![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
I liked it. Yes, I really did.
OMG WASH!!!!! I cried through the end of the movie. And laughed. But, yes, I cried. I still am in total shock that he killed off Wash. After that all bets were off and I had no clue about how the movie might end. Kaylee get shot by green poison dart things?
She's gonna die.
Zoe go crazy warrior woman hell bent on a path of revenge and many bloody guts?
Yup. She's a gonna die.
Simon belly shot (hey there Serenity) and bleeding all over the gorram floor?
Dead, sure as sunshine.
And then River shuts them in and faces the monsters.
Ah, shit. She's a goner.
Of course I forgot about River's wacky crazy ninja skills and I LOVE that she had a safe word and just collpased. Amd the image of Mal carrying her off was all sorts of heart tugging. Summer Glau, with all of her ballet training, was a sight to behold. I'd like to know how much was her and how much was a stunt double because I'd bet she did most of it. It is, after all, only choreography and she was fluid man! Fluid!
Watching that last battle with the Reavers was like watching a video game and I loved the last shot of her with sword and axe. Yes, it was a little over the top. All Blood Rayne/God of War and some such. But still very pretty and very effective. I was all kinds of ready for her to go Ninja Gaiden on the Alliance troops and take them out, too.
Mal getting the shit kicked out of him was awesome. I loved that it wasn't easy for him and he got his ass kicked not once but twice!!!
I thought the texture of the film was gorgeous -- costumes, set design, art direction, etc. I loved the feel of the cities. Realistic and futuristic all at once. Functional. Reminded me quite a bit of Blade Runner. Held very well with the reality of what was presented in the show. I know that there will be beef from those of you keen on world building. But, hey, not everything makes sense. In real life things most things don't make sense. I don't see anything wrong with a few idiosyncrasies in the epic vision of a 'verse.
What else? Let's see.
The cast was tougher, leaner. There was a darkness that was missing in the show. I think in one of the commentaries, Joss mentioned how the network wanted him to lighten it up. Well, he got to go bold and dark on the big screen and it fit very well. I like seeing how Mal is loved and feared by his crew. Kaylee's discomfort was a delicisous dynamic to their relationship. Inara was as feisty as ever. I have more love for Jayne than ever before. His mercenary tendencies were played for comic effect in the show, but it was nice to see the ruthlessness bleeding through. Made him edgier, more dangerous, and far far more interesting. Not just dumb muscle. Dumb dangerous muscle.
River was enchanting. Loved the creepiness. As mentioned before, loved loved loved the fight sequences and Summer Glau! The end scene with Simon had me in tears because I couldn't tell if she was being all psychic or if she was just a seventeen year old girl with her fingers crossed, unwilling to believe that the one thing she wants the most she won't get.
Book was neat. Exploring his character would have been an excellent job for the show. Alas! from the moment that he stepped onto the big screen I knew his minutes were numbered. Wash, however, was a shot out of the blue. A punch in the gut. I was totally blindsided, thankyouverymuchmrwhedon!
Watching Serenity was also a reminder of how hard it is to work with such a large cast and give them all equal time. This movie was really about Mal. Around the edges it was about River, but not really. It wasn't even about a time or a place. Just a man wihtout hope. Because of that, I don't think that it translated well from TV to Cinema. As a fan of Firefly, I think it did it's job superbly. As a fan of the movies, I don't think I would have enjoyed it half so much without the background knowledge. There were too many characters to juggle and too much back story not covered. It's a difficult story to translate, one which would have been served best with an unfolding. I would feel sort of bad for anyone watching the movie amongst fans of the show. There are going to be moments you just don't get. Things that the audience laugh at just because. Because it's sort of an in joke between them and a much beloved piece of tv art. For example, Kaylee and Simon are nearly superfluous. They don't make much of an impact. They are very obviously lesser characters. I'll grade Inara up only because she is very obviously the love interest and that automatically makes her slightly more interesting than other background characters.
Book shows up as just someone from the past and his death won't mean anything to anyone who wasn't watching Firefly. He isn't around long enough to make a real connection with the audience or to even leave much of an impression that he was seriously that important to the crew of Serenity beyond what's declared through exposition -- "You know I come to you for counsel" or whatever it was that Mal said. My repsonse to that was "since when?" Although always willing to allow his ear to be bent on most things, Mal never showed any real attachment to Book over the course of the show and with no real evidence we are left to take it for granted in the movie.
Other things I didn't care for? I expected a little more breaking from Zoe. Immediately following Wash's death I was impressed with Gina Torres' intensity. There was so much pain and rigidity in her performance that I wanted to scream for her. When Mal asks her if she's there and Gina turns to him with that dead, it doesn't matter sort of look on her face .... guh! The close, in the hangar, I would have liked to have seen a little more of that. She was, obviously, fractured and trying to hold it together, but I would have liked to see the cracks just a touch more.
River and Mal in the cockpit, although real sweet and all, was a touch sacchrine. I thought that was too cheesy. I would have liked something a little more mixed with Mal's weariness, bitterness, something. *shrug*
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar." WASH!!!!!!
I am *so* going to miss my boy. And how much did I love that Zoe wore a slinky dress to the funeral. See, that's something you're going to miss if you didn't watch the show.
But, all in all, a really good movie. I LOVED it and YES, I'll be buying it once it hits the shelves.
ETA: Oh, and The Opperative reminds me of a more sophisticated, less wacky fun, Jubal Early. At least in that first scene. Creepy without the zany insanity. More scary insane. You, believer, you.
ETA II: And what, exactly, was up with Inara's Xena-wear? I mean the crossbolt was WAY with the coolness. But the outfit is a little questionable.
OMG WASH!!!!! I cried through the end of the movie. And laughed. But, yes, I cried. I still am in total shock that he killed off Wash. After that all bets were off and I had no clue about how the movie might end. Kaylee get shot by green poison dart things?
She's gonna die.
Zoe go crazy warrior woman hell bent on a path of revenge and many bloody guts?
Yup. She's a gonna die.
Simon belly shot (hey there Serenity) and bleeding all over the gorram floor?
Dead, sure as sunshine.
And then River shuts them in and faces the monsters.
Ah, shit. She's a goner.
Of course I forgot about River's wacky crazy ninja skills and I LOVE that she had a safe word and just collpased. Amd the image of Mal carrying her off was all sorts of heart tugging. Summer Glau, with all of her ballet training, was a sight to behold. I'd like to know how much was her and how much was a stunt double because I'd bet she did most of it. It is, after all, only choreography and she was fluid man! Fluid!
Watching that last battle with the Reavers was like watching a video game and I loved the last shot of her with sword and axe. Yes, it was a little over the top. All Blood Rayne/God of War and some such. But still very pretty and very effective. I was all kinds of ready for her to go Ninja Gaiden on the Alliance troops and take them out, too.
Mal getting the shit kicked out of him was awesome. I loved that it wasn't easy for him and he got his ass kicked not once but twice!!!
I thought the texture of the film was gorgeous -- costumes, set design, art direction, etc. I loved the feel of the cities. Realistic and futuristic all at once. Functional. Reminded me quite a bit of Blade Runner. Held very well with the reality of what was presented in the show. I know that there will be beef from those of you keen on world building. But, hey, not everything makes sense. In real life things most things don't make sense. I don't see anything wrong with a few idiosyncrasies in the epic vision of a 'verse.
What else? Let's see.
The cast was tougher, leaner. There was a darkness that was missing in the show. I think in one of the commentaries, Joss mentioned how the network wanted him to lighten it up. Well, he got to go bold and dark on the big screen and it fit very well. I like seeing how Mal is loved and feared by his crew. Kaylee's discomfort was a delicisous dynamic to their relationship. Inara was as feisty as ever. I have more love for Jayne than ever before. His mercenary tendencies were played for comic effect in the show, but it was nice to see the ruthlessness bleeding through. Made him edgier, more dangerous, and far far more interesting. Not just dumb muscle. Dumb dangerous muscle.
River was enchanting. Loved the creepiness. As mentioned before, loved loved loved the fight sequences and Summer Glau! The end scene with Simon had me in tears because I couldn't tell if she was being all psychic or if she was just a seventeen year old girl with her fingers crossed, unwilling to believe that the one thing she wants the most she won't get.
Book was neat. Exploring his character would have been an excellent job for the show. Alas! from the moment that he stepped onto the big screen I knew his minutes were numbered. Wash, however, was a shot out of the blue. A punch in the gut. I was totally blindsided, thankyouverymuchmrwhedon!
Watching Serenity was also a reminder of how hard it is to work with such a large cast and give them all equal time. This movie was really about Mal. Around the edges it was about River, but not really. It wasn't even about a time or a place. Just a man wihtout hope. Because of that, I don't think that it translated well from TV to Cinema. As a fan of Firefly, I think it did it's job superbly. As a fan of the movies, I don't think I would have enjoyed it half so much without the background knowledge. There were too many characters to juggle and too much back story not covered. It's a difficult story to translate, one which would have been served best with an unfolding. I would feel sort of bad for anyone watching the movie amongst fans of the show. There are going to be moments you just don't get. Things that the audience laugh at just because. Because it's sort of an in joke between them and a much beloved piece of tv art. For example, Kaylee and Simon are nearly superfluous. They don't make much of an impact. They are very obviously lesser characters. I'll grade Inara up only because she is very obviously the love interest and that automatically makes her slightly more interesting than other background characters.
Book shows up as just someone from the past and his death won't mean anything to anyone who wasn't watching Firefly. He isn't around long enough to make a real connection with the audience or to even leave much of an impression that he was seriously that important to the crew of Serenity beyond what's declared through exposition -- "You know I come to you for counsel" or whatever it was that Mal said. My repsonse to that was "since when?" Although always willing to allow his ear to be bent on most things, Mal never showed any real attachment to Book over the course of the show and with no real evidence we are left to take it for granted in the movie.
Other things I didn't care for? I expected a little more breaking from Zoe. Immediately following Wash's death I was impressed with Gina Torres' intensity. There was so much pain and rigidity in her performance that I wanted to scream for her. When Mal asks her if she's there and Gina turns to him with that dead, it doesn't matter sort of look on her face .... guh! The close, in the hangar, I would have liked to have seen a little more of that. She was, obviously, fractured and trying to hold it together, but I would have liked to see the cracks just a touch more.
River and Mal in the cockpit, although real sweet and all, was a touch sacchrine. I thought that was too cheesy. I would have liked something a little more mixed with Mal's weariness, bitterness, something. *shrug*
"I am a leaf on the wind. Watch how I soar." WASH!!!!!!
I am *so* going to miss my boy. And how much did I love that Zoe wore a slinky dress to the funeral. See, that's something you're going to miss if you didn't watch the show.
But, all in all, a really good movie. I LOVED it and YES, I'll be buying it once it hits the shelves.
ETA: Oh, and The Opperative reminds me of a more sophisticated, less wacky fun, Jubal Early. At least in that first scene. Creepy without the zany insanity. More scary insane. You, believer, you.
ETA II: And what, exactly, was up with Inara's Xena-wear? I mean the crossbolt was WAY with the coolness. But the outfit is a little questionable.
