NFT: GazReview: "Serenity"

[Gaz]

caveat: I like pretty much everything Joss Whedon has done. “Buffy,” “Angel,” “Firefly,” “Fray” and “Astonishing X-Men.” Witty dialogue, interesting characters, twisty plots and an approach that is slightly off-center.

You can add “Serenity” to the list.

“Serenity” is an extension of the “Firefly” series which was given the patented Fox treatment [i.e: abused and ignored] on the little screen. Whedon brings the crew to the big screen and takes up the story where the series left off. Bigger budget, wider canvass and a big dose of grim. The results are very impressive. If you liked “Firefly,” you will love “Serenity.”

I already liked Our Heroes, but I developed a surprising affection for the Villain of the piece. He is an eminently reasonable guy just trying to do an admittedly dirty job with a minimum of fuss. No over-the-top sneering to be had.

I do not know how folks unfamiliar with “Firefly” will fare. It seems to me that a lot of the tension between the characters comes from What Has Gone Before. There is a brief voice-over opening the film that sets up the Alliance Vs Indivduals conflict, but the interpersonal bits [Captain/Companion, Kaylee/Simon, River/Jayne, so forth] might lose some impact if you have not seen the TV episodes. I would be interested to hear from those who did not watch “Firefly.”

Maximum Hootage for this one, folks. An intrepid band of outlaws, a ruthless villain, a terrible secret, a big old spaceship battle and flesh-eating lunatics to boot. What more can you ask?

Go see it. A good time awaits.

xoxo~
Gaz
Will see this one again.

[RedThat]

what would be your star rating on this flick?

[kpic]

Big fan of his work as well and I loved it, agreed that it is a plus if you are familiar with the characters but it is not a must. Took my 11 yr. old daughter who never saw the series, she needed to know the basic outline to the locations, "why are they after her?" etc. but she loved it as well.

[munkey]

The preview for this movie makes me cringe.....

~Not interested in the slightest~

[big nasty kcnut]

Thank gaz i seen the firefly marathon. It's a cool show hope is just as good.

[Ultra Peanut]

I already liked Our Heroes, but I developed a surprising affection for the Villain of the piece. He is an eminently reasonable guy just trying to do an admittedly dirty job with a minimum of fuss. No over-the-top sneering to be had.Cool. Kind of sounds like Early from Objects in Space, only less... twisted. By which I mean to say, while the bad guy is eminently hate-worthy for ****ing with our wonderful crew, he's also kind of endearing in some strange way.

God, I can't wait to get around to seeing this.

[Wrasse]

I need more...

** hopes there is a sequel **

[Gaz]

what would be your star rating on this flick?

The Gaz Hoot Scale rates films based on the fun to be had. Under the Hoot Scale, a ridiculous film like “Resident Evil” or “Shaun of the Dead” can score as highly as a mainstream film like “28 Days” or “Saving Private Ryan.” I only care if it entertained me. The Hoot Scale runs from 1 to 5 Hoots.

“Serenity” is a lot of fun. A full 5 Hoots.

xoxo~
Gaz
A bit biased on this one, though.

[Bowser]

Thoroughly enjoyed this film. A different spin on the sci-fi genre.

I, too, hope there is a sequel......

[Megbert]

Doubt there will be a sequel as the movie only did 10 million bucks over the weekend. Freaking Jodie Foster movie in it's second week beat out Serenity. A great Sci Fi movie with witty dialogue and some out of the blue surprises that never seem to happen in mainstream movies opens and no one goes to see it.

[Ultra Peanut]

Doubt there will be a sequel as the movie only did 10 million bucks over the weekend.But it was #2, it was in less theaters than its competition, it seems a lot like it will have "legs" and keep kicking around from word-of-mouth and return viewers, and the DVD sales will doubtlessly be just as strong as the series sets.

[Goapics1]

caveat: I like pretty much everything Joss Whedon has done. “Buffy,” “Angel,” “Firefly,” “Fray” and “Astonishing X-Men.” Witty dialogue, interesting characters, twisty plots and an approach that is slightly off-center.

You can add “Serenity” to the list.

“Serenity” is an extension of the “Firefly” series which was given the patented Fox treatment [i.e: abused and ignored] on the little screen. Whedon brings the crew to the big screen and takes up the story where the series left off. Bigger budget, wider canvass and a big dose of grim. The results are very impressive. If you liked “Firefly,” you will love “Serenity.”

I already liked Our Heroes, but I developed a surprising affection for the Villain of the piece. He is an eminently reasonable guy just trying to do an admittedly dirty job with a minimum of fuss. No over-the-top sneering to be had.

I do not know how folks unfamiliar with “Firefly” will fare. It seems to me that a lot of the tension between the characters comes from What Has Gone Before. There is a brief voice-over opening the film that sets up the Alliance Vs Indivduals conflict, but the interpersonal bits [Captain/Companion, Kaylee/Simon, River/Jayne, so forth] might lose some impact if you have not seen the TV episodes. I would be interested to hear from those who did not watch “Firefly.”

Maximum Hootage for this one, folks. An intrepid band of outlaws, a ruthless villain, a terrible secret, a big old spaceship battle and flesh-eating lunatics to boot. What more can you ask?

Go see it. A good time awaits.

xoxo~
Gaz
Will see this one again.


Are you like Roger Ebert in disguise? You do very well with your reviews..........

[Lzen]

Think Mrs Lzen and I will go see Serenity this Friday. :thumb:

[Lzen]

BTW, has anyone been watching the Firefly series on Sci Fi Channel? Last week, Mal and Wash got kidnapped and tortured. Does anyone know how many more episodes there are after that one?

[jspchief]

I haven't seen any of the Firefly episodes.

If I get to the movie, will I have wished I had?

Also, anywhere I can catch firefly from start to finish? Is it on DVD?

[Ultra Peanut]

BTW, has anyone been watching the Firefly series on Sci Fi Channel? Last week, Mal and Wash got kidnapped and tortured. Does anyone know how many more episodes there are after that one?That's War Stories. So... four more after that.

I haven't seen any of the Firefly episodes.

If I get to the movie, will I have wished I had?From another forum:

My sister, who knows NOTHING about Serenity or Firefly, saw the movie with me last Saturday, enjoyed it more than any movie she's seen all year, and is now seeing it again tonight with a friend. And if that friend turns out liking it, most likely he'll be telling all his friends to go watch it too.

Also, anywhere I can catch firefly from start to finish? Is it on DVD?The DVD box set (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0000AQS0F/ref=pd_ts_tb_2/102-1253068-5717711?v=glance&s=dvd&n=130) came out in December of 2003, and it's still selling like hotcakes (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/new-for-you/top-sellers/-/dvd/all/ref=pd_ts_d_nav/102-1253068-5717711) thanks to the massive word-of-mouth appeal of the show and the release of Serenity.

Also, it's interesting to note that high on Amazon's list of top selling DVDs are a show screwed over and canceled by FOX (#2), a spinoff movie from a show screwed over, canceled, and revived by FOX (#3), and the second season of a FOX show that's somehow getting low ratings despite being the best show in the history of television (#10). Hopefully FOX will learn its lesson from FG and Firefly, so that Joss' precious baby's early demise will not be in vain.

[unlurking]

I was just glad to have Shephard Book's past cleared up (at least IMO). They don't come right out and say it, but given his knowledge on the subject and the TV episode where he is saved by Alliance doctors, you have to bet he is a "Believer", or once was.

[keg in kc]

BTW, has anyone been watching the Firefly series on Sci Fi Channel? Last week, Mal and Wash got kidnapped and tortured. Does anyone know how many more episodes there are after that one?Four, if I remember correctly, three of which never aired on Fox: Heart of Gold, Trash and The Message. The last episode was called Objects in Space, and it's one of my favorities, although I enjoyed the whole series.

Loved the movie, will probably see it again.

[jidar]

I heard that you will enjoy the movie more if you had seen the series as it supposedly ties up some plot lines. Considering that, I'm going to watch the series since I found a torrent of it.
15 episodes I think.

[keg in kc]

Yeah, 15 episodes.

[HolmeZz]

My friend told me it's Geek City.

[Wrasse]

Doubt there will be a sequel as the movie only did 10 million bucks over the weekend. Freaking Jodie Foster movie in it's second week beat out Serenity. A great Sci Fi movie with witty dialogue and some out of the blue surprises that never seem to happen in mainstream movies opens and no one goes to see it.
I hope you are wrong but my gut tells me otherwise.

** is sad **

This movie also makes you realize just how crappy all the new Star Wars movies really were...poor Lucas could never write a show like this.

[old_geezer]

I saw Serenity last night. If you want to see it on the big screen you'd better hurry. I counted 7 people, including myself, in the audience. This was in a hugh multi-plex theatre that shows 8 movies at a time. The movie was fantastic, just like the DVD of the tv series. I do think it helps a lot to be familar with the characters.

[cookster50]

My wife has never seen Firefly and she enjoyed the show.

I hope it comes back as a series, though it doesn't sound like that will happen.

As for $10 mill being low, I think not. I was surprised it did that well. When I heard about the movie I questioned whether any non-Firefly watchers would even go to it. So far, so good.

[Shag]

Doubt there will be a sequel as the movie only did 10 million bucks over the weekend. Freaking Jodie Foster movie in it's second week beat out Serenity. A great Sci Fi movie with witty dialogue and some out of the blue surprises that never seem to happen in mainstream movies opens and no one goes to see it.

The movie only cost ~$30M to make - it was very cheap by today's standards. A friend of mine, who keeps a close eye on anything Joss, says that movie sales + DVD sales just needs to recoup the $30M in order for there to be a sequel. I also understand that the actors signed a 3-movie deal.

So, here's hoping...

[cookster50]

The movie only cost ~$30M to make - it was very cheap by today's standards. A friend of mine, who keeps a close eye on anything Joss, says that movie sales + DVD sales just needs to recoup the $30M in order for there to be a sequel. I also understand that the actors signed a 3-movie deal.

So, here's hoping...

Everything I've read says $80M is what is needed.

[Shag]

Everything I've read says $80M is what is needed.

huh. That's a bit of a difference, lol. Someone find a link! :)

[keg in kc]

It's a strange world we live in. Fantastic Four looked absolutely horrible in it's trailers, I'm a big fan of 'comic book' movies, but they couldn't even sell me on that one. I guess I was the only one, because it grossed over 50 million its opening weekend (albeit, that was early July...) and 150 million in 7 weeks.

Now they market the shit out of Serenity (I couldn't turn the TV on last week without seeing a spot), it's getting fairly solid reviews, but nobody goes to see it. Hopefully they can somehow buck the 40% box office drop trend on word-of-mouth, but I'm not getting my hopes up.

[cookster50]

huh. That's a bit of a difference, lol. Someone find a link! :)

Go to scifi.com/firefly and look at the message board.

Of course, it probably would take a $80M rake to actually make a $30M profit.....

[Pants]

Doubt there will be a sequel as the movie only did 10 million bucks over the weekend. Freaking Jodie Foster movie in it's second week beat out Serenity. A great Sci Fi movie with witty dialogue and some out of the blue surprises that never seem to happen in mainstream movies opens and no one goes to see it.

That's what happens to poorly advertised products. It will probably linger for a while and be pretty consistant throughout without any huge drop offs, like the usual Hollywood bullshit flcks.

[KcMizzou]

Doubt there will be a sequel as the movie only did 10 million bucks over the weekend. Freaking Jodie Foster movie in it's second week beat out Serenity. A great Sci Fi movie with witty dialogue and some out of the blue surprises that never seem to happen in mainstream movies opens and no one goes to see it.I'll bet they make a killing when it hits dvd though. I know it's inspired me to go spend 40 bucks on the Firefly boxed set, just to see what the fuss is about.

Saw a quote about that from Kevin Smith, about 'Passion of the Clerks'.. "We'll break even in the theater, and kill on DVD... just like we always do."

[Ultra Peanut]

Exactly... DVD's where it's at nowadays, and Firefly already has proven DVD track record.

They've re-couped 25% of the movie's budget in one week. That's a good thing, I think.

[Megbert]

I truly hope Serenity doesn't have that dropoff like big hollywood blockbusters usually do. Hope word of mouth and the good reviews will convince people to take a chance on it in the coming weeks. I know DVD is where the money is at. I am hoping if they rush to put a DVD out by the holiday season that it isn't just a 'bare bones' dvd. If it is I will just wait till the 'special edition' hits.

My GF and I both wanna see it again we may have to just to show our support. (Saw it free the first time)

[Psyko Tek]

bump

if you haven't seen this
do it