Whew -- what a grueling day it has been! 360 miles to Miami and 360 miles back in less than 16 hours, with only me behind the wheel and a great movie in between. I returned the rental car at 8 this morning and then went to sleep for the better part of the day.
For fans -- just to start, I'll say that this review is completely spoiler-free, and I would advise you to pull out of pretty much any and all Firefly/Serenity internet communities. The things that happen in the film have already drummed up so much argument and controversy that I can't imagine that the lid will be kept on things for the entire summer. All it takes is a couple pissed off people or obnoxious trolls to really ruin a lot of the film's impact. Joss Whedon could have made a safe film for every fan to love, but he's really out on a limb with this one. I don't even think it's possible to discuss the film (from the fan's point of view) without going in to spoilers, which is why even the "non-spoilers" reviews seem to tell you the big events if you read betwen the lines. I guess I'll try to give impressions anyway.
To start with, the whole thing was a legitimately wonderful moviegoing experience -- everyone should be so lucky to have a crowd this involved with the film, and this excited to be seeing it. To much applause, theatre employees announced that anyone using a cell phone or pager would be ejected from the auditorium. Later, Joss Whedon's special intro made everyone roused as much as it made them laugh. Over the course of the film, there were cheers, shrieks and gasps at all the appropriate moments (none of this "Holy shit it's the Vader mask! Let's clap! Holy shit Yoda is crawling in a tunnel! Let's clap!" stuff). Everyone shared in catharsis, and it felt like more of a collective experience than any other film viewing in recent memory. If there are any more advance shows, do everything you can to get a ticket. If there are any midnight shows on opening day, it's the closest that you're gonna get.
The film itself is expertly paced, well shot, and full of laughs (so much so that the harsher critics will complain about inconsistency in its tone). The print we saw looked a bit rough in places and the effects work was spotty, but I trust that will all be cleared up. Some thought that the Western elements took a back seat, but I'd say it was about the same as the episodes of the TV show that didn't go totally overboard with people on horseback and in stage coaches and stuff. You'll find the futuristic equivalent of a stage coach chase and Indian raids within the first 30 minutes or so. Also, there's a ghost town and a couple Western-feeling brawls (which contrast with River's ass-kicking scenes, all of which are fluid, highly kinetic and easily better than any of the saber duels in Revenge of the Sith). The final battle sequence is one of the most thrilling and scary I've seen in any movie, and I can't say more than saying that you'll know why when you get there.
All the characters are definitely here, though some are more serious than they used to be. And if 9 main characters was too many for a series, it's certainly too many for a 2 hour film. There's not enough room for all of them, and some are introduced only to become scenery for the rest of Serenity -- looking at the trailer you can probably guess which ones. Critics and normal moviegoers will probably wonder why characters fade in and out like this, or why there's so much concern over the tension between Kaylee/Doctor Tam and Inara/Mal. I don't think they'll be totally left in the dark -- the plot itself is pretty easy to follow, but I don't think they will get very emotionally invested in everything. If the movie tanks (and it probably will) people might blame it on Whedon making a picture that's too fan-friendly. At the end of the day I think he realizes that the whole thing is just a hard-to-sell premise that would have tanked either way, so better to make something that will please fans and fail than something that will please nobody and fail. Removing characters and not addressing issues from the television series wasn't going to make the movie a success anyway. At best, Serenity is an awesome commercial for the TV DVDs, that will hopefully leave newcomers wanting to see more.
Probably my favorite film of the year so far, or at least tied with Sin City. If it's the last time that we venture into the Firefly universe, then it's a more than fitting sendoff. I'll be there on the day the movie opens, and can't wait to start reading the comic books being published over the summer.
The turnout wasn't really crazy -- a pretty full theatre, but nobody dressed up or anything like that. I only took a few pictures (two of which got kinda screwed up by the crappy disposable camera I had to use).
Here's the pre-film line:
Here's everyone in the theatre:
Here's THE MAN -- note the "US Security Associate" badge on his jacket. This guy stood around during the film with night vision googles on, making sure that nobody had a camcorder. The googles are in that little satchel he is wearing....I tried to get him to put 'em on for the photo, but these Feds don't have much of a sense of humor. I'm surprised he even wound up smiling in the photo.
For fans -- just to start, I'll say that this review is completely spoiler-free, and I would advise you to pull out of pretty much any and all Firefly/Serenity internet communities. The things that happen in the film have already drummed up so much argument and controversy that I can't imagine that the lid will be kept on things for the entire summer. All it takes is a couple pissed off people or obnoxious trolls to really ruin a lot of the film's impact. Joss Whedon could have made a safe film for every fan to love, but he's really out on a limb with this one. I don't even think it's possible to discuss the film (from the fan's point of view) without going in to spoilers, which is why even the "non-spoilers" reviews seem to tell you the big events if you read betwen the lines. I guess I'll try to give impressions anyway.
To start with, the whole thing was a legitimately wonderful moviegoing experience -- everyone should be so lucky to have a crowd this involved with the film, and this excited to be seeing it. To much applause, theatre employees announced that anyone using a cell phone or pager would be ejected from the auditorium. Later, Joss Whedon's special intro made everyone roused as much as it made them laugh. Over the course of the film, there were cheers, shrieks and gasps at all the appropriate moments (none of this "Holy shit it's the Vader mask! Let's clap! Holy shit Yoda is crawling in a tunnel! Let's clap!" stuff). Everyone shared in catharsis, and it felt like more of a collective experience than any other film viewing in recent memory. If there are any more advance shows, do everything you can to get a ticket. If there are any midnight shows on opening day, it's the closest that you're gonna get.
The film itself is expertly paced, well shot, and full of laughs (so much so that the harsher critics will complain about inconsistency in its tone). The print we saw looked a bit rough in places and the effects work was spotty, but I trust that will all be cleared up. Some thought that the Western elements took a back seat, but I'd say it was about the same as the episodes of the TV show that didn't go totally overboard with people on horseback and in stage coaches and stuff. You'll find the futuristic equivalent of a stage coach chase and Indian raids within the first 30 minutes or so. Also, there's a ghost town and a couple Western-feeling brawls (which contrast with River's ass-kicking scenes, all of which are fluid, highly kinetic and easily better than any of the saber duels in Revenge of the Sith). The final battle sequence is one of the most thrilling and scary I've seen in any movie, and I can't say more than saying that you'll know why when you get there.
All the characters are definitely here, though some are more serious than they used to be. And if 9 main characters was too many for a series, it's certainly too many for a 2 hour film. There's not enough room for all of them, and some are introduced only to become scenery for the rest of Serenity -- looking at the trailer you can probably guess which ones. Critics and normal moviegoers will probably wonder why characters fade in and out like this, or why there's so much concern over the tension between Kaylee/Doctor Tam and Inara/Mal. I don't think they'll be totally left in the dark -- the plot itself is pretty easy to follow, but I don't think they will get very emotionally invested in everything. If the movie tanks (and it probably will) people might blame it on Whedon making a picture that's too fan-friendly. At the end of the day I think he realizes that the whole thing is just a hard-to-sell premise that would have tanked either way, so better to make something that will please fans and fail than something that will please nobody and fail. Removing characters and not addressing issues from the television series wasn't going to make the movie a success anyway. At best, Serenity is an awesome commercial for the TV DVDs, that will hopefully leave newcomers wanting to see more.
Probably my favorite film of the year so far, or at least tied with Sin City. If it's the last time that we venture into the Firefly universe, then it's a more than fitting sendoff. I'll be there on the day the movie opens, and can't wait to start reading the comic books being published over the summer.
The turnout wasn't really crazy -- a pretty full theatre, but nobody dressed up or anything like that. I only took a few pictures (two of which got kinda screwed up by the crappy disposable camera I had to use).
Here's the pre-film line:
Here's everyone in the theatre:
Here's THE MAN -- note the "US Security Associate" badge on his jacket. This guy stood around during the film with night vision googles on, making sure that nobody had a camcorder. The googles are in that little satchel he is wearing....I tried to get him to put 'em on for the photo, but these Feds don't have much of a sense of humor. I'm surprised he even wound up smiling in the photo.
