<SPOILER> Questions about the BDM <SPOILER>
POSTED BY: AnthonyT
UPDATED: Wednesday, September 7, 2005 16:35
VIEWED: 4058
PAGE 2 of 2
Aye, he's clearly done some good work that deserves death-by-falling-on-sword.
Nothing like a bit of quality penmanship...
Serenity has a lot of interesting things to day about belief and the price of freedom. I think that the way it addresses fanaticism in particular is pretty bold, considering the current world climate.
Also... I love the Session 416 viral campaign but I do question it's potential at helping to market to non-fans.
Oh, wait, this was a topic about Mal getting shot in the back. I remember. Another thought, keeping with the same logic, is that The Operative purposefully had the stun on a low setting to keep Mal 'in the game'.
But remember we have also seen how crappy new-fangled Alliance weapons can be (again, 'Ariel') ;-)
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Two points I can contribute to this thread:
1. My best explanation as to why the 'stun gun' The Operative uses is so ineffective against Mal was b/c he wanted to make sure he killed Mal face to face. I think, by this time, The Operative was truly angered by Mal's actions (bringing in the Reavers and killing off 'innocent' Alliance troops in the ensuing battle) and wanted to kill him very very badly. However, his own twisted moral code would not allow him to murder an unsuspecting target without a 'fair fight', so I think he lowered the setting on the stunner so as to get Mal's attention and prevent him from crossing the chasm.
2. After finally seeing the completed version of the movie (and two pre-screenings), I think I figured out what Mal did to The Operative to incapacitate him. First, he gave him a shot to the throat to stun him and then he dislocated both his shoulders. He then puts The Operative against the railing and uses his sword to secure him to it. This is why you dont see The Operative moving any of his upper body in the final scenes, but also explains why he would be up and about at the end of the flick.
The thing that disapointed me in the final cut of the film was how they shortened the scene where Mal pulls the sword from his torso. I remember in the pre-screenings that the scene was a bit longer and certainly much more wince-inducing, especially with the sound effects they used. My best guess is that they shortened it to get to the PG-13 rating.
-Oxy
------------------------------------------------
'What people call impossible is just stuff they
haven't seen yet...'
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Hi all,
I can see by now that I didn't miss any important details when watching the scene. It is the audience's job to reconcile events in this climactic battle. (A simple line of 'I see I'm not the only one who wears body armor' would have sufficed.)
To defend weapons of the Alliance, though, I have to say that every person shot with an Alliance weapon in any of the episodes either died or dropped like a rock.
They just weren't built for busting down doors, is all.
--Anthony
"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner
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"The thing that disapointed me in the final cut of the film was how they shortened the scene where Mal pulls the sword from his torso. I remember in the pre-screenings that the scene was a bit longer and certainly much more wince-inducing, especially with the sound effects they used. My best guess is that they shortened it to get to the PG-13 rating."
That's a shame. It was important to see Mal take as much punishment as possible.
Of course, it would have been nice to see him even more incapacitated and bloody on his walk back to his people. Or even not able to make the trip back.
Of all the things I liked about the film, and even the final fight, I have to say there's a few points in Mal's fight scene where things could have used some tweaking.
--Anthony
"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner
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Basically, what I take from that scene is that Mal is a TOUGH SOB. The gunshot wasn't lethal, but it hurt. Mal just got up anyway. That's the power of belief. Same as when Mal got stabbed.
"Just because I choose to wander, it doesn't mean that I am lost..."
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and similar to Mal in 'Out of Gas', he took a bullet to the chest and still managed to get the ship running again!
Stronger than your average bear, that's our Mal!
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"Hello, my name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father: prepare to die."
I've seen the same determination handled before. I guess it just resonated more the way it was handled in that movie. Inigo is hit with the thrown dagger. He falls, the aura of defeat and death is on him. Then he makes the decision. You can see him rally. He stands. He fights.
Kill Bill had a similar scene at the end. You can see The Bride massively wounded in an early attack of the final fight. She falls. Then she forces herself up.
After Mal is stabbed, we get a similar scene. Let me tell you, we see this scene so often in so many movies because it works on our hearts.
But when he gets shot in the back? Nada.
--Anthony
"Liberty must not be purchased at the cost of Humanity." --Captain Robert Henner
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