Greenes Please don't spend money on this.

Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.

Verity Robins Great movie. Not sure what people expected but I found it highly entertaining.

Guillelmina The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

El Cine Having watched virtually no "Babylon 5" but willing to check out this series, I made the mistake of assuming I should start with this prequel TV movie, chronologically the "first" story in the series' universe.Turns out the prequel was obviously to provide pre-existing fans with bonus backstory -- so much so that at times, the film simply gives up on making sense as a standalone product.As a framing device, we get a badly-lit emperor narrating historical events to a bratty little noble and his sister. At no point does the film care to explain why half the buildings outside the palace are on fire.The emperor tells the story of Earth's war with aliens called the Minbari. He focuses on the role played by Delenn, a young Minbari leader, and John Sheridan, a human military officer. The war story is the bulk of the movie, until it swerves into left field by thrusting Sheridan and Delenn into a radical context that has nothing to do with the story we've seen up till now. I don't think Delenn and Sheridan ever even met, but suddenly they're shown to be held captive together in parts unknown, not to mention lovers. And again, it's left completely unexplained. I don't think it was the filmmakers' intention to leave me laughing as the end credits rolled.It doesn't help that the film's structure grows crude. The bulk of the film is well-paced, examining the causes of a deadly war and its first few months. At about the 75 minute mark, however, it pulls the rug out from under a plot it's been developing and suddenly compresses 3 years of events into a few minutes. This is done mostly via battle scene overdrive. These battles are the movie's best CGI, but I'm not sure anyone over 19 will be interested in all this carnage, particularly with the clichéd voice-over. There's something perverse about the narrator celebrating courage while we watch a slow-motion stabbing.The film's actual resolution is an anticlimax. I can only guess it contains references to TV canon designed to please the established fan.On the plus side are the costumes and makeup, into which most of the budget seems to have gone with good effect. Poor Andreas Katsulas must have spent hours in the makeup chair, so I'm glad he shines in the role of G'Kar. His reptilian getup is amazing, right down to the scarlet eyes. Theodore Bikel and the too-quickly-dismissed Reiner Schone offer solid support.When Sheridan assumes command during a crisis, the filmmakers make great use of limited resources, using close-ups and rapidly-shifting lights to ratchet up tension. The Grey Council stands out as excellent minimalist work from filmmakers who were limited to cheap sets. The Council sequences are stylishly lit and well-directed -- way more so than that annoying Delenn/Lenonn dialogue with the candle flames passing in front of the lens.

david_g 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.

Sargonarhes 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.

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.