Serenity (2005) (1 Viewer)

[Sean*O]

I have to say that for me the most interesting piece of pomotion for this movie I have yet found is the official Flash website. Perhaps that is why the movie's box office is performing below expectations.

 

[RobertR]

I liked the acting ensemble and the writing, and the premise was good. These were characters I could get into emotionally (unlike a certain big budget space epic). My only big complaint is that (as with almost all SF films) not enough effort was spent making the surroundings and technology look futuristic. Everything looked like it was cobbled together from current technology. I really wish SF filmakers would make more of an effort to "think ahead".

 

[Holadem]

Glad you like it Robert
I can also tell that you're unfamiliar with the show. Which is not to say it'a a requirement to enjoy the movie, it's not at all.
But that would have allowed you to know that the look you're complaining about is intentional, and not a result of lack of effort or imagination. The show actually much "worse" in that regard, as most of the outter worlds looks straight out of a western or a period hong-kong flick, depending on the location. In the show, they probably would have conducted that raid on horse back and River's fight would have taken place in bona-fide saloon...
Whedon wanted to created a cross between Sci-Fi and Western, and while the results may not work for everyone, they accurate reflect the intent.
Edit: That's part of the charm of the show for me. Along with the refreshing absence of Aliens.
--
H

 

[Alex Spindler]

I'd say the film downplays the western aesthetic a good deal from the series (which may have been a good thing for accessibility).

The show, much like Battlestar Galactica, used off the shelf guns with taped on accessories. However, both Mal and Zoe use more period western guns.

Because they didn't play up the western aspect, the rest of the set and material is more generic and I'd certainly agree that it doesn't feel very futuristic. In the series this was made up by those other design choices which I think were absent from the film.

I would have rather had Kaylee be in the engine room and recover auxilliary power herself. Looking at the film as a self contained whole, she's the only character who really doesn't give off her skill in practice. Jayne gets some good action and lines, as does stoic Zoe. Wash gets to be a leaf in the wind. But Kaylee gets left out of the one mechanical crisis in the whole film for no reason.

 

[Ron-P]

But, Kaylee did have some of the funniest lines in the film. That "battery" comment had me on the floor as did her "I'm going to live".

 

[RobertR]

That "battery" comment had me on the floor as did her "I'm going to live".

Yeah, she found a good motivation.

 

[Jonathan_Clarke]

I thought it was great. I'd never seen an episode before last week but my sister lent me the dvd set and my wife and I watched the entire series before we went to the movie.

Longer post in my sig.

By the way, I heard a rumor that Joss originally pitched Firefly as a Star Trek show with the Alliance obviously being the Federation. Any truth to that?

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I think the more accurate description was he pitched it as "the original idea for Star Trek." Which was like Wagon Train In Space.
The movie made another 2.4 million this weekends. It's dropping, but the overseas numbers are also picking up. It's now made over 6 million in just a few markets, and those numbers have doubled from only 3 million in just a week. I have a feeling they will increase by a lot as the weeks go on.

 

[Tim Mauldin]

unlike a certain big budget space epic

You just had to throw that in there didn't you?

I enjoyed this film even though I have never seen any of the series episodes. I Netflixed it and plan to watch it soon. The story was engaging and interesting (unlike a certain big budget wizards & warriors epic). I liked the Reavers (sp?) storyline and how they came into existance. The alliance agent was a fasinating character and the ladies were good on the eyes too. Especially the little mechanic that resembles Laura Dern in a way. All in all it was a fun ride and I look forward to a second viewing when the DVD is released.

 

[Grant H]

I'm amazed how everyone is so into Kaylee and Inara gets barely a mention. I'd forget Kaylee existed if Inara was within a 500 mile radius! Kaylee's ok in a "I'm really desperate for an easy lay" kind of way.

I loved Serenity, but am sick of the SW prequel comparisons too. Of course the characters are more accessible! They're humans like you and me, just in the future. Like Mal said "We're all just folk now." Instead of mystically-trained monks and beaurocrats! The PT always had that working against it. No farmboys and rogue smugglers, no everymen for the public to cling to and identify with. I admire the characterizations in Firefly/Serenity, but it's a totally different world than the SW prequels. I wouldn't be surprised to see a similar world in a Star Wars spinoff TV show, but the prequel saga just didn't lend itself to that.

I suppose Lucas could have done a PT where the Jedi and the politicians were secondary characters, and more accessible characters were the focus, but he wanted to make those characters the focus and since all the PT is is an explanation of what happened before the OT I'm not sure a PT that copied the original Star Wars formula would have done that so easily.

Firefly was a space western, obviously inspired by "Star Wars" since that was too a space western at the time, even if it actually borrowed heavily from the East. However, it has steadily grown away from being a space western since 1977 for better or for worse.

 

[TheLongshot]

I'm amazed how everyone is so into Kaylee and Inara gets barely a mention. I'd forget Kaylee existed if Inara was within a 500 mile radius! Kaylee's ok in a "I'm really desperate for an easy lay" kind of way.

You underestimate Kaylee's geek appeal.
Jason

 

[Chuck Mayer]

Funny. Inara does nothing for me. Kaylee on the TV show is fantastic. The extra weight fills her face out, and she has a most winning smile.

YMMV,

Chuck

 

[Alex Spindler]

Yeah, Kaylee outdoes Inara and the geek appeal is entirely the reason for that. She is also much more attractive in the series because of the extra fullness in her face. It was...I won't say refreshing...say, defining of her character. She wasn't a model like a companion would be, so it worked well for her character. Of course, being a wiz with technology and pining for someone else is something we geeks can easily understand.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

My only big complaint is that (as with almost all SF films) not enough effort was spent making the surroundings and technology look futuristic. Everything looked like it was cobbled together from current technology.

That makes more sense to me than overzealous production design. After all, most of my stuff is cobbled together technology from the last few decades.

 

[RobertR]

That makes more sense to me than overzealous production design. After all, most of my stuff is cobbled together technology from the last few decades.

I’m not sure what you mean by “overzealous” (maybe you think it might distract from the story?). I think it’s commendable that the focus in Serenity is where it should be, on the characters and story, etc. I’m just saying that a more convincing future hardware “background” that fits the premise of being 500 years in the future (using stuff from the past few decades still puts you over 400 years into the future) would draw me even further into the story.

 

[Will_B]

With Inara, I'd feel I'd have to know which fork was the salad fork and such. Too much effort.

 

[Mikel_Cooperman]

Oh god, it's already playing at our dollar theatre.

 

[John Swarce]

You underestimate Kaylee's geek appeal.

Exactly! Kaylee is the "girl next door" that makes her appealing to many men (including this happily married man ).
Plus she can pull off saying a word like "twixt" without it seeming out of character!:b
John

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

I’m not sure what you mean by “overzealous” (maybe you think it might distract from the story?). I think it’s commendable that the focus in Serenity is where it should be, on the characters and story, etc. I’m just saying that a more convincing future hardware “background” that fits the premise of being 500 years in the future (using stuff from the past few decades still puts you over 400 years into the future) would draw me even further into the story.

Every "futuristic" film I've seen has dated because history/technology inevitably walks down a different path than the film. I don't think anything in "Firefly" is implied to be more than 400 years old; I don't see any Sony televisions on the set or Nike tennis shoes. By "futuristic" do you mean stark white hallways and touchscreen panels or something? I would find that uncomfortable to exist in now, and I'd imagine people 500 years from now will still find that uncomfortable. And the Alliance lab was pretty "futuristic" aesthetically.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

I agree. People thought that by the year 2000 we'd be in flying cars and wearing space boots. I think the advances made in the show reflect what is highly likely going to happen.

In reality, the technology that we invent DOES move rather slowly. The stuff presented in the series and the film is practical stuff you could imagine being invented in the next 500 years. They DO have laser guns and such, but those things are expensive and the crew of Serenity would obviously not be able to afford them.