BroadcastChic
Excellent, a Must See
Hadrina
The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful
Sameer Callahan
It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Erica Derrick
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
Animus
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.
butlerd
Having only recently become interested in Babylon 5, I eagerly picked this movie up after watching a few snippets of it on TNT. Although unfamiliar with the characters and storyline of the series, the format of the movie(as a story told by Londo Mollari) helped make it more understandable.Furthermore, I also found the characters and story here to be very engaging and enjoyable. Sheridan(Bruce Boxeleitner) and Delenn(Mira Furlan) were especially well written and acted. Being a hard-core Star Trek fan, I didn't expect to find a science fiction series that could equal(or in some aspects, surpass) it, so I was pleasantly surprised discovering Babylon 5. This movie has encouraged me to take more notice of the series and learn more about the storyline mapped out in this movie.Kudos to the writers and directors. It's a shame that the series is over with. I hope that they eventually release the entire series(especially the third season!) on VHS and/or DVD.
pheede
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.
delenn-11
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.