*** Official SERENITY Discussion Thread - Page 4

Hmmm. I thought the events on Miranda occured 12 years previously. That would make River 5 years old at the time, but I don't think she was on Miranda - I thought so at first, but it couldn't be possible.

She may have gotten the name off of one of the "key Alliance members" or from a Reaver when they invaded the planet at the beginning. Probably both.

BTW, I liked how understated the scene was when Mal shot the poor guy who was taken by the reavers - you can see the determination on Mal's face with a hint of conflict - great acting, and the movie didn't devolve into slow-mo-rousing-symphony-conducted-by-Hans-Zimmer melodrama that you see in so many movies these days.

I think the dream sequences were her fractured mind's way of dealing with the information. She couldn't process it, so it manifested itself in that fashion.

I guess when she was 'activated', some comprehension of the information happened.

It isn't entirely clear what exactly was going on there, since really that information didn't have much to do with her being activated (so that she could be found). It is just a coincidence in the story that she finds that information when the people who are searching her out are trying to find her.

Of course, she could have more dirty little secrets hiding in her brain. Course, why let her go then?

Jason

It was made clear that the scientist had brought members of the government into the room to see River, hence the Operative knew it was imperative to eliminate River since she could "absorb" secrets like Miranda from those officials.

He let River and the others go in the end because he no longer "believed"...

So should this movie appeal to a general audience, or do you have to join the cult first?

Not having seen Firefly, I liked this movie a lot. The interweaving of the quick intro of the universe with the classroom was clever. This of course was nested in the intro of River/Simon, nested in the intro of The Operative.

A lot of the jokes felt like "TV writing" -- which is not necessarily a bad thing. Most of them were quite funny, but they did stand out. They just don't do that in movies, but maybe they should.

The "continuous shot" at the beginning also raised its hand with that one cut when the camera follows Mal turning right down the hallway, then whips back to the left to follow whoever that was. Somewhat unnatural.

I am aware of Joss's penchant for killing off characters, so I was really not surprised about Wash. At that moment, I did think he was gonna die. Went with the "leaf" bit once too many.

Yeah, and today of course computers can stitch together two (or more) takes fairly easily, even without whips. But even if actors and crew no longer have to do these extra-long shots perfectly anymore, they are still great fun. It is reminscent, I expect, of being carried on one's parents shoulders!

n/m

Say wha'?

The "tv writing" thing has been expressed by a few. I think it's that kind of sureal sitcom humor Whedon uses a lot. Really its just another way he blends genre and style together IMO, but it isn't for everyone. I like it in his shows but would have prefered a little less in this movie. Still loved the hell out of Serenity though.

I'll go ahead and throw my two cents in...

I watched the series, bought the DVD set, and had my ass in the theater on opening day. I thoroughly enjoyed the film, and it lived up to my rather high expectations (apart from the volume level of the dialogue being just a bit too low in my theater).

I really liked the way they toyed with the standard action hero / sci-fi blockbuster cliches, such as Mal saying "If I'm not back in an hour, I want you to take the ship... and come and rescue me."

Summer Glau had a few great moments where the theater broke out in laughter just because of her facial expressions. Her backstory was the one that I expected to be the most difficult to introduce to a new audience, and I think the film did a good job of bringing everyone up to speed.

While I agree that Wash's death did change the tone of the later scenes (because I was actually worried they'd kill Zoe and Kaylee, too) - it still bummed me out. He's always been such a fun character, and there will be a gaping hole in any future incarnations of the "show". I won't really miss Book much, but I am annoyed that all of the time spent setting up his mysterious history in the series isn't going to go anywhere now.

Having seen the series, I had all the doom and gloom I needed to fear the Reavers, but I was concerned that they were pretty two-dimensional villains when only viewed within the film. If I hadn't been familiar with the material this would probably have been one of my major criticisms of the film, but I've never been a big fan of the zombie movie genre to begin with.

Brad

From the way the movie begins, I think it's designed to be seen from River's perspective. That's part of the reason it's generally less intimate than the show where we were just us, but also part of why River is more relateable in the movie than in the show. Any of the characters could have been suitably introduced in the movie focused on them. My hope is that (should there be a sequel) that it would focus on another character now that her story is told; she could take on Wash's role, both in function and in screentime. The shorthand of her character was established in this film. It really bummed me out at first (and still sort of does). But part of what fascinates me to see how the ship would operate with the new dynamic. Seeing River take on piloting, seeing Zoe cope without Wash, etc. It would keep things lively. As for Book, I mentioned previously that there's ways of telling his backstory without the character being alive. I agree with this criticism to an extent, but one thing that really sets the Reavers apart from most zombies in films is that we never really see them up close. We only get flashes which makes them that more scary. Considering the build-up in the series, this was probably about the best you could do and have it come close to living up to the myth of them.

When was it stated the the opening scenes took place on Miranda?

Never. One of the students mentioned Reavers, so that alone confirms they weren't there. If the school was on Miranda, River wouldn't be alive.

I finally got to see it tonight. I liked it alot but there's some things that really bothered me.

1) Wash's death - my fav character
2) Joss went "Hollywood" with the action scenes. I loved in the show how the space scenes had no sound. Also they seemed to have gotten rid of the zoom effect. I liked those alot.
3) Like someone else said the Western feel seemed to have been reduced alot.

[c]Damaged Film[/c]
I saw the movie Saturday and noticed a damaged frame, I thought. This seemed odd on the second day of use. It comes just after Mel says that if he gets in a Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) . A horizontal rough white streak appears about i/4th up on the frame.
Well today I saw the film in another town and the streak appeared again. And I spotted another one just as the crew is about to land on a now Warning: Spoiler! (Click to show) This one was more toward the top of the frame.
So, anyone else notice these?

That worked in the show. The tv show pioneered the use of the "handheld camera in space" style that was so perfectly copied by the new Battlestar Galactica.

Maybe they purposefully avoided it for the feature film because Galactica has made it "its own." (Indeed, Ron Moore talks all about his decision to use this technique in his commentary tracks on the Galactica discs, without giving the slightest credit to Whedon...which really ticked me off for awhile - but now its ok because after all, Firefly isn't on the air and Galactica is).

Currently, Firefly is the #2 DVD on Amazon's top sellers list, second only to Cinderella.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg...981756-2227944

There were some space scenes with no sound, but they were (almost) always accompanied by score. All of the other space scenes with sounds were either in atmo, where sound does exist, or close to atmo. The space battle was a goof, though.

To be honest, it makes sense, because he was probably the least developed character of the group. You could lose him without losing too much.

As for Wash, it certainly ups the ante after he get's offed. It does make the audience wonder who's next, when people get injured all over the place.



A good point, but the reactions everyone was having to them should make it clear that they are feared for good reason.

Jason

Yeah, even though I had never seen "Firefly" it was obvious from the dialogue and the reactions of the people when they were told they were coming that the Reavers were badass-psychos. For the purpose of this movie, I don't think they needed more introduction. They were pretty cool as far as space villains go!

Saw this yesterday with the wife (we were big Firefly fans). We loved it, but felt like we went thru an emotional ringer with the loss of Wash. We both really loved his character. I've gotta agree, it upped the ante. I was starting to think that no one was going to survive. In the back of my mind I was thinking... "Um, he does want a franchise, right?"

As for the rest of it, I thought Joss did an excellent job with a very difficult task. I think he was able to make it accessable to newbies (though not being one, its hard to be sure), while at the same time not boring the folks that were already along for the ride.

We didn't see it until Monday afternoon, so obviously the theater was pretty empty. My main concern is that it only opened on one screen at my 18 screen multiplex. I fear this one will be gone quickly.

Anyway, if there never is another movie, I am pretty satisfied with what we got.

Ric

The last space battle wasn't a goof. The sound begins when they enter the gas nebula thingy. It was Whedon's way of "justifying" the use of sound in a space battle, without completely abandoning the series' realism.

Also, when Mal fire's the gun at the Reaver's ship, all you have is bass - which you would indeed still feel in Mal's position.

Wasn't the gas nebula thing the thick clouds that Serenity and the Reavers came out of? Or was it the space between atmo and the clouds?

I think I heard an argument for Joss where it said that the space battle was close enough to atmo for it to be heard, but they were still kinda out there. Whatever.

The former.

The sound doesn't start again until the battle goes back into the thick clouds.

In any case, Whedon was forced to be a little more mainstream, but I feel he did it within a realm of reasonable compromise.

I don't get it. Why even bother with "realism" regarding sound in space, when everything else is so far removed from realism? It's like making sure that the viewer gets to see the Coyote go to the hospital after each time he gets blown up trying to catch the Roadrunner.

I do get that, since it's been mentioned above. I just don't see the point in trying to inject that kind of realism into an otherwise unrealistic show.

In that case, why did they add sound effects to the fistfights?

The absence of sounds really brings out the hostility, alienness and sheer vastness of space. We've seen so many shows based in space, that setting is so familiar, that one is inclined to forget it is an extremely hostile environment.

A ship which produces no sound looks/feels more precarious. The absence of familiar sounds is a constant reminder of the unforgiving conditions outside of the hull, emphasising the fact that this environment is still a frontier.

So I would say that the primary purpose for the silence is to create that unsettling feeling which I would imagine space must provoke.

In the end, I believe Joss Whedon decision was dictated more by artistic concerns than the desire for accuracy.

I hope this makes sense, I wish I could explain better what I have in mind.

--
H

Finally watched this and loved it. I seem to have a hard time summing up my thoughts on a movie or show after only one viewing, but I think you guys have already voiced many of my thoughts.

The movie does feel different from the show. I decided to give the series some play before watching the movie and the movie's a lot darker (especially lighting wise) and much of the goofiness of the show is gone. One thing I noticed is that the Simon character seems a tad more butch. I couldn't help but notice how much of a pansy he was on the show.

I'm definitely saddened by the loss of Book and Wash. Book's death seemed natural considering he was off the ship and they played up the mentor aspect. But Wash's death definitely came by suprise. I'm happy with the way they dealt with it though. I read comments that suggested his death had no impact and was merely forgotten about in the next scene, but I felt otherwise. I got a sense of Zoe's initial reaction but his death was also echoed throughout the standoff scene. Much of Zoe's actions like charging forward to kill every damn Reaver that got in came out of her feelings.

Anyway, I'm trying to finish the last two episodes of the show and I'm having a pretty hard time. There's a scene in "Heart of Gold" where Zloe and Wash are talking about having a baby. Sad to see it's not gonna happen.

Chloe and Walsh were my favorites!

What movie are we talking about???

I dunno. He may have punched Mal, but he was still wearing some pretty frilly blouses.