Serenity Review (with Spoilers behind the cut)
Posted By Kathleen David on October 2, 2005
I saw Serenity twice yesterday. Once with Peter and once with Ariel for the childcare situation to work out. General impressions are that I really like it. It was more than just an episode of the TV show. It also shows that Joss can direct for the big screen. On the way out, we were asked to fill out a survey about the film and our impressions of it, Nathan Fillion, and the previews we had seen.
The cast did a great job. Joss wrote it so that you didn’t have to see the TV series to understand everything going on but if you had, then there were little bonuses. It was nice to see the crew of Serenity again and all of them look good up on the big screen. There are some actors that do not “translate” well from the TV screen to the big screen. In terms of the special effects there was nothing ground breaking or new. They served the story rather than overwhelming it. I do think it is one that needs to be seen on the large screen if for nothing else than some of the space footage.
So Bravo to Joss and the Cast and Crew of Serenity
I am grateful that I got to see Serenity
I am in total agreement with Peter that both Book and Wash died for a reason. I know a lot of fans were upset by both deaths as were the actors but there it is.
The death of Book raised the stakes of what was going on and led the crew the means to get through Reaver territory. It was upsetting which I think was the director’s purpose. Yea he also got rid of one fine actor and genuinely nice guy in person but it did serve the story rather than be a pointless death.
The death of Wash put you in the mind you should have been in if they had shown the gorum episodes in order. No one is safe and anyone can die at anytime. Joss is writing the anti-Star Trek in some ways. There are consequences to their actions and sometimes the luck runs out and people die horrible deaths.
I think that Joss had the whole Reaver thing worked out BEFORE the movie and that River was going to be the first story arc like he uses to do in Buffy and Angel. He just didn’t have the time to do it so he distilled it to the core and wrote the film. Over all it made sense and River’s recovery once she could share the thoughts in her brain makes sense. Doesn’t make her any less dangerous. The image of her among the Reavers with the axe and the sword had Peter leaning over to me and saying River the Reaver Slayer. You almost felt sorry for them.
Jewel did a great job and was the only one to get kisses in the whole thing along with some mattress mambo. The capper was River looking in from the ceiling. Joss was pretty even handed at giving everyone something to do will Nathan being the main POV character. I don’t think Wash or Book are coming back but I am hoping for the rest of the crew in Serenity II.
I agree with you and Peter…the deaths were HIGHLY disturbing, but ultimately made the movie much better. I left the theatre in an emotional state that simply would not have been there had those deaths not occurred.
One thing that did occur to me is that from the perspective of a moviegoer who hadn’t seen the series, the death of Book probably wasn’t a very big deal. He was roughly as important to the movie as the Mr. Universe character, so it was only an emotional death to those who were already fans.
I haven’t seen Serenity yet, though I intend to in the next day or so, but I have to ask if you’ve reviewed Corpse Bride or not. I confess I usually just check out the “headlines” to your blog through Peter’s blog, but I don’t recall reading ANY mention on either PAD’s or your blogs.
Being the puppeteer that you are, I simply can’t imagine that you haven’t seen the film yet. I absolutely enjoyed the movie and honestly lost myself in the fantasy, and suffered and rejoiced along with the characters. If you have reviewed the movie already, could you please direct me to your review? Thank you.
I will greatly miss Book and Wash, two of my favorite characters of the series, and I especially regret that we’ll likely never get to explore Book’s mysterious past. But that said, I loved the big dámņ movie and I plan to see it a few more times in the theater. And Joss can always use them in flashbacks or whatever.
Word is that Universal is happy with the opening weekend but that the second weekend is going to be the real test, so everyone make your plans now to see it again once or twice this weekend!
I saw it Saturday morning and was blown away. The deaths really threw me. I thought, “Joss is breaking Rule Number One for movies derived from TV shows: All the Regulars Survive the Movie.” Book’s death was a surprise, but Wash’s was a gut-punch.
I expected we would see River kicking some ášš at some point, since one of the images that sticks with me from the series is her firing a gun with deadly accuracy without even glancing in the direction of her target.
I figure we’ll be seeing a lot of buttons and T-shirts that say, “I’m a leaf on the wind: Watch me soar” and “I aim to misbehave” at cons over the next year.
And I want another movie, so I want to see at least $125 million domestic box office on this film…
Paul
I am already seeing a lot of “Leaf on the Wind” icons and the like on LJ. *grins*
I pray that we make $80 million so that I can have my Serenity II. I plan on going to see it again for the third time on Saturday.