It didn't suck! The world isn't over!

Rating: 8/10 (27 July 2007)

This review was designed so it would be spoiler-free, but sometimes I might give things away out of carelessness, so I'll put the warning just in case. And now to rate a movie that should have been done 15 years ago:
I've listened to non-stop complaining over how the past 5 or so seasons of the Simpsons suck and how this movie will continue along that vein and spell the end for the series. I really hope this movie will shut those people up. Yes, I agree that there is a notable distinction between the current Simpsons and the classic Simpsons we all know and love, but the new episodes are still pretty good (especialy the most recent season - "24 Minutes" and "Homerazzi" were awesome) and better than most of the drivel on prime time television today. Moreover, the Simpsons movie is - surprise, surprise - quite a good movie that at its high points matches the humor and wit of old school Simpsons (although I must emphasize that it doesn't keep up this momentum throughout the movie). In short, I don't think the Simpsons are going to be booed off the stage just yet.
The best parts of the movie are the first 20-30 minutes and the last 10 minutes. Starting with the most epic Itchy and Scratchy cartoon you'll ever see, I guarantee that you'll be laughing heartily during this time, only pausing to suck a sufficient amount of oxygen from the air so you don't collapse. You'll definitely feel the energy, especially if you're in a theater jam packed with Simpsons aficionados (gotta love opening night!).
The humor is light slapstick humor, satire and biting humor, and visual gags very much in the vein of the show itself. The movie gets a bit risqué (although nowhere near as close as Family Guy and its brethren) - you might see a little bit more of Bart than you've ever wanted to see and I recall a rather disturbingly amusing Bambi allusion - but its all done sufficiently tastefully and these scenes are guaranteed to make you laugh (then again, I love Family Guy and American Dad to death, so I might be the wrong person to ask about this). While the jokes are constantly good, however, there are not many jokes that are brilliant enough to be "quotes that you will use for the next 20 years" unlike classic Simpsons. It also could have done more to allude to inside things that happened in the series to keep us old fans happy. Nevertheless, much like classic Simpsons episodes which we've all seen several million times by now, I feel that I could watch this movie several million times and it would still be fresh, although I certainly wouldn't want to try that for $10 a pop. The animation is "in glorious 2-D", which is kinda refreshing since every animated movie seems to be in 3-D nowadays and the animation is very high quality and pleasing to the eye.
Unfortunately, the momentum slows down near the middle when they get to the heart of the plot. The plot itself is meh-ish, and I also feel that the quality of the jokes fell at this point, only picking up near the end. One thing that also kind of slowed down the humor was the promotional trailers for the movie. I wish I could have unseen them, because knowing many of the jokes before they happen is really annoying (even though many of the trailers don't give you the joke in its entirety).
By the end, you might find yourself thinking that you've just watched a very long (4 times as long to be precise), well-animated, $10+ Simpsons episode with a rather epic beginning. In terms of a movie, though, its going to feel kind of short and it might dash your expectations if you're going to place it on a pedestal. On the other hand, if you're one of those prophets of doom I mentioned above, and you're not completely stubborn, you might be compelled to refrain from saying "Worst. Movie. Ever." and save it for something that's deserving like the Transformers movie or something. It's not perfect, but I think most people - even the hardcore fans - will be satisfied with this movie.
Notable Observations: - If you're thinking that every staple character will appear (even in the background), think again. Off the top of my head, I definitely did not see Lionel Hutz (although, I think I remember hearing that his character was retired for some reason), Troy McClure, Ranier Wolfcastle (I guess he was too busy being his real life counter part as the president), Duffman, and worst of all, Sideshow Bob.

Speaking of villains, Mr. Burns pretty much gets no screen time. Although, the two scenes where he does speak are probably the two best scenes in the movie IMO. Some other semi-majorish characters do appear in the film but don't really say anything, like Principal Skinner and Groundskeeper Willie.

Don't miss the credits! I won't say anything, but I'll just not so subtly hint that a special someone has a word for you.