Serenity LOSING to Blade Runner in io9 Final Four...

POSTED BY: Penthos
UPDATED: Sunday, April 3, 2011 19:33
VIEWED: 7206
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WISHIMAY

Friday, April 1, 2011 10:46 PM

We've pulled ahead, whoo!

PHOENIXROSE

Saturday, April 2, 2011 12:37 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by dreamtrove:
Make a movie that is accessible to the public, not just fans of the show. Or, if it's going to be for the fans, don't hedge.

The implication here seems to be that Serenity was inaccessible to someone who hadn't seen the series first. Say, for example... Me. I have to disagree with that. I found Serenity not only enjoyable, but more enjoyable than Blade Runner. Yeah, I said it. I didn't like Blade Runner and I don't care who says I'm out of my mind.

I do not need the written code of a spiritual belief to act like a decent human being.

ECGORDON

Saturday, April 2, 2011 1:01 AM

As was pointed out in last week's thread, it's all just opinions. I have no problem with someone disagreeing with me in regards to the merits of the two films, but I have to be honest and give my real opinion. Firefly is still my favorite TV show of all time, but I don't hold the BDM in as high esteem. I wish it were different, and I wish there were a Serenity 2 and 3 in the brackets as well.

MICJWELCH

Saturday, April 2, 2011 1:30 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by PhoenixRose:

The implication here seems to be that Serenity was inaccessible to someone who hadn't seen the series first. Say, for example... Me.

And me! I love the movie! It wasn't so much that Serenity was a niche movie, it was that the advertising sucked.

"Always be yourself. Unless You suck." - Joss Whedon

TWO

Saturday, April 2, 2011 12:30 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
I have to be honest and give my real opinion. Firefly is still my favorite TV show of all time, but I don't hold the BDM in as high esteem. I wish it were different . . .

Joss said Serenity gave the appearance of becoming The Wild Bunch, where everyone dies in a blaze of glory. Joss dumped coldwater on that wildfire when the Alliance knocks down the wall behind River. Our exhausted heroes are under the guns of a fresh bunch of soldiers yelling 'drop your weapons and do it now!' I was disappointed when bleeding Jayne obeys. What a pussy! That was a sickly ending for the movie.

I wanted a bigger ending with more energy so I scripted a Liberty or Death finale: www.fireflyfans.net/sunroomitem.asp?i=12835 Our heroes don't drop their weapons because they don't act as if they're on their hospital deathbeds. The scene ends precisely the same as Joss's movie, but the crew gets to show their big brave hearts.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

ECGORDON

Saturday, April 2, 2011 9:20 PM

My opinion of Serenity has nothing to do with the ending, or at least that is not my main reservation. It is not whether Wash and Book live or die, or whether River can actually defeat that many Reavers at once, or whether Jayne and Mal are pussies. It's a very good action movie that has solid acting, writing and effects, it just falls short of the greatness that was Firefly, imo, and far short of the greatness that is Blade Runner, of which I have no complaints.

PIRATENEWS

Sunday, April 3, 2011 6:04 AM

Blade is more artsy (NEON!!!), and has been played on TeeVee about 1,000 times. Ford's monotone was monotonous, like he didn't appreciate a post-Star-Wars downer. In fact, everyone was monotonous, because they were robots, cyborgs, mutants, cops or something. All Dark, no Light. The hero was on the side of Evil, with a little redemption, like The Operative. A Slasher/Cop movie, with ray guns. Timeless Vangelis.

Serenity actually had good acting with comic relief, and a little evil. A Slasher/AntiCop movie, where only the Bad Guys get slashed...except for One, er, Two. Series ensemble loved working together and with their Director...like Rocky Horror, without the pantyhose.

Quote:
1. Blade Runner Vs. 8. Serenity (Poll Closed)

Blade Runner 42.94% (5,464 votes)

Serenity 57.06% (7,261 votes)

Total Votes: 12,725

WIN!

TWO

Sunday, April 3, 2011 12:45 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by ecgordon:
My opinion of Serenity has nothing to do with the ending, or at least that is not my main reservation. It is not whether Wash and Book live or die, or whether River can actually defeat that many Reavers at once, or whether Jayne and Mal are pussies. It's a very good action movie that has solid acting, writing and effects, it just falls short of the greatness that was Firefly, imo, and far short of the greatness that is Blade Runner, of which I have no complaints.

George R.R. Martin wrote recently: "Serenity has a lot to recommend it, but ultimately comes across as what is: the last episode of the ill-fated and much-mourned TV series Firefly. For those who never watched the show, the film has far less impact." - www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2011-03-30/game-of-thrones-wri
ter-george-rr-martins-favorite-science-fiction-films/6/#

I'll go further than George R.R. Martin and say that Joss would have written a better Serenity if he had used the exact same method used on Firefly. Firefly was great because a room full of respected writers criticized the story before the scenes were written and again, after. That method would have worked wonderfully on Serenity and could have worked with the Wonder Woman movie, too. Writing all by his lonesome self, Joss never got any traction with that screenplay. Joss's Wonder Woman years were between Serenity in 2005 and Dr. Horrible in 2008.

The Joss Whedon script for "Serenity," where Wash lives, is
Serenity-190pages.pdf at www.mediafire.com/two

GWEK

Sunday, April 3, 2011 4:15 PM

You really think the problem with SERENITY was that Joss didn't get any feedback during the entire process? I think you're underestimating Joss's intellect, as well as ignoring much of the process of making a motion picture (as compared with a TV show).

The issue, I think, is that Joss is a better TV writer/director than a movie writer/director. Although his "big moments" are great, they are often so because so many "tiny moments" led up to them. A movie has very little time for tiny moments.

Simply put, the skills Joss developed through more than a dozen TV seasons--the skills that make him an amazing TV storyteller--do not necessarily make him an amazing movie storyteller. Certainly, clever dialogue, structure, pacing... these all translate over, but they are used very differently in movies than in TV scripts.

Perhaps, however, it's not fair to lay blame on Joss himself, but rather on the story of Firefly, which is best told as a story of small and subtle details (TV) rather than using a broad palette (movies). In order to stay true to the TV series, Joss was "saddled" with a very large cast and a complex world that needed to be displayed for two distinct audiences (those who saw the show and those who didn't). In the hands of an experienced movie writer/director, that is a very difficult juggling act, but in the hands of a talented by largely neophyte movie writer/director... a titanic task.

Having prattled on, though, I must say that I really like SERENITY... I just don't think it's as good as FIREFLY. Doesn't mean it's a bad movie or that I think Joss did a bad job--quite the contrary. Given the fact that he doesn't have much experience working on movies and was working with a difficult concept that could be altered only so much, I think he did an AMAZING job. He just did a better job on the series. :)

Still, back to the original topic, I voted for SERENITY over BLADE RUNNER and felt absolutely no guilt about. Why? Not because I'm a Browncoat (which I am), but because I think SERENITY is a better movie than BLADE RUNNER. Just my personal opinion. I don't like BLADE RUNNER (and, to be honest, it annoys me whenever Hauer's line makes to "Top Ten Best and/or Most Memorable Movie Lines"). Again, just personal opinion.

www.stillflying.net: "Here's how it might have been..."

ECGORDON

Sunday, April 3, 2011 6:41 PM

Opinion duly noted, and I agree that Serenity is a very good movie. I have on numerous occasions said that it is my third favorite SF film of all time, and it happens to rank right after Blade Runner, with 2001: A Space Odyssey on top of the list. When making that statement I neither ask that others agree with me or that they "tear me a new one" for my opinion.

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