Serenity (or Firefly: The Movie)

[polkablues]

This is a major theatrical release, not a Sci-Fi Channel original production!

Universal is planning a sequel film to Serenity that will be produced with and to broadcast premiere on the Sci Fi Channel

My psychic powers are clearly improving.

[modage]

aww.  straight to sci-fi is pretty bad.  straight to dvd would even be more respectable.

[Gamblour.]

Yeah, this is very true, considering the quality of the Bruce Campbell alien/giant bugs movie I saw a while back.

[grand theft sparrow]

I've never been a huge fan of Joss Whedon, never thought he sucked but I think he's overrated.  I've seen a few episodes of Buffy which I liked but nothing that ever sucked me in (though I am still interested to watch it).  And I saw the first disc of the Firefly box set but I wasn't even inclined to watch the second disc that I borrowed from a friend.  I've suspected that he's just not my preferred brand of geekery; Serenity confirmed my suspicions.  I know I'm alone on this one but I didn't like it.   

The first half-hour was good but kind of got boring after that.  I was grateful that they toned down the "we're a western set in the future, isn't that cool?" aspect of the show for the movie but there's nothing new or exciting here.  It was well-directed (particularly for a "low" budget film with effects) but it felt like rehashed elements from other movies that did it better.  I felt no energy from it at all, except for Chiwetel Ejiofor. 

SPOILERS

And killing off Shepherd and Wash (the two characters I liked the most in the few episodes of the show I watched) was unforgivable.  When Wash took the giant spear to the chest, I immediately stopped caring about how it ended.   

END SPOILERS

Really, what it comes down to is that it's not a horrible show or movie... just unremarkable and overhyped by its fanbase (and this talk of Nathan Fillion being the new Harrison Ford... give me a break).  I don't begrudge the fans their rabid lust for this show and movie but there have been other cancelled shows and underperforming films that deserved boisterous fan support more than this one.

[modage]

my story:

as a little digging into this thread can tell you the overwhelming praise for Firefly and hype for Serenity made me very curious to check it out.  but since i had not gotten around to seeing the show by the time the film was released i decided to wait until i had a chance to watch it first so that i might have a greater appreciation of the film.  so, in that respect, i'm glad i did because i think it helped. 

a few weeks ago i had a chance to start watching Firefly and unlike some of the other shows i started watching the past few years (like Lost, Alias, Freaks and Geeks & Twin Peaks) the show did not really grab me.  at first i was a little embarrassed that it seemed to be sort of SciFi Channel nerd programming.  and this is coming from a nerd but even i thought there had to be a line drawn somewhere!  i mean, all the earmarks of nerd fantasy: hot whore, hot whorehouses, hot slave wives, etc.  in fact especially compared to Lost or Alias first season or two, Firefly really didn't seem to be much of a show at all.  the only really story that it had was with River. 

now, had JJ Abrams been behind Firefly i imagined that every episode, even in some small way, would've been driving that plot forward even with only a minute or two at the beginning or end of the show where they go off on whatever mission had nothing to do with the main storyline.  but really of the 14 episodes only maybe 3 had anything to do with the River storyline?  so as much as the characters were fun i kept wondering what was the POINT?  thats what is/was so great about Alias1&2/Lost is that the mystery drives the show and the characters keep you coming back, but the illusion that you're going SOMEwhere is what makes it compulsive viewing.  still, maybe thats just not the way Whedon works and he had planned out bigger arcs that never got a chance to play out thanks to an early cancellation and a many seasons arc storylines.  BUT had he made better use of his time at the beginning of the series to really HOOK people with MYSTERY maybe it wouldnt have been cancelled. 

about 3/4ths of the way through the show i actually turned to my girlfriend and said that even with the information that had been revealed, just what we knew about the characters up until that point, they could've done so much more to reveal it as mysteries and with flashbacks and such just to get across the SAME information!   i mean if River and Simon had been picked up as mysterious passengers and slowly you learned that they were fugitives, and then you learned that the Alliance was hunting them for River, and then you learned they had done crazy tests to her and then you had seen her powers!  that could've been revealed through like episodes and episodes of like sneaky glances and Simon trying to protect her and not let the crew onto her, but they just knew the whole time she was nutty etc.

the entire series feels like the setup to a great show/movie/story.  it barely had time to get into anything but it was cut short.  still, by the end of the series i was really excited for the film.  REALLY excited considering i was only lukewarm on the show.  but surely they would be able to get into certain things they didn't have time for in the show.  we had finished the show thursday night with word that netflix would deliver serenity on friday.  we watched 3 episodes that night to finish the series in preparation.  friday arrives, i get the mail.  serenity is snapped in half!  weekend ruined.  desperation sets in, a video store nearby is located, i sign up for membership and pay 3.25 to rent the film.  so, the film...

i watched the Whedon introduction to the film addressing his fans and after having just watched the series and not even being that much a fan i still managed to get really excited.  during the opening 30 minutes or so of the film i had a constant smile on my face.  i thought that this WOULD be the film to fulfill the PROMISE of the show.  the jump in production was especially noticable.  it looked GREAT.  and for a lower budget picture with a lot of special effects i thought it looked GREAT.  i mean, most times movies with nearly unlimited budgets have shots that always look so bad to me it takes me out of the film.  even in Kong, Rings, Star Wars, etc. but here i thought everything worked.  and it probably were the restrictions that helped that, unliked people with enough money to show anything/everything they realized they had to be creative to make sure the way things were done were as effective as possible.  and in that respect i wish the show had this kind of budget to realize itself because THAT would be the best show ever. 

but by the end of the film it was clear that Whedon had no intention of wrapping up the series.  which made it even more confounding to see him kill off 2 of his main characters!  i like the idea of going out on an epic note with real peril, but the whole film felt like a prelude to a bigger story.  just like the series!  Serenity should've been the pilot to Firefly 2.0 because so many things that were setup in the show were hardly touched upon in the film.  and i understand only having two hours to tell a story that had been envisioned originally as being many many hours is nearly impossible but you'd think after the trouble he went through to get this film made he would've wanted to put as much in as possible! 

but it felt like he was still holding back (and perhaps holding out for future films) by NOT letting Mal and Inara have a moment or Kaylee & Simon, or explaining what Shepards connection to the Alliance is (as aluded to in the series), or giving us some more of the actual Alliance instead of a single bounty hunter (think of it, what if only Boba Fett had been hunting Luke & Han instead of Vader the Emperor and an entire Empire!  thats no film!), what about those guys who make peoples faces bleed!  basically everything save a reason the Alliance wanted River so badly.  and i realize its much more fun to during the mystery than after it's solved (see: everything) but even character moments like i mentioned above would've benefited a film who wanted to stand on it's own as much as satisfy fans of the series. 

however, looking back on it all i can't help but feel incredibly sad that since the film didn't do well this is probably the last we'll see of these characters.  funny, isn't it?  even though i never completely LOVED the show or the film i did enjoy both and would've liked to see them go further with it.  somehow the cummulative effect of the show is greater than the sum of it's parts.  i even made my desktop background the Serenity artwork from above!  so i'd like to see the film again and i may even buy it but i feel like the whole series and film had a lot of untapped potential that makes me even more upset that we wont get a chance to explore it.

[MacGuffin]

No Serenity 2 confirms Whedon

Sad day for Browncoats, with Joss Whedon putting an – ahem – stake through any chance of a "Serenity" sequel.

Whedon tells the terrific Whedonesque site that although he was intending to make a franchise out of his TV series ("Firefly") turned film, it's a no go.

There's been scuttlebutt over the past couple of weeks suggesting that a sequel was gearing up, but alas, such talk is false.

"There's no sequel, no secret project regarding Serenity or somesuch and I'm not even sure how anyone thought there was talk there," wrote Whedon. "So let's put that to bed and smother it with a pillow."

"Serenity", released last year to much fanfare but little box office returns, apparently didn't even recoup its costs.

[ProgWRX]

too bad   i realize people want to move on and do other projects but i still have the selfish fan point of view of wanting more and being dissapointed when series creators seem to abandon things (Arrested Development and now this)

[Ravi]

http://www.dvdactive.com/news/releases/serenity5.html

Title: Serenity
Starring: Nathan Fillion
Released: 21st August 2007
SRP: $26.98

Further Details:
Universal Home Video has sent over early details on a new two-disc collector's edition of Serenity which stars Nathan Fillion, and Alan Tudyk. This Joss Whedon directed sci-fi will be available to own from the 21st August, and should retail at around $26.98. The film itself will be presented in 2.35:1 anamorphic widescreen, along with   English Dolby Digital 5.1, and DTS 5.1 Surround tracks. Universal has yet to reveal the extra material I'm afraid, but we'll bring you further details very shortly. Stay tuned.

[Ravi]

Yuck.

[The Perineum Falcon]

Yeah, that "Copyrighted Material" is worse than the Criterion C.

[polkablues]

The sad thing is, that's still a thousand times better than any of this movie's previous promotional art.

[Rudie Obias]

i have an ongoing argument with my brother, which was the better sci-fi film of 2005?  star wars episode 3 the revenge of the sith OR serenity?  discuss...

(i will post my answer soon)

ps
i haven't been on this thing in years and i should be regularly back....

[hedwig]

WELCOME BACK RUDIECOREXXX!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!