Our readers hate us, so we’re pretty much the only movie site on the web without a Reader Review of Serenity to tout. Writer/Director/Cult Leader Joss Whedon has been dishing it out in pre-screenings across the country, attended mainly by rabid fans. Well, finally a few pre-screener attendees have chimed in on the Cinema Blend Message Board with their take after seeing the film. The catch is of course, that they’re all extreme super-fans… so who knows if the movie will have any appeal at all to normal moviegoers. Still, they seem to like it. Here’s their mostly spoiler free take on the movie.
First up is Bianca with a really general take on the movie:
Never wrote an official review, but here's my thoughts:
Well, here's the thing. I took my mom to see this movie. Never seen an episode of “Firefly” either. She liked the movie and she hates sci-fi. She thinks it has great humor, strong characters and fresh/original ideas lost on most other sci-fi flicks. I know this isn't much to go on, but I'm an avid Buffy/Angel fan and when I came across the “Firefly” dvds in Barnes and Nobles, I made the impulse buy and couldn't be happier. The show is so much different from anything I've ever seen.
The great thing about Joss Whedon shows is that every character he creates (whether you hate them or love them) have an incredible depth to them. I've read negative reviews saying that if your not a fan, you won't get. But I've also read plenty of reviews by people NOT entering Serenity and anticipating it's failure who think it's brilliant. My only problem with the movie is that it is in fact a movie. Of course we wanted a second, a third, a fourth season, etc...because with so many rich character, not all of them have a chance to shine in a 2 hour movie. With movies, if every single scene is not 100% necessary to tell a story, it gets cut. On tv, the story can get told how it was meant to. To write this film, Joss essentially wrote a second season and sliced and diced until he was left with Serenity.
The great thing about this movie is that the last thing it is, is a typical sci-fi movie. Here's a brief overview of the main context (no spoilers, I promise you): "After the Earth was used up, we found a new solar system and hundreds of new Earths were terra-formed and colonized. The central planets formed the Alliance and decided all the planets had to join under their rule. There was some disagreement on that point. After the war, many Independents who had fought and lost drifted to the edges of the system, far from Alliance control. Out here, people struggled to get by with the most basic technologies; a ship would bring you work, a gun would help you keep it. A captain's goal was simple: find a crew, find a job, keep flying." That is the intro found in the beginning of the comics.
Next is ElectricSpaceGirl with a little more detailed analysis:
Let me start by saying that yes, I'm a Joss Whedon fan, and yes, I'm a die-hard Browncoat (that's what we Firefly fans call ourselves). But don't let that discount why I think non-fans will like Serenity.
I saw two advanced screenings of Serenity. For me it was an emotional experience because these are characters that I love in a universe I'm enamored with. I cannot watch the film and know exactly how someone who hasn't seen a single episode of “Firefly” will react to it. I can, however, tell you why Joss Whedon's creations work well for mainstream audiences.
First of all, Whedon is a good writer. He writes good characters and dialogue. He also writes great action sequences. He seems to always be trying to do new things with the action, putting a new spin on fights so it's not the same old boring thing every time.
He does the same thing with the stories he writes. He takes a theme and creates a new way of using it to tell a story. And his stories work on many levels.
Whedon's TV shows (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly) were, on the surface, about beautiful heroes. The characters were strong, intelligent, and witty. The stories had a lot of action and the good guys saved the day (pretty much). Buffy was a hot chick with superpowers in a world with magic and demons. Fun and hilarity ensued, and sometimes there were tantilizing soap-opera twists that blew your mind. But there was another level of the story with deep philosophical themes. You don't have to be an analytical person to like Buffy, you'll just get something different out of it.
I'll say the same thing about Serenity. It has tough, witty, good-looking people who have to go save the day. It's has lots of action, good sfx, and great characterization. For the average action-adventure or sci-fi movie fan, it is a great action-adventure/sci-fi movie. For fans, and for people who like to look beneath the surface of things, there's a strong theme running through the entire movie which it gives it more depth and meaning.
Movie-goers that like action and adventure and sci-fi will like this movie, but not in the way that Browncoats will. You don't need to know the characters beforehand to like them in the movie. The movie does a great job introducing them all by itself. How often do we know characters we see in movies before the movie? Not very often. Does that make it difficult to understand or care about them? No.
This is not a bad Star Trek movie. This is not a 2-hour episode of “Firefly” on the big screen. It's bigger, bolder, and scarier. It has a bit different feel than the show (less western, more sci-fi) and it's a wild ride that, granted, will be more epic for a “Firefly” fan, but I think it will pretty awesome for anyone else.
I encourage people to check out Serenity for themselves when it's released. See for yourself if you have to be a “Firefly” fan to enjoy it. It's possible that you'll like it enough to want to watch the backstory. But the backstory is not needed to enjoy it.
Well, there’s the opinions of a couple of already rabid Whedonites. I’d still really like to hear from a few people who attended one of these pre-screenings WITHOUT an already established Joss Whedon or “Firefly” love. If that’s you, use the SUBMIT A SCOOP link down at the bottom of this story to drop me a line. Otherwise, look for Serenity in theaters September 30, and check it out in our Big Fall 2005 Movie Preview.
