I saw Serenity tonight too.

POSTED BY: wilef
UPDATED: Saturday, February 26, 2005 09:39
VIEWED: 20050
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WILEF

Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:04 AM

I never even heard of Firefly until today. I found out what movie I was seeing (they wouldn't tell us, but I did some investigating) so I looked into it. It sounds like a lot of people liked the show, so I decided to go see the movie. It was pretty good. I though the ensemble cast did a great job, not sub-par tv actors for the most part. I'll write more later if anyone is interested.

HASUFEL

Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:24 AM

Please do! Well, not specific plot or character stuff, but your perspective as a "non-fan" would be unique and very appreciated. Just please be sensitive to not "spoiling" the show. Joss Whedon is legendary for throwing curves and surprises, and coming upon them unexpectedly is a lot of the enjoyment. If in doubt, you can use the fun "spoiler" brackets that will show up like this:

(highlight to read)

Select to view spoiler:

This is something that might spoil the show.

Soooo ... what did you think?

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

LITTLEEWOK

Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:45 AM

I saw the first screening, and was wondering if you would be so kind as to e-mail me about the movie there is a few things i want to ask you such as if there was any diffrent scenes between the two screenings.

littleewok51@hotmail.com

thanks

VAMPIREBRAD

Thursday, February 17, 2005 8:09 AM

Where did you see it? I saw it in Thousand Oaks, California. Maybe we were at the same screening, lol.

BROWNCOAT1

Thursday, February 17, 2005 4:26 PM

Welcome to our little corner of the 'verse Wilef. Glad to have you with us.

So you are one of the lucky few that have had a chance to see the BDM. I must say I am envious, but I am content to wait it out w/ the rest of the Browncoat ranks until September.

Please feel free to jump into the conversations wherever you have a mind to.

If you are going to post anything spoiler wise about the film please be sure to use the spoiler code to cover it so that those that don't wish to read spoilers can avoid it.

__________________________________________

"May have been the losing side. Still not convinced it was the wrong one."

Richmond, VA & surrounding area Firefly Meet Up:
http://firefly.meetup.com/9/boards/

WILEF

Thursday, February 17, 2005 6:38 PM

Ok, I have more time now to elaborate, so here goes.

Vampirebrad: Yeah, I was in T.O. too, Janss Marketplace.

Anyway, while I never saw Firefly before, I've always liked high quality sci-fi. I've never been interested in anything else Joss on television. Nothing against him as a writer, I was just never interested in the subject matter (vampires, demons). The only thing I watch on tv is Smallville. I used to watch Star Trek (TNG, DS9, and Voyager). When I heard that the movie was based on a TV show that was cancelled after half a season, I was really skeptical, because in my opinion there's a lot of sci-fi out there that isn't that good or just doesn't appeal to me. I was never interested in Babylon 5 or Stargate SG1 or anything else space related on tv. But I decided to go after I found out what a following this show had and how many DVD sets were sold. The 1200 reviews on Amazon were almost all 5 stars...impressive! So, the audience was hoping the movie would be Star Wars and they were disappointed to find that it wasn't.

I was pleasantly surprised with a lot about this movie. Like I said earlier, the cast worked really well together. I liked the captain and Kaylee the best. I didn't care for Jayne as much or Simon who I don't think was a character on the show.

The setting was pretty unique to sci-fi, the old west feel was really cool and more convincing than I thought it would be. They all talked like cowboys, but it worked for me, much edgier than Star Trek, anti-Star Trek really. I like the idea that the Alliance/Federation is like big brother, it let's you root for the 'bad guys' because they don't buy into the system.

I don't want to spoil anything so I won't say anything specific, not even in the spoiler brackets, but I will say 2 general things in the spoiler brackets for those that want to know. It'll probably just tease you, so don't read it if you want to be completely in the dark when you see the movie.

Select to view spoiler:

Ok, first off there are two characters that I believe were regular crew members that are no longer on the ship for whatever reason. I won't say who, but I assume they hadn't left the ship by the time the show was cancelled. Second, there are a few people that die in the movie. I won't say whether they are just characters from the movie or original characters from the show.

There were some special effects missing in the showing, most notably a scene where the Serenity was completely unrendered, but I'd say that over 90% of the effects were in place and only needed brushing up. I heard that the show had really good effects for a tv show and I'd have to agree from what I saw of the movie. I heard it had a $40 million budget which isn't huge for today and the special effects were top notch.

There was some cool camera work too. You remember movies with good cinematography like Fight Club and anything M. Night Shyamalan does. There were a few scenes where you do stop and think 'That was a cool way to film that scene.'

I think the sound effects were probably incomplete too, but they're on the right track. The bass was great when ships would fly by. The sound would make you want to see this in a theatre instead of at home.

I liked the music a lot, I don't know what the music was like in the show, but the only word that comes to mind to describe it would be 'adventure'. I think it worked perfectly for the movie because that's what I think of the crew, always looking for an exciting adventure.

Ok, what I didn't like was a couple of lines that were just kind of shocking. In the beginning of the movie there are children talking in class (in the Alliance) about rumors of the Reavers. I'm assuming the Reavers are a part of the show. Anyway, instead of just saying they rape and murder, the little kid says they rape people for hours and hours. Kind of a shocking, way too descriptive statement to make, especially from a kid. Second, Kaylee seems like a sweet, innocent character, but she makes a comment about the only thing that's been between he

BARNSTORMER

Thursday, February 17, 2005 7:43 PM

Excellent idea,

Go buy the DVD's then come back and post again. It would be great to hear what you think after seeing plot lines previous to the movie.

UUUMmmm, lets see.....this is Thursday...soooooo..
How about we give you till Monday to buy the DVD's, watch all the episodes, think about it for a while, then tell us what you think.

Hows that sound

***turn on whine mode****
P.S. I can't tell you how jealous I get when someone posts that they saw the BDM already.

I'm happy for all of you, but impatient for my turn. (come on September, hurry up)

***turn off whine mode*****

Am I a Lion?... No, I think I'ma tellin' the truth.

BarnStormer

MASTERSHAKE

Thursday, February 17, 2005 8:34 PM

I saw the screening in Thousand Oaks too. My spoiler-free thoughts:

It had all the laughs, action and drama of the show, but on a grand scale. Some great action sequences, some really funny character moments, some really heartbreaking character moments, and a terrific villain. It was a rough and unpolished version, with lots of unfinished effects shots and a temp score (I recognized bits of the Shawshank score and the Pitch Black score). And since my only complaints are about music that doesn't exist yet, and about some jarring edits that will no doubt be finessed by September, I really don't have anything bad to say. I was so sad when it ended, because it was like the series ending. I just wanted more and more.

Can't wait to see the finished version in September!

As for audience reaction, nobody knew what they were seeing until it was announced right before the movie unspooled. The audience was abuzz with rumors that it could be Episode III or War of the Worlds. When they announced it was Serenity, most people were like, "WTF is Serenity?" But aside from two jerks who snickered for the first 20 minutes of the movie and then left, the crowd seemed to dig it. The funny moments got big laughs, the dramatic moments got gasps, and I think it won the audience over. Some of the action sequences fell a little flat because of editing & music, but, like I said, this isn't the real music score and the movie will be tighter in 7 months. I think for a crowd who expected a Lucas or Spielberg movie, and instead was presented with Serenity, the reaction was positive. The difference between these super-secret test screenings and a regularly released movie is that the audience that shows up for a released movie knows what they're paying for, have seen the previews and are prepared for what movie it is. But, again, with expectations being Episode III-high before the movie was announced, the audience still seemed to respond well to it.

Oh and I saw Joss in the back.

CAITE

Thursday, February 17, 2005 8:40 PM

Maybe, maybe someday, somewhere, I'll get to see an advanced screening of Serenity! Otherwise my opening day plans are as follows...it's my Mom's birthday the day before the BDM opens, and she's the one that introduced me to Firefly, so it's only fitting I think. We're going to go together. Actually, I'm hoping for a midnight screening, but who knows if that'll happpen!

VAMPIREBRAD

Thursday, February 17, 2005 9:08 PM

JOSS WAS IN THE BACK?!?!?!? I MISSED HIM! NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Anyways, its nice to see a couple people from my actual showing are now here. I stayed after with about 20 other people to discuss the movie (with such hi-tech voice recorders, lol). Im just mad I missed Joss!

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