Title of this post says it all. Skip it if you have not seen the movie Serenity. However...MunkeeGirl requested my thoughts...
I liked it. I hope you do as well. Please go see it. Fun, fresh, witty, action-packed, thoughtful...I plan to see it again. Did it re-invent sci-fi? No. Was it fun? Yes. Did it have a larger message? Yes, several actually.
I'd like to say it's accessible for the masses but I just don't see it crossing over (this comment is buttressed by the poor box office take this past weekend) unless some massive word of mouth takes place. And I sense most of that bit of marketing is tapped out.
The origin of the Reavers actually made some sense (though where they got the cool tech is left to your imagination). It played into this rather nice sci-fi concept; something that you don't actually see in supposed sci-fi movies. Sure Star Wars is fun...but there's actually very little sci-fi to it. In my mind sci-fi is about ideas and metaphors...things that get you thinking. Rockets and space don't equal sci-fi. So the movie's depictions of genetics tampering, purity, conspiracy, and governmental control (influence) over the media all resonate with today's world.
The ending worked itself out a little too convienently with a lot of little pieces falling right into place (thank goodness for old war wounds Kill Bill-like heroines). Still, the Operative was an interesting character. Seems to have been influenced in development by the precursor in the form of Jubal Early. I'm also happy that the character is written (and played) seriously...never falling into a caricature of evil like so many Bond villans.
All the cast did well. Of course I would have lobbied for more Kaylee...but she had a few shining moments. I think Zoe was the character (aside from Book) that was slighted the most. Jane was clearly written to overshadow Zoe. It's a shame really...Jane is fun...but I'd take Zoe over him if I were picking teams.
Would it have been too difficult to bring Badger or Niska into the mix? Or would that have been too confusing? And I do realize that Badger is based on a different planet. Nice to see that the Alliance also has a healthy fear of the Reavers...but where were the cool (and rather huge) command carriers?
Slashdot posted a link to a review of Serenity by Orson Scott Card of Ender's Game fame. He rated it very high for what it's worth. Now...full disclosure...I have not read any OSC...but I trust my friends that like him...though after reading this review (and he has some very good points) I think he's something of a nut. Am I wrong and making a snap judgement?
Anyway...
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3 comments:
As someone who's never seen Firefly (none of the Ft. Smith rental places have it), I had a little more tepid reaction to Serenity. I'd probably give it a B- or C+.
Had some fun moments, and it was good to see a different imagining of a future world, but it felt like a really expensive t.v. show. I don't think Whedon's shots were as cinematic as they could have been.
And I didn't like Mal, although I think that has more to do with the actor playing him. He just seems miscast. I think if the movie had come before the show, the producers would have insisted on a more charismatic leading man. I'm not even faulting the actor, I just think he and the role were mismatched. Maybe he comes across differently on the small screen.
River, I liked, and most of the crew. Zoe got on my nerves a little. Sorry, Ken. I agree with you, though, about The Operative. Well-written and well-played. Did Jane not remind you of Kevin Dillon on Entourage?
There seemed to be a lot of homages to other sci-fi movies--Blade Runner, Star Wars, etc. And the exposing the gov't for its unethical experiments on people--PEOPLE!--thing seemed a little tired.
I can tell watching the movie is probably a completely different experience for fans of the show, but as a stand-alone movie, it's a little disappointing.
Great movie, and I haven't seen all of the series episodes. Ashley and I started watching Firefly when it was on Fox, but I think we only caught 9 or so eps. That was enough to get hooked. Serenity was so thoroughly enjoyable that I only looked at the time once, and that was with the hope that there would somehow be another hour or two added to the movie's length.
I do have a work acquaintance who saw it without having seen any of the episodes, and he thought the movie was "effing brilliant", so there's a little anecdotal evidence that it can connect with newbies. I really hope the movie gets some legs--it only made $10 mm, but it seems to me that the screens available for it were pretty scarce. Here in Little Rock it is only showing on one screen each at the Rave and Breckinridge, and the 7:20 showing at the Rave last Friday was absolutely packed. I just found that it averaged $4,610 per screen, which is pretty good, but it probably will make the real money upon DVD release.
(If you didn't already encounter spoilers by surfing for t-shirts on cafepress.com like I did--THANX KIDS--don't read on.)
ALRIGHTY.
Magicwritin'gal, you've got to see the series. The movie was loverly, but for my mind, the brilliance of the series was the character development and witty repartee, which was by necessity missing from the movie. Pete and I saw it together with some other folks, and we were both mourning the loss of Book, who has almost no role in the movie, but is an intriguing character in the series. Wash is also pretty two-dimensional in the movie, and the fact that Jane is getting compared to Kevin Dillon in Entourage (!!!) just proves how different the characters are in the series. Oddly, River annoys the heck out of me in the series (probably because the scripts require her to do little more than constantly act kee-razy), but I found her less irritating (dare I say affable) in the movie. And, again, the series makes anyone besides Nathan Fillon unimaginable as Mal. Maybe folks are having problems because they remember his preacher-turn in Buffy.
In terms of homages, was the "Poke the Reavers With a Stick" chase scene too close to Galaxy Quest to be followed by the creepy shoot-out with the Reavers moments later? Good strategerie, though.
In sum, the movie was an interesting experiment in how the concept plays out differently on the big screen, but it doesn't help my fix in wishing for more episodes. The strength of the series was the interplay of the wonderful ensemble cast, and since Whedon killed off two of my favorite characters, I don't know that another outing in this world would even be satisfying, unless they were to do some "It was all a dream in the shower!" scenario.
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