Serenity (no spoilers)
May. 27th, 2005 01:15 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
varjohaltiaJust for those of you who don't already know, Serenity is Joss Whedon's first motion picture, depicting the adventures of the crew of the Firefly, from the short-lived science fiction television series of the same name. Joss Whedon, for those of you who don't already know, is most famous for bringing to us Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
The basic setting is of a word some centuries or millenia into the future. There's a high-technology and civilized Alliance comprising a number of core planets, and a bunch of frontier planets with not that much law and a lot of combination of high-tech and frontier-tech, in the vein of hover-wagons being pulled by horses. The "wild west in space" setting put off a lot of people and appealed to others. The series can also be seen as an allegorical look at the US southern states after the civil war and some of the issues of the war in the first place.
The series was made worth its incredibly devoted fandom by at least these ingredients: The chemistry between the cast worked incredibly well, and the set of characters was engaging; things weren't black and white and there was some moral ambiguity and consequent humanity to the characters; the show was intelligent and didn't cater to the lowest common denominator; the show was pretty frank, and did not always have a happy ending.
The movie has consequently a lot to live up to.
Now, the screening was interesting in its own right. Serenity was supposed to come out this April. Conjecture was that it was pushed back to the fall because of Star Wars. As obvious from the screening, though, this isn't the case -- Serenity still has a lot of post production to go through. The film I had the privilege of seeing did not have a finished sound track, was not color-checked, and wasn't fully CGI'd yet. Allowing a number of lay audiences to see the work at this stage is flattering, risky, and at least to me, interesting. It also featured an introduction by Mr. Whedon himself, thanking the fans for their support that made the movie possible, and discussing some other things.
No, Serenity isn't perfection. The cast is all there, but within the span of two hours there is no way to deal with all the characters and their issues, let alone their history. The universe is set up well enough for non-Firefly viewers to get a hang of it, and unless they're totally thick as far as relationships go, the important ones should be pretty obvious even without exposition. Some of the things left open in the canceled series are dealt with, some are not -- both categories largely revolve around River and if this movie has a heroine, she would be it. Nathan Fillion does a stellar job as captain Reynolds, you can't help but to love Kaylee, and Simon gets portrayed a bit more intensely than in the series. Jayne fans don't have to leave empty handed either.
The movie is also very intense, and I suspect it will get a relatively restrictive age rating. The audience will feel anguish, and will squeeze the armrests. It's not a gore fest, but it gets pretty dark. I believe Serenity is better for it, but be forewarned. Also, in the words of Steve, "No character on this show has plot immunity."
On the downside, Whedon does TV, and it shows; he isn't a visual genius -- his strength lies in the characters and the writing. The story he is attempting to tell also doesn't lend itself to a slice of a mere two hours, and there are significant shortcuts that were taken; both in space travel and some plot devices.
This is a film for fans of Firefly. Hopefully non-fans see it as well and become fans, but it is not a movie with universal appeal, and it won't match Star Wars -- which is good, because Serenity has good acting, witty dialogue, engaging characters, an intelligent plot and a modest budget, which makes it a much better movie.
The basic setting is of a word some centuries or millenia into the future. There's a high-technology and civilized Alliance comprising a number of core planets, and a bunch of frontier planets with not that much law and a lot of combination of high-tech and frontier-tech, in the vein of hover-wagons being pulled by horses. The "wild west in space" setting put off a lot of people and appealed to others. The series can also be seen as an allegorical look at the US southern states after the civil war and some of the issues of the war in the first place.
The series was made worth its incredibly devoted fandom by at least these ingredients: The chemistry between the cast worked incredibly well, and the set of characters was engaging; things weren't black and white and there was some moral ambiguity and consequent humanity to the characters; the show was intelligent and didn't cater to the lowest common denominator; the show was pretty frank, and did not always have a happy ending.
The movie has consequently a lot to live up to.
Now, the screening was interesting in its own right. Serenity was supposed to come out this April. Conjecture was that it was pushed back to the fall because of Star Wars. As obvious from the screening, though, this isn't the case -- Serenity still has a lot of post production to go through. The film I had the privilege of seeing did not have a finished sound track, was not color-checked, and wasn't fully CGI'd yet. Allowing a number of lay audiences to see the work at this stage is flattering, risky, and at least to me, interesting. It also featured an introduction by Mr. Whedon himself, thanking the fans for their support that made the movie possible, and discussing some other things.
No, Serenity isn't perfection. The cast is all there, but within the span of two hours there is no way to deal with all the characters and their issues, let alone their history. The universe is set up well enough for non-Firefly viewers to get a hang of it, and unless they're totally thick as far as relationships go, the important ones should be pretty obvious even without exposition. Some of the things left open in the canceled series are dealt with, some are not -- both categories largely revolve around River and if this movie has a heroine, she would be it. Nathan Fillion does a stellar job as captain Reynolds, you can't help but to love Kaylee, and Simon gets portrayed a bit more intensely than in the series. Jayne fans don't have to leave empty handed either.
The movie is also very intense, and I suspect it will get a relatively restrictive age rating. The audience will feel anguish, and will squeeze the armrests. It's not a gore fest, but it gets pretty dark. I believe Serenity is better for it, but be forewarned. Also, in the words of Steve, "No character on this show has plot immunity."
On the downside, Whedon does TV, and it shows; he isn't a visual genius -- his strength lies in the characters and the writing. The story he is attempting to tell also doesn't lend itself to a slice of a mere two hours, and there are significant shortcuts that were taken; both in space travel and some plot devices.
This is a film for fans of Firefly. Hopefully non-fans see it as well and become fans, but it is not a movie with universal appeal, and it won't match Star Wars -- which is good, because Serenity has good acting, witty dialogue, engaging characters, an intelligent plot and a modest budget, which makes it a much better movie.
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no subject
Date: 2005-05-27 01:01 pm (UTC)Anyhow, how did you like it? Do share!
no subject
Date: 2005-05-27 01:05 pm (UTC)The major spoiler you mentioned took me totally unprepared and by shock. I kept hoping til the end that I was wrong. He was a favorite. ;) I loved it. Absolutely passionately loved it. Especially Kaylee's line about nethers. :>
no subject
Date: 2005-05-27 01:13 pm (UTC)That, and the exchange behind the barricade was very reminiscent of the Kaylee of the pilot episode.
If you're ever in this neck of the woods, I have the DVDs :-)
no subject
Date: 2005-05-27 01:23 pm (UTC)We're gonna buy the dvds, and right now, are borrowing them from friends. Altho it DOES look like I'll be in your neck of the woods next spring, so I might take you up on a get-together. :)