Babylon 5: The Legend of the Rangers - To Live and Die in Starlight (2002)

I think Babylon 5: River of Souls is probably the weakest of the Babylon 5 spin offs. The idea behind River of Souls is good, but that movie feels unpolished and just not as well put together as all of the others. And yet it is The Legend of the Rangers that has the lowest score on IMDb.I think perhaps people don't like this one because it doesn't do very much. It's really just a film about "events behind the scenes". It is about what happens to one group of Rangers on a mission to escort some diplomats. It doesn't deal with the bigger picture at all really. I think this is just fine though, and although it doesn't deal with the bigger picture it does deal with some of the fundamental philosophical ideas and goals of the Alliance. That is what G'Kar's role is all about here, and as always Andreas Katsulas plays G'Kar brilliantly.In some ways The Legend of the Rangers feels a bit like an episode of Star Trek. It's simply the crew of a ship facing a situation that has developed. They then have to use their combined talents to figure out how to deal with it as best they can. Once again this is not a bad thing.One other aspect I like is the way combat is dealt with. In almost all the space battles I've watched there is usually some shooting and then a pause while the commanders decide what to do next. Then there is some more shooting, often followed by another pause (usually when the shields are down to almost nothing). This is of course completely unrealistic. It's one of the reasons why I think the Borg would have wiped out the federation. You never see the Borg having a conversation about what to do next! In Legend of the Rangers the weapons officer is given complete control of the weapons and she doesn't press buttons or wait for commands from the Captain to fire. Instead she enters a form of virtual reality where she becomes one with the ship. This allows her to use the weapons to attack and defend just as you would use your arms and legs if you were physically fighting someone. It is completely realistic and convincing.Overall The Legend of the Rangers is a really good addition to the Babylon 5 universe and I would encourage the doubters to re-visit it. You just have to approach it with different expectations.

I love Babylon 5. I have seen every episode of the series and the movies as well--so it's obvious that I really care about this show. Heck, I even saw the spin-off series, CRUSADE--that's how much I love the show!! And, in light of this love, it really hurt to watch such a seriously flawed and inferior product as THE LEGEND OF THE RANGERS. I guess that after having written so much that the series creator, writer and executive producer J. Michael Straczynski finally was due for a fall as this is easily the worst of the Babylon pantheon.So why was it so bad? Well, the fundamental idea of a new spin-off series wasn't the problem--this movie could have led to a decent series. However, the characters and writing just weren't up to snuff. Particular problems were a very, very predictable plot through at least the first half in which time and again I found myself guessing exactly what would happen next. In fact, my wife and I were both very accurately telling what would happen next because it all seemed so unoriginal and clichéd. Fortunately, it did improve later and I did like the escape pod sequences. In addition, the weapons officer and her gimmicky way of fighting was just embarrassingly bad and silly. She was completely one-dimensional and the fighting sequences made me cringe--they were THAT bad.So what you have left wasn't without some merit and I guess it is a passable 90 minutes of entertainment--but just barely. My advice is that if you are a Babylon 5 geek (like me), then by all means watch it. Otherwise--skip it and watch the series.By the way--take a look at all the ratings for this film. Like many popular sci-fi TV shows or movies (such as Star Trek or Star Wars), there are a small number of mindless zombies who declare that EVERY episode and EVERY movie is an artistic masterpiece--giving ALL OF THEM 10s!!! Now if you liked this movie, I have no argument with you. But, to take an obviously flawed movie that is clearly inferior to the previous series and films and STILL give it a 10 is just ludicrous. These zombies, I assume, are like cult members who CANNOT objectively rate anything from the series and think by giving EVERYTHING a 10 that they are somehow "helping" the show or being loyal. I am sure my harsh words will draw many "not helpful" ratings, but I don't care--the casual viewer needs to know that some reviews can't be trusted.

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.

OK this film was created as a pilot but that does not give it an excuse!!! OK as a bit of sci-fi it was not that bad if you pay no attention to the B5 series. The major problem i had with this was the ships,anyone who has seen the series would know that the WHITESTAR's were the ultimate ship so why did the rangers not have them? They were created for the alliance and the rangers were the special ops of the alliance! It was nice to see G'Kar back at his best. I think the film would have a better reception if they had gone ahead with the show and people would look back with a better understanding but thats TV for you.Now for a bit of intelligent thought! If you want to make a new B5 series or film you have the perfect opening in the first shadow war,even if you want to be lame stick in a time warp (whoops they did that) and have some B5 regular turn up (maybe delenn as that would be cool with sinclair). But all in all this film was a bit of an insult to the B5 name that for once showed the American TV exec's that people will watch a programme with a story arc and do not need the throw away things such as (ready for the grinding of teeth) star trek next generation (DS9 was better).