, the story is PERFECT. There is plenty of CGI war scenes, plenty of dramatized war scenes and plenty of intrigue. A perfect reason to bother getting into the series itself if you weren't a fan.
A "must see" for fans of the series, probably NOT all that watchable to others
I adore BABYLON 5. It's my all-time favorite sci-fi series because unlike any other show, it is almost like one huge movie--where almost all the episodes connect into one large and captivating tapestry. This made for TV movie is meant to fill in the gaps for die-hard fans, as it goes back in time BEFORE the series opener to explain a lot of the back story. People who have seen all the prior episodes will probably not be all that surprised by the events of the film, as you've already heard and seen bits and pieces. More importantly, you already know the outcome of the Earth-Minbari war as well as WHY the whole conflict was just "called off". However, for someone who hasn't seen the show before or isn't a huge sci-fi fan, I could also see that they could find the film pretty dull--especially since the first 20 minutes or so is filled with so much talking and no action. So who is the movie for? Well, die-hard lovers of the show and those who like the show but haven't seen most of the episodes of seasons 1-4. Intesesting, well acted and written, yes, but nothing compelling enough to merit making the film in the first place.
- planktonrules
- Jan 14, 2007
- Permalink
The greatest story in the Babylon 5 series.
And so it begins... "In The Beginning" is quite simply the one of the best movies ever filmed. As part of the Babylon 5 series it is technically superfluous, since everything depicted in the movie is spoken of in various episodes during the series. However, simply hearing about what happened is nothing compared to seeing the events portrayed so powerfully. The cast and writer (JMS) bring us the story in all it's beauty and all its horror, from the simple mistakes that caused the war right up to the eve of humanity's destruction and everything in between. If you have never watched Babylon 5, this is the perfect place to start. If you do not wish to see Babylon 5 you should still watch this movie because to ignore it simply because of its roots is to deny yourself the experience of seeing some of the finest performances ever put on film. If the final 20 minutes does not stir your soul, then nothing ever will.
Fine for the fan, dull for the newcomer.
While Babylon 5: In The Beginning is a watchable movie for a fan of the series (as I am) I would never recommend it to someone who has never seen the series on TV. The story gives great background information for a large amount of the episodes in the series, but is largely aimed at someone who already knows a lot of the references. A somewhat disappointing 7 of 10.
A love story to the fans
Can you imagine one of your favourite TV shows producing a film about a past event of the show that is crucial to the series plot? This is about a past war by series time and I watched it as a fan already. It felt like a love letter to the fans and I was as excited watching this as I have ever been watching anything. If you are a fan of the series, this will give you goosebumps. If not, then I have no idea.
- olliedownes
- Jun 11, 2020
- Permalink
The best B5 movie so far
I'll make this a short one. This is an entertaining movie for regular B5 fans. I wouldn't say it's a *must see* though. And to people who have never seen a B5 tv episode, it might seem a tad dull. But I personally loved this movie. It was nice to see the early storyline opened out. It was nice to see the early days of Sheridan, Delenn, Franklin, Gkar, Londo.... and of course Jeffrey Sinclair <grin>. If you're a B5 fan - rent/buy it now, I don't think you'll be disappointed.
Good fun
I actually cried, Can you beleive it? This film was so good, it touched me. That part where Londo is talking about loving Centauri Prime, and then it goes back to the war, showing the little shelter full of crying humans, powerful stuff. Mira Furlan and Bruce Boxlietner played their roles to perfection. And I have never seen Peter Jurasik perform better, and I've seen a lot of his stuff. Simply put, this film should have won an Emmy. It was incredible.
A superb prequel which ties together the events of the series very effectively
The Best
This is one of the best movies I have ever seen! I wish I could have seen this on a large screen. The story is more or less the true beginning of the Babylon 5 saga, and we get to see the events that started it all. The Earth/Minbari War, the battle of the Line, and the death of Minbari's greatest leader Dukhat. A must see for the Babylon 5 fan. And anyone that hasn't seen Babylon 5 should see this for their lack of vision.
- Sargonarhes
- Jul 13, 2001
- Permalink
Brilliant expose on basic stupidity
And we are not talking simply the humans here, although the Terran military meatheads depicted in this TNT-made "movie" are your standard idiots.
This "film" actually begins at the end of the entire series, when Londo is an old emperor.
This is supposed to be 20 years after the events of season five of Babylon 5, 20 years after the events of S05E18: "The fall of Centauri prime".
The only question I have ever asked about this particular scene, and there is also a scene from the same time. In "war without end part 2", is why is the capital city of Centauri prime still burning after 20 years? It was burning in war without end, and it is burning here, in this film.
But we know from Babylon five canon that there really wasn't any continued conflict past the events from "the fall of Centauri prime".
So we have an immediate mystery, maybe some aspect of the Centauri capital city allows for perpetual fire. Kind of like in Game of Thrones when they blew up Kings Landing with that green stuff, and then later it was burned up again with Drogon, Emilia Clarke going mad on his back. Earthforce certainly could have used her...
But, there are dragons here, at least there are Drakh, aliens, former servants of the shadows. Which have dragon scales that also become pieces of themselves that they can use to take over minds of guys like Londo.
But none of that is really gone into in this film: basically this film shows us exactly why the war with Minbar was started.
We have two things happening at the same time: we have Vorlons secretly meeting with Gul Dukat... excuse me, I mean Dukhat, with the purpose of figuring out how to get the humans to join in the fun when the shadow wars begin again.
But then we have these military meatheads on earth who think they are hot poo on a SilverPlatter because they beat the tar out of some race called the Dilberts. Excuse me, I mean the Dilgar. And these same military meatheads think that the Minbari will not pose any kind of worse threat. Wrong. So, they assign the job of first contact to an Earthforce captain with itchy trigger fingers.
But wait! It's not merely stupid humans that are going to go where they should not go and try to interact with a race they know nothing about, thinking that they can blow them up, no problem... there are also stupid people on the gray council of Minbar.
And so there is not even an opportunity to stop this from going Fubar, it appears that the humans and the Minbari are destined for idiocy.
Peppered into this movie or scenes from the first season episode "and the sky is full of stars", which shows what happened during the 24 hours of Jeffrey Sinclair's "hole in his mind".
But it also goes a lot farther in explaining the mythology of Babylon five.
There is clever use of archived footage, mixed in with new footage which expands on the things that we have already seen.
There are also cameos from some of the Babylon 5 regulars, we get to see Susan Ivanova before she joins earthforce and we get to meet her brother.
This was the first made by TNT Babylon five "movie", I was pleasantly surprised with the quality when I saw it.
It has been difficult to find high definition versions of this, because mostly these movies were released as a six DVD set. It is only within the last few years that they have processed these movies for high definition streaming on on places like Amazon prime, but this film and the show are no longer available there, I believe they moved over to Netflix.
Regardless of the difficulty in finding high definition copies of this, this movie is a highly recommended documentary on basic stupidity and bad luck. And maybe we can learn how to avoid bad luck by watching this.
This "film" actually begins at the end of the entire series, when Londo is an old emperor.
This is supposed to be 20 years after the events of season five of Babylon 5, 20 years after the events of S05E18: "The fall of Centauri prime".
The only question I have ever asked about this particular scene, and there is also a scene from the same time. In "war without end part 2", is why is the capital city of Centauri prime still burning after 20 years? It was burning in war without end, and it is burning here, in this film.
But we know from Babylon five canon that there really wasn't any continued conflict past the events from "the fall of Centauri prime".
So we have an immediate mystery, maybe some aspect of the Centauri capital city allows for perpetual fire. Kind of like in Game of Thrones when they blew up Kings Landing with that green stuff, and then later it was burned up again with Drogon, Emilia Clarke going mad on his back. Earthforce certainly could have used her...
But, there are dragons here, at least there are Drakh, aliens, former servants of the shadows. Which have dragon scales that also become pieces of themselves that they can use to take over minds of guys like Londo.
But none of that is really gone into in this film: basically this film shows us exactly why the war with Minbar was started.
We have two things happening at the same time: we have Vorlons secretly meeting with Gul Dukat... excuse me, I mean Dukhat, with the purpose of figuring out how to get the humans to join in the fun when the shadow wars begin again.
But then we have these military meatheads on earth who think they are hot poo on a SilverPlatter because they beat the tar out of some race called the Dilberts. Excuse me, I mean the Dilgar. And these same military meatheads think that the Minbari will not pose any kind of worse threat. Wrong. So, they assign the job of first contact to an Earthforce captain with itchy trigger fingers.
But wait! It's not merely stupid humans that are going to go where they should not go and try to interact with a race they know nothing about, thinking that they can blow them up, no problem... there are also stupid people on the gray council of Minbar.
And so there is not even an opportunity to stop this from going Fubar, it appears that the humans and the Minbari are destined for idiocy.
Peppered into this movie or scenes from the first season episode "and the sky is full of stars", which shows what happened during the 24 hours of Jeffrey Sinclair's "hole in his mind".
But it also goes a lot farther in explaining the mythology of Babylon five.
There is clever use of archived footage, mixed in with new footage which expands on the things that we have already seen.
There are also cameos from some of the Babylon 5 regulars, we get to see Susan Ivanova before she joins earthforce and we get to meet her brother.
This was the first made by TNT Babylon five "movie", I was pleasantly surprised with the quality when I saw it.
It has been difficult to find high definition versions of this, because mostly these movies were released as a six DVD set. It is only within the last few years that they have processed these movies for high definition streaming on on places like Amazon prime, but this film and the show are no longer available there, I believe they moved over to Netflix.
Regardless of the difficulty in finding high definition copies of this, this movie is a highly recommended documentary on basic stupidity and bad luck. And maybe we can learn how to avoid bad luck by watching this.
Perhaps the best Sci-Fi movie for TV ever made.
This is a must see movie for all those who call themselves a fan of Babylon 5. This is how it all starts. The reason of the Human-Minbari war, and why the Babylon stations were built. There are a lot of questions that is not answered in the B5 series, but you get a lot of answers by watching this spectacular movie. One of the best Sci-Fi movies for TV ever made.
side project and recap
Emperor Mollari recounts the story of the Earth-Minbari War and his guilt over his contribution to a couple of kids. This TV movie was aired before the fifth and last season of the show. It's a prequel and quite frankly, most of the story has already been told before. I do question the new Mollari story. They need to make that more a central point of the movie. Maybe he was fixated on assassinating G'Kar and the incident is just the culmination of that. As for the war, there is lots of action, lots of talking, but little that is truly new. This is a side project and it's fine as a recap for the show.
- SnoopyStyle
- Jul 30, 2024
- Permalink
A superb movie for Die-Hard fans of Babylon 5
Personally I loved "In the beginning" but I know the series off-by-heart, therefore I was able to see how important a part of the series this film was and pick up on all the clever bits in the movie that one-off watchers wouldn't pick up on.
It's not my favourite movie as generally I feel "A call to arms" was more important and more in tune for all fans of the show. But as a part of the arc and probably even for performances this one if fantastic. Mira Furlan is absolutely magnificent and you can't help but think her lack of presence in the other movies is a bad thing for them.
Very good.
It's not my favourite movie as generally I feel "A call to arms" was more important and more in tune for all fans of the show. But as a part of the arc and probably even for performances this one if fantastic. Mira Furlan is absolutely magnificent and you can't help but think her lack of presence in the other movies is a bad thing for them.
Very good.
Best of the B5 movies
The first season of Babylon 5 somewhat revolved around the Earth-Minbari war, in which the human race was on the verge of extinction when the Mibari surrendered for reasons that were not yet know at the time. This 90-minute film successfully portrayed the events leading up to the greatest war in human history. For those who are new to the B5 universe, the movie starts in the devastated world of Centauri Prime, where Emperor Londo Molari (wonderfully played by Peter Jurasik) explains to two children the events leading and during that war. The story focusses on how Earth was expanding on all areas when they head an expedition into alien space. The film shows the arrogance at the time: "My people can handle this. We took care of the Dilgar." Unfortunately, due to a miscommunication, Earth ships start a holy war with the death of Minbari leader Dukhat. For B5 fans, the movie covers certain episodes and familiar characters. We see John Sheridan as a brash young commander with a buzz cut. We see Delenn before she had hair. We also see Claudia Christian pass herself off as a teenage in this film. The best performances came from Boxleitner as Sheridan, Mira Fulan as Delenn, and especially Peter Jurasik as Londo. The special effects were terrific as the dreaded Battle of the Line is re-enacted. I was moved as Londo grievely explains the progress of the war as people die and hope seemed loss. It is the best of the Babylon 5 films.
What a way to start it all
Although this movie came a long time after the series premiere, it was actually the first piece of B-5 I saw. It's a great movie on it's own, and a perfect way to start the whole series, because you get all the background info.
The movie revolves around the Earth-Minbari wars, a war erupting when a captain from an earth-warship reacts to a Minbari greeting in a hostile way, resulting in the death of several hundreds of thousands of Earthlings. And that's all you need to know, the rest will show itself when you watch the movie.
The action is great, special effect OK (they were never great, sad to say) and the acting first-class! So go see this movie, and then follow up with probably the second-best Sci-Fi series EVER (after Enterprise of course...:))
The movie revolves around the Earth-Minbari wars, a war erupting when a captain from an earth-warship reacts to a Minbari greeting in a hostile way, resulting in the death of several hundreds of thousands of Earthlings. And that's all you need to know, the rest will show itself when you watch the movie.
The action is great, special effect OK (they were never great, sad to say) and the acting first-class! So go see this movie, and then follow up with probably the second-best Sci-Fi series EVER (after Enterprise of course...:))
A moving, epic prequel to Babylon 5
In the Beginning is a brilliant film. The story is told through the framing device of an aging Londo Mollari telling a story to some Centauri children, a story of the events that led up to the creation of the Babylon 5 station.
Wow, J. Michael Straczynski is a genius. The way he weaves together plot lines, foreshadows seasons in advance and then follows up in the most stunning way later, it's astonishing. I found the fact that everything was linked, the chain reaction of events that set everything in motion, and the show's characters' involvement in said events to be, simply, brilliant. It is a love letter to the Babylon 5 fans who invested themselves in the four seasons that had been made up to this point, telling them that their investment was well worth it. The sheer satisfaction of seeing those plots unfold is well worth it. This film left nothing hanging, and it shed light on everything that had happened in the series up to that point, pretty much.
In the Beginning succeeds where other prequels have failed; take for example the Star Wars prequel films; they sucked for a variety of reasons, but one of the main ones was that you already knew what would happen -- you knew Anakin would become Vader, that Palpatine was Sidious, and everything that was supposed to be shocking wasn't. This movie, however, enlightens the viewer in regards to things they didn't know yet -- mysteries that had not been revealed, plots left unresolved -- in a way that is satisfying. It ties into the series perfectly, integrating flashbacks and events from the series into the plot of the movie in a seamless manner. This, in short, is how you make a prequel.
Now, to review this film from an objective view point, and not from that of a fan: the writing was excellent, per expectation for JMS. The dialogue was great; the president's speech before the battle of the line moved me almost to tears, as did humanity's response, how they all opted to fight for their people despite the looming defeat that would almost assuredly befall them. The acting, too, was phenomenal. Mira Furlan as Delenn, I think, stood out the most to me; you felt for her as her mentor was slaughtered by the humans and she made a decision she came to regret. You felt for her as she saw the result of her actions, the endless slaughter of the humans, brought on by her. The toll the war took on her soul was apparent here, and Furlan portrayed it brilliantly. Also, of course, Peter Jurasik kills it as Londo, as always, and, in particular, one scene stands out: he says to the mother of the children to whom he told the story that he would wish only to walk with her on a beach for five minutes, and how he has moved so high up, yet asks for so little. That scene perfectly captures what I would imagine the life of a leader to be; you've been appointed to the highest position imaginable, the pinnacle of jobs; you have wealth, power, and you can exert your influence in any imaginable way, yet you long for your old life; you long for a simpler time, for simpler things. Londo's character here is a moving portrait of a leader with all the power in the world and no choices.
Overall, In the Beginning is a nearly flawless film that sets into motion the events of the series in the best of ways. It was one of the best installments in the Babylon 5 universe, and the best prequel film of all time.
Wow, J. Michael Straczynski is a genius. The way he weaves together plot lines, foreshadows seasons in advance and then follows up in the most stunning way later, it's astonishing. I found the fact that everything was linked, the chain reaction of events that set everything in motion, and the show's characters' involvement in said events to be, simply, brilliant. It is a love letter to the Babylon 5 fans who invested themselves in the four seasons that had been made up to this point, telling them that their investment was well worth it. The sheer satisfaction of seeing those plots unfold is well worth it. This film left nothing hanging, and it shed light on everything that had happened in the series up to that point, pretty much.
In the Beginning succeeds where other prequels have failed; take for example the Star Wars prequel films; they sucked for a variety of reasons, but one of the main ones was that you already knew what would happen -- you knew Anakin would become Vader, that Palpatine was Sidious, and everything that was supposed to be shocking wasn't. This movie, however, enlightens the viewer in regards to things they didn't know yet -- mysteries that had not been revealed, plots left unresolved -- in a way that is satisfying. It ties into the series perfectly, integrating flashbacks and events from the series into the plot of the movie in a seamless manner. This, in short, is how you make a prequel.
Now, to review this film from an objective view point, and not from that of a fan: the writing was excellent, per expectation for JMS. The dialogue was great; the president's speech before the battle of the line moved me almost to tears, as did humanity's response, how they all opted to fight for their people despite the looming defeat that would almost assuredly befall them. The acting, too, was phenomenal. Mira Furlan as Delenn, I think, stood out the most to me; you felt for her as her mentor was slaughtered by the humans and she made a decision she came to regret. You felt for her as she saw the result of her actions, the endless slaughter of the humans, brought on by her. The toll the war took on her soul was apparent here, and Furlan portrayed it brilliantly. Also, of course, Peter Jurasik kills it as Londo, as always, and, in particular, one scene stands out: he says to the mother of the children to whom he told the story that he would wish only to walk with her on a beach for five minutes, and how he has moved so high up, yet asks for so little. That scene perfectly captures what I would imagine the life of a leader to be; you've been appointed to the highest position imaginable, the pinnacle of jobs; you have wealth, power, and you can exert your influence in any imaginable way, yet you long for your old life; you long for a simpler time, for simpler things. Londo's character here is a moving portrait of a leader with all the power in the world and no choices.
Overall, In the Beginning is a nearly flawless film that sets into motion the events of the series in the best of ways. It was one of the best installments in the Babylon 5 universe, and the best prequel film of all time.
- InfiniteJesterII
- Nov 8, 2022
- Permalink
The DVD release of the movie
I am looking forward to watching the movie on DVD! I think it's great that such a wonderful series as Babylon 5 is finally being released on DVD. I hope that the entire series is being released later on.
As for the storyline of the movie I liked extremely much. It is a great introduction to a fantastic series. I have personally shown it to many of my friends who were curious about Babylon 5 and they have all been hooked on the show after watching the movie.
In the summer of 1998 I was so lucky as to view it in a cinema in London, England. It was a great experience! Before the movie started Bruce Boxleitner (Sheridan) and Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi) came on stage and talked about it.
As for the storyline of the movie I liked extremely much. It is a great introduction to a fantastic series. I have personally shown it to many of my friends who were curious about Babylon 5 and they have all been hooked on the show after watching the movie.
In the summer of 1998 I was so lucky as to view it in a cinema in London, England. It was a great experience! Before the movie started Bruce Boxleitner (Sheridan) and Jerry Doyle (Garibaldi) came on stage and talked about it.
Brilliant final chapter in the Babylon 5 story
Whereas Babylon 5: A Call To Arms is the beginning of a new adventure in the Babylon 5 universe, Babylon 5: In the Beginning actually completes the epic story that is introduced to us in Babylon 5: The Gathering and then continued by the television series.
Babylon 5: In the Beginning describes the events leading up to the Earth-Minbari war in context with everything we have seen in the TV show. For those of you that don't know, the Earth-Minbari war happened 10 years before the start of the time line of the show. The TV series then proceeds to tell the story of Babylon 5 year by year from then on.
Babylon 5: In the Beginning has a fantastic story, and it introduces us to one or two wonderful new characters. It is brilliantly put together, but just like Serenity (The Firefly movie), Babylon 5: In the Beginning makes much more sense, and is much better, if you watch it after watching the TV show. I suspect that is why it has such a relatively low score here on IMDb; perhaps many viewers had not watched the TV series first.
In the Beginning also contains spoilers for the TV series. Delenn, Sheridan and G'Kar's characters, for example, are very much in keeping with the characters as we know them towards the end of the TV series, not as they are in the first two seasons. You could argue this is a negative point but it falls within the scope of artistic license, and it is hard to imagine how it can have been done any other way. So I think you really need to have at least watched the first four seasons of Babylon 5 before watching In the Beginning, although personally I'd recommend watching everything from the TV show before watching this (don't forget to start with Babylon 5: The Gathering).
Babylon 5: In the Beginning describes the events leading up to the Earth-Minbari war in context with everything we have seen in the TV show. For those of you that don't know, the Earth-Minbari war happened 10 years before the start of the time line of the show. The TV series then proceeds to tell the story of Babylon 5 year by year from then on.
Babylon 5: In the Beginning has a fantastic story, and it introduces us to one or two wonderful new characters. It is brilliantly put together, but just like Serenity (The Firefly movie), Babylon 5: In the Beginning makes much more sense, and is much better, if you watch it after watching the TV show. I suspect that is why it has such a relatively low score here on IMDb; perhaps many viewers had not watched the TV series first.
In the Beginning also contains spoilers for the TV series. Delenn, Sheridan and G'Kar's characters, for example, are very much in keeping with the characters as we know them towards the end of the TV series, not as they are in the first two seasons. You could argue this is a negative point but it falls within the scope of artistic license, and it is hard to imagine how it can have been done any other way. So I think you really need to have at least watched the first four seasons of Babylon 5 before watching In the Beginning, although personally I'd recommend watching everything from the TV show before watching this (don't forget to start with Babylon 5: The Gathering).