So, the first ever movie written and directed by Joss Whedon starts tonight. Who's gonna see it? Wanna discuss it?
Here's a request though. Can you use spoiler tags please? Some of us will take a while to get to see it, and it doesn't open all over the world at the same time.
Like this
Spoiler stuff you wanna talk about[/*spoiler]. Remove the asterisk (*). Looks like this when done right.
I can't write a coherant review right now, but I will, I swear. Right this second, all i can say is GO SEE IT! I just walked out of the theater20 minutes ago, and I am STILL jazzed. It was amazing!!!! GO GO GO!
I went to a matinee, just got out, and it was one of the wierdest matinees ever. It was about a third full, which is packed for this theater at that time. Mostly twentysomething guys, but also middle-aged guys in business suits, some older folks, a few married couples.
Before the movie started, random strangers just started talking to eachother about Serenity and its unusual journey to the screen. It was hilarious"”just like being on these boards"”random strangers trying to top eachother with obscure Whedon trivia, LOL!
And there was one enthusiastic college age girl who brought a gaggle of friends and was trying to explain the Serenity concept to them, educate them"”very funny.
It was actually as good as I imagined it could be: very smart, very funny, but also very dark and bleak at times. Beautiful. You must see!!
Okay, so it's Saturday night and I've already seen this movie twice. There are three reasons for this:
1. I took a friend the first time in an attempt to indoctrinate her and she wouldn't shut up. All I wanted to do was absorb the beauty and she had to natter at me all the way through.
2. I wanted to watch it and be able to pay attention to the smaller details, now that I already knew the main arc.
3. Wouldn't hurt to add my dollar to the box office gross, right?
My NON-SPOILERY REVIEW:
Overall I think that it was a relatively well constructed movie. The story was engaging (For me, a Firefly diehard), the action had a continuous pace throughout, the acting was of a high standard and it was beautifully shot and lit. And the music, I can't say enough about the music.
My SPOILERY REVIEW:
-Appreciated points-
-The humor was supperb
-The Reaver storyline was really well constructed and works well with the show (as it was so open ended and all), not upsetting continuity at all.
-Special affects were really well done, while still retaining that Firefly feel.
-It made me cry. This is a good thing as it equals emotion.
As a note, there were so many things that I really appreciated but can't presently conjur up. It's the things that bug you that you remember well(er).
-Qualms-
-Wash DIED!?!? He Died? They can't do that, can they? WTF? Wash was totally my favourite character and his death was so sudden and violent that you barely even regester it. The movie moves right along, hardly even paying note to it. I found it to be rather un-emotional, and noticed that anyone who wasn't a Firefly fan hardly cared at all.
-Wash and Zoe had a really beautiful relationship on the show and it doesn't really exist that independently in the film, mainly through dialogue. "Your Husband...". I think that this is why his death isn't as impacting as it should have been, he doesn't appear to be that linked to any of the other characters.
-Kaylee goes from being (while sweet and sort of innocent) a totally strong and opinionated woman to a sort of whiny yet horny peripheral character. Kaylee and Wash were both totally shafted as characters, only shaddows of their former selves. They were so vibrant and full of personality in the show and in the film, they mostly exist in realation to the other characters.
-Mal. A much darker Mal. Which, I guess, was the original conception of the character, but I found that this darker personality was synonymous with his removal from the others. What happened to his big bro. attitude towards Kaylee? His tacit yet palpable understanding with Zoe? etc......
-Inara as a companion. What's the deal here, the audience is taken to the "training house" and hears "companion this, companion that" but I don't think that an un-initiated viewer would have any conception of what a companion is. It's not really stated that clearly, only in a motion capture thing that isn't very explicit with the details. Plus, what exactly was her function in the film?
-Serenity was blue and cold. I get the whole science fiction as a genre thing, but Serenity used to be so warm and inviting and now it's all cold and bluish-grey feeling. I also wish we'd seen a little more of the beautiful design in the film.
-Since when is there noise in space? All through the show they were true to this scientific fact and now they totally abandon it. Not to say there can't be climactic battle music and noise for interior scenes, but.... Damn, I'm so dissalussioned.
-I guess I can say enough about the music. While the score was, IMHO, phenomenal, I had really hoped to hear more themes and motif pieces from the show. At least they slipped some into the credits.
-Hair. This creature called hair. Everyone's hair was different. Big time HOLLYWOOD, I guess. I get the shiny and new for the big screen, but... I don't know, it was just different and change scares me.
Okay, please understand that these are only qualms of mine, and that as a whole, I loved the film, that I swear my forever, undying alleigence to it and will probably see it again... and hey, just wait 'till it's in the dollar theatre. I also understand that the film was only about two hours and had lots of pivotal information to convey, and that my personal flagships aren't always going to be in that category (even if they should 😉 ) but, these are just my bugging me things. But hopefully, there will be a sequal and they will be addressed in it (them).
I just want my show back.
I'm too tired to spell check, so you'll all just have to excuse my illiteracy.
I think I echo Kindred in that I had some niggles, but so what. Serenity rocked my world.
And on
the death of Wash
...remind you of Anya much? 😉
I agree you get more out of it by knowing Firefly, but there's still plenty there for those who don't. I agree with the
Inara and Book
thing, but here's another example of how seeing Firefly first can increase your enjoyment of Serenity.
When
the crew are trapped in that little room at the end and there's a little River-sized gap in the entrance between them and the Reevers, I just knew River was going to wind up going through that gap and raining wrath down on those evil creatures. I was squirming in my seat anticipating it. I knew it was going to happen, because for the whole of the TV series, and most of the movie I'd been waiting for that one defining scene that would reveal the total power of River. I just knew this was it coming up. It was a mind-blowing payoff when it happened. I wouldn't have got it in all it's totality if I hadn't seen the series first. Nevertheless you can still see that scene, and go "Wow", whether you've seen the series or not.
I'm not a Firefly fan, but I went to see this movie because it got good reviews. It's a fun little sci-fi flick and probably the only good sci-fi film this year. And I might just check out the DVDs.
I guess I didn't have a main character to really care about like I did with Buffy and Angel so it didn't get to me emotionally. Only when
Wash died because he had a lot of scenes in Firefly and it came out of nowhere. I still can't believe he's dead
I didn't like all the spaceships firing at each other. Those went on unnecessarily long, at least to me. I guess a lot of Sci-Fi/Star Wars fans like that dragged out fighting but I couldn't tell which was Firefly and the characters are the most entertaining.
Joss did an amazing job of creating a different sci-fi movie.
Most sci-fi movies have staunchly good and evil people and no one questions why there is no conscience because they are monsters or aliens, but Joss created the entire movie about people, so we have to question that and he answers it.
The Alliance wasn't exactly evil, they were just like any country trying to expand their empire and who creates propaganda to preserve their name.
I love that he wrote all the female characters as people. I know he always does this but it's nice to see it on the big screen too, especially in a sci-fi movie because that's so rare.
My overall is that it gets 3.5/5 stars. I thought Firefly was ok and that's exactly how I felt about Serenity. It is well crafted and thought out. It's not my favorite movie though. They should have promoted this movie closer to Halloween and
Well, just saw it a second time, with a more "general" audience. They all laughed at the right times, seemed to enjoy themselves and a few even applauded at the end.
This is just a hodgepodge of general thoughts, but...
I liked the score, was nice to experience a Whedon adventure with a full orchestra. Just a tinge of the Western element to it.
I guess you could say some characters got the shaft, but I don't see how it could have been otherwise with this kind of adaptation. Didn't really bother me. Some serious tragedy and jeopardy just adds to the pathos, or whatever. Resonates more. Plus, I guess I never developed a deep attachment to any of the characters from the show. I wonder if general audiences weren't a bit overwhelmed by all the personalities. And maybe a slight feeling missing all the backstory...Joss did a fairly good job with the setup I thought.
I didn't mind the coldness and blueness of it, I like that. Made me think of the Cameron pictures actually. One thing I really loved was the super bright, washed out quality during some of River's dreams and also on planet Miranda"”very nice look. Loved the break to dead silence as the "Serenity" title first appeared"”beautiful understatement.
The first River ass-kicking, in the bar, was a thing of beauty. Made me all nostalgic and misty-eyed for the weekly fisticuffs we got with Buffy/Angel, heh. Summer is quite talented, isn't she? Seriously, I miss this kind of martial arts adventure on TV every week.
Something I always admired about Firefly was the slightly jerky, hand-held camera look during the spaceship scenes. Just makes it look more "real", like some witness on the ground is trying hard to track the flight of the ship, just videotaping it. The final space battle made more sense after seeing it a second time.
There was a definite "TV" quality to it at times, in terms of some of the sets and the relatively conventional framing, photography. But, you can sense Joss is stretching out, starting to grow. Almost getting up to speed with the brilliance of his own characters and dialogue.
Some sort of "zeitgeist" of Firefly definitely came through with this movie, however you want to define it: political, philosophical, whatever. Basically, just personal freedom, rugged individualism. You might almost be tempted to peg Joss as some kind of anti-government Libertarian. You could read in all kinds of things. I was thinking about warrior codes, the War on Terror, medicating little kids with prozac"”definitely "Brave New World" themes coming through.
Okay I'm just going to make the executive decision that this entire thread is spoiler filled and having to hide everything with spoilers is making it difficult to have a healthy discussion.
So, from here on out, no more spoiler tags necessary. So if you don't want to be spoiled - and trust me, you don't - stop reading now. Feel free to start a spoiler-free thread.
Alright, went to see this last night, and it was fan-tastic. I only watched the show recently when it was in reruns, but man I was blown away. The movie never dragged - a lot of action movies you sit there during battle scenes and sort of wait for them to be done so the story can move on, but this wasn't like that. The writing was superb as well.
The Reavers were so scary lol, and I cried during the the River-Simon scene. There were several times during the course of things I actually gasped and put my hand over my mouth lol.
You could see how Joss incorporated things he learned doing Buffy - just different shots and lighting. Also the "Miranda" scene was very reminiscent of Buffy when she fought Adam.
One thing annoyed me: that they didn't give us the backstory on Sheperd.
Wash was totally my favourite character and his death was so sudden and violent that you barely even regester it. The movie moves right along, hardly even paying note to it. I found it to be rather un-emotional, and noticed that anyone who wasn't a Firefly fan hardly cared at all.
I disagree - even though I was spoiled about the fact that he died, I was still shocked when it happened. I think it is completely in Zoe's character to go into "military mode" and act the way she did. Her emotional outburst was going after the Reavers going off the line like she did. You could tell at the end that she wasn't the same person anymore.
Kaylee goes from being (while sweet and sort of innocent) a totally strong and opinionated woman to a sort of whiny yet horny peripheral character. Kaylee and Wash were both totally shafted as characters, only shaddows of their former selves. They were so vibrant and full of personality in the show and in the film, they mostly exist in realation to the other characters.
I think that that is sort of how Kaylee's character is - she's not one type of person. I do think that in the space of two hours you can't give every character equal screen time - I mean, think about it as two tv shows episodes. Not every character was completely developed in two episodes.
Inara as a companion. What's the deal here, the audience is taken to the "training house" and hears "companion this, companion that" but I don't think that an un-initiated viewer would have any conception of what a companion is. It's not really stated that clearly, only in a motion capture thing that isn't very explicit with the details. Plus, what exactly was her function in the film?
I thought the capture thing did the trick - people would get the idea. And her function was as bait, and to show that Mal does have emotions. I mean, what other function can she really have? I was a little annoyed they didn't even kiss lol.
Watched an advanced screening last night (normal cinema one, not a "Cant Stop The Signal" one) and it was just me and my friend in the theatre. Was kinda amusing, but I hope numbers pick up. May go see it again but it costs like £15 in all cause I have to get a train and such.
But anyway loved it. I agree with what others have said. Book's death was like "okay he was a bit out of place on the ship so its no big surprise" and then Wash's completly threw me off, got the feeling anyone could die after that. Kind of want to go back and watch again to see if there were any hints, Joss does tend to do that. I know "Oh god oh god we're all going to die." is an obvious one but I think there will be more.
I love the fact the first shot on Serenity was a oner, I consider it a Joss trademark and it works so well. Must have been hell for the crew and actors but I loved it. Also in general, just loved the film. Too much to talk about really.
Looked through the visual companion briefly when I got back last night (was about 10) and even the art is amazing. May use it for my sketch book as areas such as the Training House and Beaumonde were just beautiful.
OMG!!! i just saw it and it was AMAZING!! i loved every single second of it! all of that characters were awsome...especially river!! Jayne's been bumped to second place...river is now my fave 'serenity' charatcer.
for all you guys who haven't seen it...get to your nearest cinema NOW!
I went to see it last night, I loved it, thought it was cool. The cinema was more than half full, (I'm from Ireland, it was out two days ago) and its getting good reviews, The only thing that I did not like was, I have never seen Firefly before so Washs death really did not effect me, neither did their hideouts being destroyed. Also I think Inara's character should have gotten more of an explanation in the Movie, I looked it up later, but not everyone else would do that. I loved Rivers character she made that movie for me, all of her scenes where amazing! And OMG the fight scenes!! WOW. Go see this movie if you have not!!
Freakin awesome. All things ahve been said already and I sorta emptied myself last night talking bout it, but just gonna point out how.
Ikay big spoiler ahead, but you know what this thread is about.
Similar Wash's death scene was to Trinity's in Matrix and how one of them made me laugh out loud the other one left a hole in my heart.
Whedon is the man. Seriously I am a geek and all, but this was my historical moment. My shoting of JFK, my Hiroshima, my 9/11. This rocked my world and made oh so much sense.
I am really disappointed... of myself for going to see cinema and seeing thise movie with people who don't understand anything about Serenity, Firefly or Joss. That was not good, 'cause I couldn't stop thinking about how they couldn't possibly understand what was realyl going on. And they didn't, of course. Maybe I should've just gone by myself. At least they were sweet and didn't say they hated it or anything.
I have nothing to say that hasn't already been said. Just have to mention again how much I love this man, he is very much my hero. Aw, Joss, such a genius..
i went to see it with a friend who had never even heard of firefly, and she loved every single second of the movie! she thought it was so amazing that i've had to let her borrow my firefly DVD's so that she can find out what happened before!
i went to see it with a friend who had never even heard of firefly, and she loved every single second of the movie! she thought it was so amazing that i've had to let her borrow my firefly DVD's so that she can find out what happened before!
I wish I had friends like that 🙂 Really. Maybe when my dad comes to visit (hopefully in November), we can see this Serenity.. 'cause he's a huge fan of Firefly (and Joss, and BtVS and so on)...
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
