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A Serenity screening has taken place!
Another Serenity screening took place on thursday night and here are two reviews by two viewers. Warning! Spoilers! |
 “Serenity is one hell of a great movie and it was purely satisfying for me,” says “Joel C.” “I read somewhere that this would make a great season one finale for the show. But screw that--this would make one hell of a SERIES finale.”:
Just saw the Portland screening of Serenity. I'm going to try to give you a review with very mild spoilers in case you're interested.
First of all, I'm a big fan of Firefly, as you would probably imagine. So I'm not unbiased, to be certain. With that out of the way, let me say that Serenity is one hell of a great movie and it was purely satisfying for me. I read somewhere that this would make a great season one finale for the show. But screw that--this would make one hell of a SERIES finale.
The focus of the movie is on River and just what is up with her. Right off the bat, we see Simon breaking her out of an Alliance facility and we partly learn why the Alliance is so hell bent on getting her back. As the movie progresses, you'll learn quite a bit about her backstory, about what the Alliance was doing to her and about the abilities she has.
Now, the nice thing about a movie as opposed to a TV show is that storylines can be better wrapped up. While not every storyline and question was concluded, we got the full backstory on River and found out all about the Reavers, and that's not something that you're going to get in a television episode. You need to keep those storylines going for awhile. With the show gone and this movie possibly being it (yes, I hope for sequels, but you never know) it was great to see Joss just lay it all on the line. As I said, the movie played, for me, like a series finale. There could be sequels, without question, but this would also be a satisfactory end.
 The movie is a very different beast from the television show. The characters, for starters, are slightly different. Mal is darker and more frazzled, Simon is more combative, Kaylee seems a bit more forthright. There are some other differences as well. The movie also feels as if a lot has happened between the last episode of the series and where this picks up. Joss really pushes the sense of struggling for survival to a greater degree than he did in the show--in any of the episodes. There is a greater desperation pervading the atmosphere of the movie and the moral ambiguity from the series is on full display and ratcheted up a few notches right from the outset. Malcolm Reynolds is definitely a good guy, but he isn't exactly a straight up hero, either. He's a flawed character, a flawed human being hoping to do what's right but also willing, at times, to do what may be wrong.
And have no doubt, this movie gets very dark the longer it goes on. There's plenty of humorand lots of lines that got big laughs. But there's a heaviness, a darkness, that will weigh on you as the movie unravels itself. Nothing is safe in this movie.
The way I see it, you have two big concerns with Serenity. One is that it will play like a two hour, thirty million dollar episode of Firefly rather than a real movie and the second is that people who don't know a thing about this universe or these characters won't be able to follow or enjoy the movie.
The first concern is largely moot. This damn well is a movie and not an episode of Firefly. Everything is bigger and badder, the storylines are better resolved, the plot is much more bleak and nothing is held back--there are scenes in which the movie is devastating. Everything is bigger, with rougher edges and a lack of that TV polish that always seems to keep the plot from becoming too harsh. I never felt like this played as a big TV episode--in fact, it had a very distinctly different feel than the television show. This is a movie, plain and simple. Granted, it's a sci fi movie with a relatively low budget, but they still make good use of it. This could easily pass as having had a bigger budget. Perhaps the point when the lack of money is most evident is during a fairly large space battle that just is not seen that much. It's still a great, tense scene, but you get the sense that with a larger budget, there would have been more shots of the actual battle in space.
Now, will nonfans like the movie? I'm very biased, but I really think that people who don't know the show will still really enjoy the movie. It's funny, it's fast paced, it's filled with action, it's incredibly tense and suspenseful and has a fascinating story. I think the characters are introduced well enough that people will be able to follow along with minimal confusion. The basic backstory on the universe is laid out in a very simple manner right at the beginning. I don't think it's a particularly hard movie to follow and there is damn near NO downtime throughout the entire flick. The hardest part is going to be getting people into the theater in the first place, since it's a bit of a hard sell concept and there are no big stars. But if you can get the people in the theater, I think they're going to really enjoy it.
So that's about what I have to say. Fans of the show should love the movie and I'm relieved to say that if this is the last we see of this universe, fans should go away satisfied. People who have never seen the show? I think they're in for a treat and I hope they'll give the movie a shot. It's incredibly entertaining and affecting, period, and it's a movie that will stay with you long after you leave the theater.
 “I might sound like I'm being negative and nitpicky, but it's only because I loved this movie so much,” says “betterJedi.” “I loved the experience and will pay to see the film a few times when it comes out in September.”:
Hello all. I had a 2 hour drive back from Atlanta last night to contemplate how to deliver this SERENITY review. I will not give any spoilers and will try and be as fair and honest about this movie as possible. You should know up front that I'm a die hard Browncoat – watched every episode that aired when it came on, bought the boxset the day it came out and have converted over twenty people into becoming Browncoats. I went through a lot of heartache (and money) to get my ticket for the 5/26 screening. I say this just so you'll know where I'm coming from.
From what I've read in other reviews, I think die hard fans of the FIREFLY show are being more critical of this movie than folks who have never seen it. Now that I've seen it I understand where they're coming from but I also think that with repeat viewings this movie will grow on any disgruntled Browncoats. I might sound like I'm being negative and nitpicky, but it's only because I loved this movie so much. If I didn't care for this movie then I wouldn't be writing a review. Because I loved it so much, the tiny imperfections really stood out to me. I can only write this review comparing the TV show versus the movie. Both are great but they are very different from one another. I know that you can't do the same type of storytelling in movies that you can with TV and vice versa so that explains some of the concerns I have about the movie.
So here we go…
 1. Captain Malcolm Reynolds: in the show Mal was a 'Han Solo'-type character with some dark edges hinted at. In the show he had plenty of humor but was able to play serious very well when the need arose. When this movie starts I couldn't help but feel a little disconnected with Mal. His dark edges seem to be the focus of his character, which didn't feel right after having watched each of the episodes so many times. The problem to me was that Mal spends most of this movie being mad – mainly with his own crew. On the show Mal had the occasional run-ins with Jayne and Simon – and of course Inara. In this film you don't ever really get a sense that this is the same crew that, despite their differences, became somewhat of a dysfunctional family. Mal spends a lot of time yelling and fussing at his crew, telling them that they can leave whenever they're ready. Though that's not a complete contradiction with the TV Mal, in the old version of Mal you at least got the sense that he was fiercely loyal to his crew and would protect them no matter what. You don't get that with this Mal – at least not at first (with the exception of River). As the film progresses Mal has more and more humorous bits and seems to lighten up slightly, which worked well in the end. My main concern here is that with the audience watching this movie who knows nothing of FIREFLY might find Mal hard to understand and like right away. Those of us who know him well will probably be a little forgiving and by the time the credits roll I felt that Mal was back to being himself again.
2. Zoe: Zoe in this film is pretty much the same Zoe we had on the show, though I felt that she didn't get as many one-liners here as she did on the show. There were some great moments toward the end of the movie where her character really had a time to shine in moments of contemplation and reflection but unfortunately the movie never dares to show you those slow, character-building shots. For the most part she's likeable here. I just wish that we (especially Mal) could have spent a few quiet seconds with her near the end.
3. Wash: Wash is great. He's got some really outstanding one-liners and keeps the film from getting too dark and heavy. Though I did notice that the bulk of Wash's funny lines came in the first half of the film. He has a few great moments to shine and his character feels like one of the strongest ties that remain true to the show.
4. River: Oh River. I'll admit that she was never one of my favorites on the show but I was at least interested to find out her back story, especially with those aspects of it that are hinted at in the show. River has plenty of screen time here and I've seen in other reviews that this is her movie. I'll disagree with that. This is Mal's movie, but the plot has everything to do with River – mainly about Mal's decisions concerning what to do with River and then following him as he takes action. I didn't expect that we'd get so much information on River's background but I was pleasantly surprised about this aspect of the story. In the first ten minutes you will get a broad, general understanding of why the Alliance thinks it's vital that River is hunted down and destroyed. As the movie progresses toward a climax, River leads us to a planet where secrets are uncovered that put a more precise point to the reason why the Alliance must kill River – because of what she knows. River kicks butt in this movie and by the end of the story she's one of the characters that I liked the most. Which brings me to a major problem: her brother!
5. Simon: Simon Tam here is NOT the Simon Tam from the show unfortunately. The one on the show was a brilliant doctor but was socially a misfit – awkward in a love/no interest/is he interested relationship with Kaylee. He was a quiet man, ignorant to the ways of what it's like to live on the frontier. I think my problem with Simon in this movie is that he's too much like Mal. Simon stays mad the entire movie. That's not the Simon we knew on the show. People who never watched the show won't have a problem with this so this might not be a valid concern. I know the point to be emphasized in the movie is that Simon is willing to do anything to protect his sister. It just seems like Simon came off as a little harsh and cold and a bit of a spoiled brat, wanting to leave because he's not getting his way – not acting the least bit grateful that Mal took them in and kept them safe for the last eight months.
6. Jayne: Ah, Jayne. Jayne is Jayne and all is right with the world. He's funny – just about every line of dialogue he has is something that makes you laugh. Much like Wash, his movie character is very much the same as his television character. He's selfish, just like on the show, and is more than capable at handling the action sequences.
7. Kaylee: Kaylee, just like Jayne and Wash, is pretty much the same character in the movie as she was with the TV show. She's sweet and funny. Her character is a great sounding board for the audience – she actually delivers some thoughts and lines of dialogue to Mal that reflects what the audience is thinking. We want Mal to listen to Kaylee. She's the voice of reason.
 8. Inara: I absolutely loved the way Whedon incorporated Inara into the story. I'm not a big STAR TREK fan but I at least go see the movies when they come out. One of the things that really bothered me about the last couple of TREK films is the fact that Worf was no longer a crew member on the Enterprise yet the writers seemed to go out of their way to come up with cheesy reasons to have him along for the ride – as if they didn't think they could do a TREK movie without him. This is not the case with Inara in this movie. When she first appears on a video screen to talk with Mal it's because she's vital to the story. It's no accident or cheesy circumstance that binds her with SERENITY. It's great the way she's brought in to the story. However, the poor girl has absolutely nothing to do once she's back on board. She just sort of stands around for most of the second half of the movie, watching events unfold. During the big action finale she does use a weapon that somewhat surprised me. I hope in the future that Whedon gives her more to do.
9. Book: One of the saddest things is that Book has so little screen time, yet something I was glad about is that his character is vital to the story as well. Mal needs advice. Book is the old school Yoda of the Firefly universe. He gives Mal some valuable instruction on faith. The problem is that the story is so fast paced that after Book's short screen time the crew is racing off again to their next destination. Book is fun to watch while he's on screen and the movie leaves you wishing you had more of him.
10. Whedon: he created this wonderful vision of the future, these fantastic characters that through the show became a part of each Browncoat's family, and the style of the show. Whedon wrote a great sci-fi story that surprisingly answers just about everything you wanted to know about River and he intelligently incorporates that with… well, I can't say because I don't want to spoil it for anyone. The one problem I had is that the story is so fast-paced that I feel like Whedon as a director missed some opportunities. There are moments (either sad or where a character is weighing some heavy options) that I wish we could have gotten a five to ten second shot showing the character with a contemplative look on their face. That would have given the audience a chance to catch our breath and given the story a chance to really pour on the emotional impact. Whedon wrote a funny story and he was very smart in how he tied everything together. As reported in other reviews, Whedon gives a brief introduction to the movie. This was laugh out loud funny and I'll be disappointed if it doesn't make it to the DVD. I was pleasantly surprised with an important Firefly aspect that he explains (though I can't say here in this non-spoiler review) but I was a little disappointed that there are hardly any western aspects to this story. I missed horses and small towns and that feeling of being on the wild, untamed frontier. Hopefully future stories will return a little more of that frontier feeling to the screen.
11. The story: (non-spoiler of course) coming into this movie there were three questions from the TV show that I wanted answered: A) Why does the Alliance want River so bad? B) What is Shepherd Book's real back story? C) What secret is Inara hiding about her past? Well, you get the first one answered pretty thoroughly – and in surprising ways with how River's story ties in with other aspects of the Firefly universe. We find out nothing about Book or Inara's past and I guess that's something that can be explored in the future. Talking with other Browncoats, they seem to want Whedon to keep making Firefly movies but after having seen this movie (which I loved) I find myself hoping that this comes back as a TV show and they put off doing any more movies for a while. The movie is great fun, but I would rather have twenty fun stories with these characters a year than just one great story every few years.
Hope this wasn't too long and boring. And I know it sounds like I'm bashing the movie but I'm really not. I loved the experience and will pay to see the film a few times when it comes out in September. Go see this movie. Bring a friend to it. Tell them to bring a friend. It's not a perfect movie but it at least gives new life to one of the best television shows ever aired.
Thank you Joss for making this film. Please continue telling Firefly stories.
Want to read more reviews? Click the source and you'll find them.
| | [by Dana (Aintitcool) ] [0 comments]
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