NationStates Jolt Archive

I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be a thread about the movie Serenity. It opened a few days ago and was based on the series Firefly by Joss Wheldon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Who here has seen it and what did you think of it? Personally, I thought it was pretty darn good, but I'm interested to know what people who aren't into the series thought of it.

I'm totally into the series, so I'm not sure if I should post here, but I LOVED the movie. They made a couple of choices towards the end that really shocked me (well, one shocked and the other I had a hard time swallowing), but for the most part it was intelligent and inventive sci-fi.

I pray for a sequel or two!

I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be a thread about the movie Serenity. It opened a few days ago and was based on the series Firefly by Joss Wheldon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Who here has seen it and what did you think of it? Personally, I thought it was pretty darn good, but I'm interested to know what people who aren't into the series thought of it.
I had no idea what Firefly was [and still don't much care], but Serenity was a lot better than I had ever hoped, easily superior to any of the three "Star Wars" installments that we just saw the end of. You can generally bet on sequels to high-grossing films, so if it does well enough another one is likely.

But, onto the movie: I don't have that many bad things to say about it really. The plot is fairly simple and generally easy to understand. The acting is invariably good, as was the writing. I also liked the touch of having a ship part fly off to open the movie, and repeat the gag at the very end for a nice close.

Indicentally, I was very pleased to see that not only was the film entertaining, but it was immensely pleasing to me on a philosophical level, which isn't something I've been very used to seeing in films. Apparently, 2005 has been a good year for this kind of thing, seeing as I also saw many of my snetiments represented in Cinderella Man, another excellent film. My favorite character is the Captain, for reasons that should be obvious to anyone who knows me and has seen the movie. He has a quote somewhere in the middle of the movie that may be sigged if I can catch it when I see it again and remember the whole thing this time.

Indicentally, I was very pleased to see that not only was the film entertaining, but it was immensely pleasing to me on a philosophical level

A lot has been said about libertarianism and Serenity. There is an article on it here: http://www.reason.com/hod/js093005.shtml

However, I tend to agree with the sentiments expressed here: http://ronaldbrak.blogspot.com/2005/10/serenity-and-politics.html

I kinda agree about the politics thing... On the one hand it's silly to read too much political pride into fictional characters agreeing with you... But on the other, it's always been one of the finer qualities of fiction that it has the ability to make people think about things they may not have thought about before.

And Meklor Unchained... The extent to which you should care about the original series is simply that, if you liked the movie enough to rent or buy DVD's to watch a little more, you should check out the series. The whole thing is in one DVD set, and at least as worth watching as was the movie. Not "required reading" of course, but well worth the time to watch.

I'm torn on how loud and proud to add the "By the same guy that did Buffy and Angel" to the description. I know a lot of people only watched it for that reason, but I've also known people who I had to push into the theater, because they didn't like Buffy or Angel and just didn't want to see more of the same sort of thing. This movie, if you haven't seen it, is -not- "Buffy the Vampire Slayer in Space".

You might like this then:
http://www.leasticoulddo.com/comics/strips/20050915.gif
Pretty succinct synopsis of Serenity.

I agree that the DVDs are definately worth seeing. I didn't think I would end up loving Firefly when I first started watching it, but it really grew on me. And it certainly isn't Buffy the Vampire Slayer in space.

Here's a little more serenity humour that you might find amusing:

http://ronaldbrak.blogspot.com/2005/10/serenity-movie-how-to-tell-if-you-are.html

Never saw the series, but I did see the movie. It was decent. The pace was slow, but it was a pretty good film.

A lot has been said about libertarianism and Serenity. There is an article on it here: http://www.reason.com/hod/js093005.shtml
Grrargh! I'm not a libertarian, I'm an Objectivist! There's a lot more to it than "Mal seems to be a Libertarian." It's about what he says and how he says it; many of his lines resonate with the greater philosophy [something libertarianism lacks] of the thing. There are a number of great examples, one of which I hope I can put in my signature in the not too distant future.

However, I tend to agree with the sentiments expressed here: http://ronaldbrak.blogspot.com/2005/10/serenity-and-politics.html
Meh, color me unimpressed. What he's basically saying is 'Don't make a political judgement on the film,' probably because he doesn't agree with or understand the political undertones of the piece. People don't just throw that stuff in there by accident.

the pace was slow
Are you kidding? I thought I was watching another preiview as long as 45 or 50 seconds into the movie. It started and got into the plot very fast and moved along at more or less the same rate.

Grrargh! I'm not a libertarian, I'm an Objectivist!
Sorry Melkor! I quoted you mentioning the philosophical nature of the movie and then mentioned libertarians, but I didn't mean to say you were one. It's just that a lot of libertarians seem to be trying to appropriate the movie, which leaves me feeling a little put out. Some pretty silly things have been said. For example the first article I linked to seems to think that because a parliment was mentioned in the movie the alliance must be a democracy. The fact is we don't know that. Prior to 1848 England had a parliment but wasn't much of a democracy.

this movie kicked a fair amount of ass

you all need to go out an see it, especially considering the alternatives

This is the first movie I liked in months.

I really hope there is another one

lets speculate as to the chances

I really hope there is another one

lets speculate as to the chances

Hopefully better then Uwe Boll making a Super Man movie.

My prediction is that they will start a second movie after the DVD sales figures for Serenity start coming in. The Box Office probably won't see a rousing success out of Serenity [even though it should], but the DVD sales will speak for themselves.

I had no idea what Firefly was [and still don't much care], but Serenity was a lot better than I had ever hoped, easily superior to any of the three "Star Wars" installments that we just saw the end of.


Melkor, if you enjoyed Serenity, you're pretty much guaranteed to like Firefly. Whedon managed to maintain the look, feel, and taste of the TV series in the movie. The movie is very much like I expect season 2 would have been like, if it had been made.

They did a good job giving you a feel for the history and depth of Firefly, but there is so much someone who didn't watch the series totally misses out on.

Damned good movie...though if you didn't watch some of the Firefly series or have some background on it, you may have been a little lost...but it was still pretty awesome even if you didn't have the background (via a friend of mine who didn't watch firefly and saw Serenity)

I'm totally into the series, so I'm not sure if I should post here, but I LOVED the movie. They made a couple of choices towards the end that really shocked me (well, one shocked and the other I had a hard time swallowing), but for the most part it was intelligent and inventive sci-fi.

I pray for a sequel or two!

Whedon's contract with Universal is for 3 movies. Let's just hope Serenity grosses enough for them to carry through with it. It only cost $40-50 million to make, but after two weekends, has only pulled in $17,600,000 at the box office. While crap movies like Flight Plan are shown in 1,000 more theatres per week, and pull in several times as much. It ranked number 2 on its first week for take, but number 9 after this weekend. I had hoped that after all the buzz about how good it was that numbers would improve for the 2nd weekend, but it didn't. :(

Oh well, DVD sales will probably push it high enough for Universal to want to make the other 2 movies. After all, DVD sales of Firefly is what attracted them in the first place.

Does anyone else besides me think that the people who decide the programs to cut over at fox need to be taken out back and shot? There are now two series that have done unbelievably well that they cancelled. Then there's the fact that they were offered the veiwing rights to The Sopranos but declined on those too.

Whedon's contract with Universal is for 3 movies. Let's just hope Serenity grosses enough for them to carry through with it. It only cost $40-50 million to make, but after two weekends, has only pulled in $17,600,000 at the box office. While crap movies like Flight Plan are shown in 1,000 more theatres per week, and pull in several times as much. It ranked number 2 on its first week for take, but number 9 after this weekend. I had hoped that after all the buzz about how good it was that numbers would improve for the 2nd weekend, but it didn't. :(

Oh well, DVD sales will probably push it high enough for Universal to want to make the other 2 movies. After all, DVD sales of Firefly is what attracted them in the first place.
Yeah, I'm kind of curious about this. Serenity is getting Great reviews (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/serenity/) but compartively few people are actually watching it. It's highly disappointing. I seriously don't think I'll ever understand the mind that would prefer Flightplan. I mean, there's only a couple of possibilities for the ending of that film, all of which can be estimated by watching the preview. I haven't seen it, but I'm betting it turns out that the main character is just a headcase; that the whole movie is just some sort of lame illusion, or her kid never existed and she bought an extra ticket for nothing.

I could be wrong, but I'm certainly not interested in finding out.

I thought that it was one of the best movies out in a while, by far the best sci-fi movie in a long while.

Does anyone else besides me think that the people who decide the programs to cut over at fox need to be taken out back and shot? There are now two series that have done unbelievably well that they cancelled. Then there's the fact that they were offered the veiwing rights to The Sopranos but declined on those too.

Tell me about it. Firefly fans had an email campaign and a letter writing campaign to both Fox and a long list of their advertisers, AS WELL AS collecting a couple of thousand dollars to put an ad in the TV industry magazine (Variety) in a desperate attempt to keep Firefly on the air. No deal. And yet, FOX kept crap like the TV spin-off of "Fast and Furious" going. Ugh. No taste.

I seriously believe that Firefly was too smart a show for FOX.

Edit: Did I mention that I have ordered everyone in our region to see Serenity at least once? :D Some guys saw it three times the first weekend, and said they intended to watch it 3 times a week until it leaves the theatres. I can only manage 1ce a week.

And honestly? I enjoyed it more the second time. The first time, I wanted it to be good so badly, that I assessed and analyzed everything they did. The second time I could just sit back, relax, and enjoy it, because I knew it was good.

I loved the movie. Reminded me of Outlaw Star, if anybody's seen it.

. And yet, FOX kept crap like the TV spin-off of "Fast and Furious" going. Ugh. No taste.

This I have to see. If only so I can MST3K it.

Pardon me while I rant for a moment. Remember I mentioned how Flightplan was a crap movie?

Well, www.rottentomatoes.com gave it a mere 36% "fresh" rating, meaning most of the critics who reviewed it were unimpressed.

Reviews counted: 141
Fresh: 51 Rotten: 90
Average Rating: 5.4/10

And yet, here are its box office numbers:


BOX OFFICE SUMMARY
Box Office Total: $60,940,000
Box Office Opening: $24,629,938
No. of Weeks at #1: 2
No. of Weeks in Top 10: 3

BOX OFFICE HISTORY
Week Rank Wkd. Gross Theaters Per Theater Cumulative
Week #1 1 $24,629,938 3,424 $7,193 $24,629,938
Week #2 1 $14,805,739 3,424 $4,324 $45,912,018
Week #3 2 $10,788,000 3,323 $3,246 $60,940,000

2 weeks at number 1? How is that even possible?

Meanwhile, Serenity, is getting awesome reviews, but is showing in fewer theatres with fewer viewers, despite a "fresh" rating of 81% because the critics are raving about it.

Reviews counted: 137
Fresh: 111 Rotten: 26
Average Rating: 7.1/10

BOX OFFICE SUMMARY
Box Office Total: $17,600,000
Box Office Opening: $10,086,680
No. of Weeks in Top 10: 2
Highest Ranking: 2

BOX OFFICE HISTORY
Week Rank Wkd. Gross Theaters Per Theater Cumulative
Week #1 2 $10,086,680 2,188 $4,610 $10,086,680
Week #2 9 $4,900,000 2,189 $2,238 $17,600,000

What is wrong with people? I just don't understand! [/wailing]

-snip-

What is wrong with people? I just don't understand! [/wailing]

I know what you mean, man...people wouldn't know good cinema if reavers chased them down and force fed it to them

I haven't seen Firefly.

I did see Serenity and... wow. It was AWESOME.

Anyone else seen Serenity? And if not...why not?

Anyone else seen Serenity? And if not...why not?

I saw it. It's about the best movie I have seen in a while. I imagine though that the lack of big name actors, coupled to it being fairly intensively story driven are the reason that it hasn't done that well at the box office. People seem to like movies with famous people where very little happens.

fyi, all major cast has signed on board for the sequel. A script is being written as we speak.

Yes, I'm a fan (we call ouselves browncoats). Yes, I loved the movie. Yes FOX managed the series poorly (by moving it's timeslot all over the place)and should have never cancelled it.

fyi, all major cast has signed on board for the sequel. A script is being written as we speak.

Yes, I'm a fan (we call ouselves browncoats). Yes, I loved the movie. Yes FOX managed the series poorly (by moving it's timeslot all over the place)and should have never cancelled it.

I only saw the tv show on DVD. My theory is that it was too entertaining, and therefore had to perish.

Is the sequel certain though? I know it is doing well in the UK, but I would have imagined that it would have needed to make more money in the US to justify a second bite of the apple.

I loved the movie. Reminded me of Outlaw Star, if anybody's seen it.

Ive seen it, and im planning to go watch serenity soon i only started watching the series when they had a Firefly weekend on tv because the movie was out, i quite liked it.

I'm surprised there doesn't seem to be a thread about the movie Serenity. It opened a few days ago and was based on the series Firefly by Joss Wheldon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Who here has seen it and what did you think of it? Personally, I thought it was pretty darn good, but I'm interested to know what people who aren't into the series thought of it.

I just got back from seeing it. For the first 10 minutes I thought it was gonna be shit. Then it picked up and I really enjoyed it.

Thought it was wonderful.

Haven't seen Firefly, but plan on watching it ASAP.

River's expressions were awesome.

Raven? Do you mean River?

Raven? Do you mean River?

Sure do. You would think after seeing the movie two times, I'd have no problem with remember the names, but names have never been easy for me. I can remember entire quotes from the movie, but names rush out of my head. Bleh.

Personally, I thought it was pretty darn good, but I'm interested to know what people who aren't into the series thought of it.

Background: Loved Buffy, liked Angel, haven't seen Firefly. Had friends tell me how brilliant the film was, and it's the type of film I would like.

My reaction: Meh. Simplistic story, good action, cardboard cutout characters, obvious sequel setup, poor acting (with Torres and Ejiofor being the exceptions), and some good lines. Excellent opening sequence, but the rest was too predictable. I'm sure the directory told the actor playing Mal to go watch old Harrison Ford films and copy what he did.

In short, I was disappointed. Whedon has told some really good stories but this isn't one of them, for my money. I'm not going to rush out and find episodes of Firefly, but I might see the sequel if I don't have anything else to do.


Much better than the rest of the Hollywood films that have come out this year, though.

Harrison Ford (in the Star Wars movies) was playing the Wild West outlaw as well, but Nathan Filion (Mal) played the part more earnestly and with a greater sense self-deprecation. Mal's character was more nuanced than Solo's, in terms of acting, actions, and dialogue, and the film itself more enjoyable than any of the Star Wars films. In comparison to some science fiction films -- that nigh unwatchable X-Files film for instance -- it did what it set out to do (explain two key parts of the series) and was actually enjoyable to boot.

Meanwhile, Serenity, is getting awesome reviews, but is showing in fewer theatres with fewer viewers, despite a "fresh" rating of 81% because the critics are raving about it.


Which critics are raving? So far Ive read only so-so reviews from the major critics.


Like the characters, the plot is pretty standard stuff

Still, at nearly two hours, "Serenity" may be a hard slog and a head-scratcher for those not already part of the "Firefly" cult.


watching "Serenity" is like showing up for a big lecture course at the end of the semester

Whedon has a difficult time managing the movie's tone. If Yakov Smirnoff made an outer-space flick with Wild West overtones, it would be "Serenity."

It's easy to understand why the show never properly caught on: It's hard to get a grasp on Whedon's inconsistent style

The movie looks and feels as if it was cut with a chainsaw...


I'm not sure the movie would have much appeal for non-sci-fi fans

As this scrap of boilerplate narrative suggests, Mr. Whedon is too much of genre savant to take his film anywhere genuinely surprising. He may also be too much of a movie novice to exploit his material as boldly as you might hope.

Looks to me like most major critics are giving it so so reviews. The only rave review I found was by Robert Elder (Chicago Tribune).

Harrison Ford (in the Star Wars movies)...

I was actually thinking Indiana Jones for much of the film, which is a better character than Han Solo. So basically I agree with you on that point. :)

In comparison to some science fiction films [...] it did what it set out to do [..] and was actually enjoyable to boot.

I'm not denying that. If it hadn't been hyped, I would have enjoyed it more. However, the fact that good sci-fi films are few and far between doesn't make this one any better than it is. It just means the movie industry is putting out poor films.

And I definitely agree with the NY Times quote above.

(For reference, the last genuinely good sci-fi film I remember seeing was Dark City.)

I moved into college the wednesday before it came out, and was totally looking forward to Serenity. I had seen most of the series the day before on SciFi, and it turned me from one of those people who had only heard about Firefly into one of the fans. So I was really looking forward to Serenity.

Cut to friday, take my roomate to help find the theater and see Serenity. Mind you, I had food poisoning and a massive headache, but I wanted to see Serenity on opening day. We find the place eventually and get two to Serenity.

I slowly realize throughout that it is my favorite movie. Ever.

For the next week, every conversation I had got cut into by me with "Have you seen Serenity yet?" If they said no, I would ask if something was wrong with them.

The acting was great in my opinion, and the movie did well not to leave non-firefly fans in the dark but not go into too much character developement. In the first twenty minutes, it fleshes out Mal, Zoe, Wash, Jayne, Kaylee, Simon and River very well. I suspect that people who hadnt seen the series would wonder who the hell Shepherd and Inara were, but oh well.

The acting is great, the CG is great, and the ship design is, to quote a friend's favorite saying, "Joygasmic." I just love the movie.

Maybe being fans of Firefly would help more people enjoy this movie to the fullest, but not everyone got a chance to see the best TV series in a long, long time.

I saw it the day of release, which I had been hoping and waiting for, since the minute I picked up the DVD box of Firefly.

From what I can gather, the deal was that sequels were going to be contingent on the first movie clearing TWICE the cost, in the opening two weeks.

Opening two weeks figure of about... 17 million. Cost... about 40 million.

Theoretically - that kills any hopes we might have had for sequels... but, as has already been commented on this thread, if the DVD sales are anything like the Firefly sales... we might YET get more.

I've been trying to work out what has gone wrong... why cheese-fests get extended runs, and why Serenity seems to be suffering so... and I have come up with a few possibilities:

1) Movie theater staff tell people it is 'like Star Wars'. This hurts it two ways... since I, personally, am sick of Star Wars movies... and because people who EXPECT Star Wars MIGHT be disappointed by Serenity. The two products are NOT the same.

2) (Wanton generalisations... based on American TV and popular movies.) Americans don't like multicultural movies, or predictive movies that suggest anything less than some utopian version of the US. So - if you show them a movie where the American dream is in it's dying stages... a Big Brother government trying to hold on to the remnants of a corrupt system of US/China societies. Well... the audience doesn't like to see the Red Menace in ANY form, much less as the equal (maybe dominant) partner in power.

Again - Joss Whedon infuses a piece with relevent commentary.

3) Joss Whedon understands, and is sympathetic to, (to an extent) the underdog. Here, the underdog is a futuristic realisation of the Civil War Confederates. Unfortunately, as many recent projects have shown, the Civil War has to be packaged a certain way for the American audience to lap it up...

4) No aliens. Humans are alien enough on their own. (But, Star Wars fans and Trekkies NEED rubber-heads on screen to score their jollies).

I'm sure I'll think of more later....

I just saw this movie today. I had never watched Firefly, so I had no previous knowledge about the actual plot of this movie. I almost did not watch this movie because I had been warned by my brother that the movie was too long and had many boring parts. He recommended I wait until rental. Well, a friend of mine was very adamant about wanting to see it, so after reading some reviews that basically amounted to "its not that bad", I said what the heck it probably wont kill me to see it.

The dialogue was total crap, the jokes were terrible, and the acting was sub-par. However, the plot was good, the effects were perfect, and it was highly entertaining overall. I wouldnt say this is a must-see movie, but it is certainly one of the better choices out there right now. If you are going to the movies this weekend, this is probably the one you should be watching.

I am giving this movie 3 stars out of 5. Although it was highly entertaining and the plot was good, I cant give any more credit to a movie that had such terrible and cheesy dialogue. The lackluster acting performance can probably be overlooked, but the dialogue can't, someone had to have proofread and approved that crap.