My thoughts on Serenity *SPOILER*
POSTED BY: j6ngo1977
UPDATED: Thursday, December 29, 2005 04:26
VIEWED: 9293
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For some reason people seem to believe that one needs power to do damage, it simply isn't true.
Hit somebody with a big rock and watch the minimal effect, hit somebody with a little rock carrying the same momentum (or perhaps far less) in a more opportune place and watch them do an involuntary back flip and die before their body has settled.
River had speed and precision, that is all someone needs. Sharp objects and knowledge of biology do help more than somewhat though.
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Quote:I guess, I can buy that, but what about the guy who clocked her in the face during the bar fight? How do we explain that one? It seems to me that one shot gets through and she should be down for the count. I think I would be okay with the whole thing much more, in fact, I might not have noticed it at all, if it hadn’t been for that punch.
Originally posted by chrisisall:
You'll be receiving legal notice shortly.
I thought about this, and about the possible stamina she could have. If you could react perfectly to any incoming motion and put as little as 10 pounds of force in the proper spot (eyes, throat, tendons in knees, etc.), you could do major damage with minimum effort....of course this would take near psychic aim. HEY! She IS a psychic!
Plus, she was using really sharp things she got off the Reavers.
Does that help you buy it all a little bit more, Finn?
Anyway it was a small (though crucial) part of the movie. I’ve learned to overlook it, in appreciation of its many fine points.
Quote:Buffy was very fickle like that. Sometimes she could kick a lot of vampire butt, and another time a seemingly harmless vampire would be slapping her all around.
Originally posted by chrisisall:
P.S., Buffy wouldn't have been able to beat that many Reavers; she's been known to have a problem with just one normal vamp (see: Fool For Love)
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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.
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QUOTE]I can tell you for absolute certain that Ron Glass was *anything* but happy about having his character killed off. Have a look at the reports from the recent Flanvention to see what I mean.
Well, that makes it doubly s*cko that he was killed off.
"What'd y'all order a dead guy for?"
Jayne Cobb
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Quote:I took note of this too, and I knew you were gonna bring it up. Look closely and you'll see her roll with it, not accepting the force of the blow; the sound effect is purely for dramatic effect, and poorly chosen, IMO. But you're right about a solid blow, everything depends on her avoiding even one from a strong arm.
Originally posted by Finn mac Cumhal:
but what about the guy who clocked her in the face during the bar fight? How do we explain that one? It seems to me that one shot gets through and she should be down for the count. I think I would be okay with the whole thing much more, in fact, I might not have noticed it at all, if it hadn’t been for that punch.
And Buffy has Relative Powers Syndrome; her powers vary to meet the needs of the particular episode's script.
Holiday Punch-drunk Chrisisall
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Firefly was always very grounded science fiction, avoiding faster than light travel or time travel. So I don't see Book and Wash being "reborn on the Genesis planet." But I also notice some time has gone by before the movie picks up. Book has left the crew as well as Inara (which you kinda see coming during the series). So it is possible that one or more stories (movies maybe) could be done during this time period to include Book and Wash (of course there is no indication that any of Book's mystery past has revealed to the crew prior to Serenity). But there is a lot going on in Book's past that needs to be shown (although this could be done in flashback in a story where they start investigating his past and remember times with Book and see scenes set in Book's past). So there is a realistic possibility of seeing them again.
But that aside, thier deaths really struck me deep while watching Serenity. It felt like a real loss because I knew these characters for only a handful of episodes, and became really invested in them, and then they were gone. Real bummer! But random death is part of the Joss-verse (kinda like real life) and Book's death was a strong motivation for Mal to risk it all, and Wash dying after Serenity is torn apart just sets it up for you to feel real jeopardy for the others (my god we're in the hands of a madman storyteller named Joss, and we don't know what will happen next!). Well I need to finish my stages of grief now.
Quote:
Originally posted by Jumpy:
I don't think Joss would be so tacky as to bring them back from the dead :D. I mean sure, he did it in Buffy I'm pretty sure (I never watched it episode after episode) but then again the show deals with the occult and heaven/ hell etc. so its not AS far-fetched.
__________________________
There's no show I'd rather see, than the one with Serenity.
You can't take the sky from me...
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Quote:
Originally posted by christhecynic:
For some reason people seem to believe that one needs power to do damage, it simply isn't true.
Hit somebody with a big rock and watch the minimal effect, hit somebody with a little rock carrying the same momentum (or perhaps far less) in a more opportune place and watch them do an involuntary back flip and die before their body has settled.
River had speed and precision, that is all someone needs. Sharp objects and knowledge of biology do help more than somewhat though.
When one studies martial arts, you quickly learn that one can make up for size and strength with skill. 10lbs of force in the right location on the body can cause debilitating or lethal damage, and River is obviously been modified for that effect. This isn't physics, it's called biomechanics. And I haven't rewatched the River hit, but I've been hit enough times in the head inadvertently by people and objects (and a couple times purposefully by people) to know that you don't always drop (brain has to contact the side of the skullcase to cause unconciousness). I'm sure River's programing also makes her tougher than the average 90lb girl. As far as taking out Reavers, they are berzerkers and so don't fight in an organized fashion which makes it easier for a skilled combatant to take out a large number of them. Plus it is established that they don't live very healthy lifestyles, which perhaps makes them a little more fragile. And of course, if you are one person fighting a group you have the advantage of not worrying about who you hit but the Reavers swinging wildly at River would likely hit each other too (advantage River again).
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So, Finn, have ya watched it again? I watched it last night (AGAIN, let's see, that makes it what? 8 times on DVD now...?) and she definitly rolled- almost NO contact made. (Clumsy fighters sometimes get a mis-timed strike in; Bruce Lee observed that inexperienced opponents could sometimes pose the most problems...he called it Broken Rhythm, the cornerstone of the Drunken style)
Martial-arty Chrisisall
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Quote:I call it Broken Jaw of a 90lb girl.
Originally posted by chrisisall:
So, Finn, have ya watched it again? I watched it last night (AGAIN, let's see, that makes it what? 8 times on DVD now...?) and she definitly rolled- almost NO contact made. (Clumsy fighters sometimes get a mis-timed strike in; Bruce Lee observed that inexperienced opponents could sometimes pose the most problems...he called it Broken Rhythm, the cornerstone of the Drunken style)
Martial-arty Chrisisall
I did watch it, and I suppose you could interpret her head movement as rolling with the punch, then again there is the sound effect that makes it quite clear that there was contact. And as far as rolling with punches, let’s not forget that all of these punches and kicks were all choreographed fakes so if a head jerked appears to be rolled, it probably was in reality, but that doesn’t mean that is how it was supposed to be interpreted. The sound effect, I think, makes it quite clear that this was indeed intended to be understood as full contact. So I stand by my original interpretation. I don't think she’s rolling with the punch, rather she’s responding to a clearly full impact punch from someone clearly larger then her as if her momma just slapped her. I take that to mean that we are supposed to believe she is somehow magically strong, like Buffy.
The only other logical interpretation that I can think of is that there just wasn’t that much thought put into it to begin with. The choreographers or the writers never stopped to consider what impact this would have on the storyline, which I suppose it a possibility. Though I’m inclined to believe the former considering her clash with the Reavers. I think the story is intended to be, at least in part, about a superheroine, which is a departure from the tv show, at least as much as I understood it.
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Qui desiderat pacem praeparet bellum.
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The sound effect does tend to take away the opening for interpretation I suggest, but I stand by my assumption that she rolled with it, 'cause...I do. It don't make sense that she could take a shot like that from a big guy. So...she didn't.
P.S., I told my lawyer to halt on the sueing thing.
Chrisisall, secure in what he WANTS to believe
(but understanding AND comprehending it)
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