Hello and welcome to Ryan’s Movie Reviews! As a heads up, this review will contain spoilers for season 1 of Final Space.

Now, I know what you’re thinking. ‘Last week he said he was going to review a classic sci-fi movie but he’s reviewed some random other thing.’ You’re not wrong. But, it’s not random, it’s sci-fi and it’s awesome. My friend Nick recommended it to me and at first, I was a little reluctant to watch Final Space. I even called it a Rick and Morty rip-off. I couldn’t be further from the truth.

Created by Olan Rogers (who also voices Gary Goodspeed), Final Space is the story of Gary Goodspeed, a man who is kept prisoner for 5 years in space on a spaceship called the Galaxy 1. Onboard the ship is KVN (pronounced Kevin), an irritable robot, the SAMEs, a bunch of duplicate robot servants and HUE, the AI system. While out in the galaxy somewhere, Gary meets Mooncake, an adorable but planet-destroying alien. Gary is soon wanted by the Lord Commander, who is hunting down Mooncake. Along the way, Gary and Mooncake meet friends like Avocato, Little Cato and Quinn, who all team up to stop the Lord Commander from kidnapping Mooncake and using him as a weapon to open up Final Space.

Final Space was such good fun to watch, and the best part of the series was the characters. Admittedly, there were characters that I didn’t like. KVN and Tribore were just so annoying, and Tribore basically did nothing. It’s Gary who is one of the best characters and steals the show. He’s so funny and awesome that makes him such a great character. The best thing about Gary’s character is how whatever Gary says is said in a way that will have you bursting out in laughter. He’s basically a funnier, blonde, animated version of Chris Pratt’s Star-Lord. Mooncake is an adorable alien who only says ‘chookity’, ‘pok’ and ‘woo’ (no he’s not a woo girl) but he’s also a planet-destroying being who is undeniably badass. I love Mooncake, and he’s the joint best character on Final Space, joint first with Gary. In joint second place for the best character in Final Space is Avocato and Little Cato. Despite the fact that I thought it was Avocado and Little Cado until I turned on the subtitles, this father-son duo was fantastic to watch on screen. More on them later as it’s a spoiler. Quinn is a good character, but she was a bit dry, and she was lacking in some areas. HUE was one of my favourite characters too, as for an AI he was very intelligent and witty. The SAMEs were also great characters who made me laugh a few times. The Lord Commander (who is voiced by David Tennant but doesn’t sound anything like him) is a good villain, but he kind of reminded me of Emperor Snoke from Star Wars, except we got a backstory for him.

One of the best things about Final Space is the animation. It’s so stunning and every little detail is taken into account. Whether it be Gary’s hair bouncing a bit after he stops running or a background detail that emphasises the mood, the animation was awesome. The animation comes from ShadowMachine, a company based in Los Angeles who has also animated for shows like Robot Chicken and BoJack Horseman. Final Space also uses imagery from NASA, which is incredible as it is a show set in space and actually uses footage from space in its show.

Before I go and talk about spoilers, it’s worth mentioning that the first half of Final Space was a bit boring, but from episode 6 to the end is absolutely amazing. It’s well worth a watch and I highly recommend it to everyone.

Now we enter spoiler territory. Do NOT read any further if you have not seen or completed Final Space Season 1. If you wish, scroll past this and to the next bold warning to read my final verdict.

Wow. What a season. Action-packed, full of jokes and moments that will leave you in shock and awe. The biggest shock for me was Avocato’s death, as it happened all so quickly and I had to rewatch that scene to fully appreciate it. That’s a key turning point in the series as it’s where it takes a turn for the better and is so much more fun to watch. It’s also where Little Cato turns more badass in revenge for his father’s death. The final episode was one of the best though, especially the ending. The final showdown had too much going down, and it was hard to keep track of what was going on. However, I like how Olan Rogers and David Sacks (the creators of the show) started every episode off with a countdown of how long Gary has left to live, then recounting it in the last minutes of the final episode. Then in the last half-second of the episode, a light beams over Gary’s almost-dead body in space. What is it? It can’t be Quinn as she’s on the other side of Final Space. Is it Nightfall? Someone else? Guess we have to wait until 2019 to find out.

We are out of spoiler territory and it is safe to continue reading.

Overall, the first season of Final Space gets an 8.2/10 from me. It’s a blast to watch, and despite being a bit confusing at times as well as having some bad characters and sometimes looking like an over-animated showdown, Final Space has some great characters with hilarious comedy mixed in with awesome space action that will leave you wanting more.

Thanks for reading this week’s review. I’m off to Turkey today, and won’t be back until late next week, so expect a late review next week. Follow me on Instagram, @ryans.movie.reviews, for the latest movie news, behind the scene looks and everything else, and follow my blog to be the first to read my reviews.

Once again, thanks for reading this weeks review. Go watch Final Space, it’s first season is on Netflix now. Join me next week when I actually review a classic sci-fi movie. See you then!