Serenity Now
My sister and brother-in-law first turned me on to Firefly over last Christmas break. A few days before Christmas, my wife and I found ourselves watching episode after episode in their upstate New York home. Because we had to actually visit with our in-laws a bit, we ordered the series on Netflex when we got home – and I recommend this if you like the film. I still can’t figure out why the show never made it through a complete season. Thankfully, we’re getting at least one more look at Firefly, this time as a potential Hollywood blockbuster.
Joss Whedon, the writer and director of the series, also known for Buffy the Vampire Slayer, took the helm for the new film and his clever writing permeates it. Though some critics have claimed the series didn’t transfer well to the big screen, I must disagree. We were riveted from the opening scenes. This was even one of those rare movies where I found myself yelling at the screen “No!!!” when I witnessed the hero being defeated in a fistfight.
Almost every review I’ve read, suggests that Firefly fans will love the new film Serenity, but most of the rest of the crowd will wonder what all the fuss it about. Since I was already familiar with all the characters, it was a little like watching a continuing series. I had no catching up to do. I’m curious how those of you who haven’t seen the series reacted to the film. Did you feel a bit lost? Were the characters a bit too sketchy to get into? Or did you like it as much as I did?
posted by druff at 8:48 AM
4 Comments:
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Dragging my cousins Alex and Katie, Jay Mackay, and two unexpected guests (Seth Thompson and Andrew Baker) along with me, the gang set off to see Serenity. Andrew was a devotee of Firefly, so he knew everything. I don't remember whether Seth understood or not. My cousin Alex and I had seen all the episodes of Firefly on DVD, which my mother bought for $18 on a whim, so we understood everything that happened. Jay had seen one or two episodes at my house, so he knew a little, but just a little. Katie was oblivious. Every two seconds she turned to us and asked, "What? Who are they? What's going on?" We eventually stopped answering.
I agree with Mr. Ruff about considering Serenity a continuation of the series, but Jay noticed a fluctuation in the plot from what I'd told him about Simon and River's adventures and what the movie showed. He observed that when the alliance agent who never gets mad watched the security camera re-runs from the lab where River was being experimented on, Simon personally retrieved River by the use of disguise and a stunning device. The TV show implied that Simon paid out his entire fortune to have River rescued by hospital insiders. Jay also couldn't understand if the movie occurred just after Simon got River out of the hospital, or as a continuation of the episodes. I'm slightly torn on the issue. Oh nevermind. This is getting too nitty-gritty and technical.
Overall, I believe the film to be a terrific piece of work, and all those with me whole-heartedly agreed. Even Katie enjoyed it after she gave up on understanding the characters' backgrounds. Everyone present wished that the series and/or films would continue, but seeing how the box office is doing at present, I don't have much faith in that happening. ::tear:: The population of the whole world must buy the Firefly series and go watch the movie a hundred million times!
Brrr, who are you? You write quite well. I have to admit I didn't think quite so much about the nitty gritty of the film, but I haven't seen the Firefly series since last Thanksgiving. I was shocked to see how quickly Serenity disappeared from the big screen. Obviously pretty doubtful we'll see any sequels. I did read a very funny review of it Moviejuice. The author of that website is really clever. He attributes much of the failure of the film to the no name actors and the fact that, as mentioned, it's sort of a continuation of a series most haven't seen. Alas.
It's Vivian. My father remarks that Serenity will follow in the footsteps of the Princess Bride, which plummeted at the box office but made a killing as a VCHS. Who hasn't seen or heard about the Princess Bride? Exactly. Hopefully Serenity will become popular if it comes out on DVD.
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