terpfan1980

Join Date 08/2004

+13

Serenity is sooooo satisfying

Back from the morning at the movies. First day off in a few weeks actually, and time well spent seeing Serenity.

If you ever saw the short-lived series Firefly, then you'll really enjoy the movie. If you never say the series, shame on you. Rent the DVDs, watch it and learn what quality Sci-fi is all about. Even without ever having seen the series though, you can easily jump in on the fun of Serenity.

I don't want to spoil the movie for anyone, and do ask that if anyone does post spoilers for the movie in a reply here, please give very adequate notice.

I would just say that I think the money spent to make the movie was well spent, the returns for the studios should be more than adequate if the attendance holds up, and if not, then again, shame on the U.S. public for missing such a great flick.

Hopefully I'll get to see it again soon, and enjoy it all over again. With absolutely no qualms about paying my money to see it twice. Worth every penny.

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How weird! I just watched the preview for this movie on my computer this morning and plan to see it this weekend.

Glad to hear it rocks!

Thanks!

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Glad to hear it rocks!

Most definitely rocks. Again, quite enjoyable.

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You think it might be good enough to provoke the series coming back?

Otherwise, is there anything in it a kid couldn't see? I don't mind langage. I'd like to take my daughter. Is there anything much worse than the series?

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Cordelia

Join Date 07/2002

It totally rocks. I wish I could say more, but I can't without spoilers! Lots of action, lots of explosions, lots of blood. Lots of "heart". That Joss Whedon sure knows his stuff.

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Baker - I wouldn't worry about language, as I don't think it really included anything that would make sense to most English speakers. Perhaps a little Chinese slipped past the censors, but the bulk of the PG-13 rating was for on screen violence.

A few things to note:

During the show I saw, there was a preview for DOOM, the movie, also coming in the future from Universal Pictures. Factor in the violence for that, or plan on missing the previews

Next, in the film, there is action. Plenty of it. Hi-impact, plenty of hand-to-hand, and plenty of weapons fire and such.

If your daughter is a teenager, then she's probably fine. If you don't think she'd get unsettled by on screen violence, then no problem.

On the other hand, if concerned about violence, then better to leave the child at home and wait for more maturity perhaps.

As to possibly bringing back the series, I would hope so, but I think it's more likely that we'll see a few more movies, rather than the TV series. As much as I'd love the series, I don't think it will happen. Now that the transition is made over to film, I don't see why Whedon and co. would venture back to TV unless the money offered was obscene, and even then, it would just mean having to cut corners somewhere, where in a film the amounts of money may seem a bit obscene, but it's a common occurence.

As an example, greenlighting a $60 - $100 million film project that is likely to return say $125 - $150 million or more in domestic gross is easily done. Spending say $2 million per episode for a TV series may sound a bit high, but it totals to about $44 - $48 million over a fairly standard season. Pay the actors/actresses, pay the producers, writers, directors, etc., and you soon have little to no money to spend on effects, which, if the show is done right, probably would run about $1 million or so on their own, and you start seeing a big problem.

I'm amazed that Whedon ever pulled the series off to begin with. Even as is in the film, which supposedly got around $40 - $60 million in budget, there have been complaints among some that the effects were not as well done as they could/should be, and that there were places where the effects were just plain lacking.

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Actually Baker, if you haven't done it, go here: http://www.serenitymovie.com/ and check the trailers. They'll give you a decent idea of the violence levels to expect.

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Here's my non-spoiler review of the film:

I'm proud to say I was sitting in the audience thoroughly enjoying Serenity this a.m. It was a long wait from the cancelling of the original show (Firefly), to the release of the DVDs with the unaired episodes and contents in correct show order (which made so much more sense than Fox's stupid airing of the show in haphazard fashion), to word that partly thanks to the response to the DVDs that there would be a feature film, to today, the day that feature film finally was released to theatres.

First, I must say I'm pleasantly suprised that the studios have apparently unleashed the purse strings a bit, and have had a real advertising campaign. From the showcases on Tivo boxes, to the commercials that have aired for the film, it does seem that the studio is at least trying to generate buzz, as opposed to Fox's lame and stupid handling of the series to begin with (thank gawd that someone somewhere at Fox even thought to get the DVDs made and sold to begin with).

The trailers have been good, not giving away too much information, but just enough to peak interest. While a few scenes in the film were quite easily recognizable from the trailers, those moments were not that many, and were without detail and context so you really didn't know when to expect things too much.

The film does a great job of holding it's own, for anyone that never saw the show, you could still find yourself enjoying the action and being drawn into the story. The story itself helps to wrap up some of the mystery that viewers and followers of the show and helps bring everyone up to speed quickly. You get to see "old friends" if you watched the show, and if not, you are easily enough introduced to the characters as members of the crew make their way throughout the 'verse.

Viewers of the show that see the film will know fairly quickly that there are still several other mysteries to explore, and even the one that the movie helps to clean up is most certainly not resolved permanently. Resolved for a while, yes, but long term, there is plenty of room for future adventures around the same general area.

There are plenty of humorous moments in the film, with a few jokes there for long term fans which are just as easily appreciated by the new fans which will hopefully see the film.

I don't want to discuss more of the plot in the film for now. Someone else may feel free to give many more details here if they wish. I will say that I hope the film does bonzo box office numbers.

I got to see it at very nice multiplex. The theatres there have nice stadium seating, arms that lift up and out of the way, reclining stadium seating that is very comfortable. Not a small theatre at all. Nice big screen, great sound system. Fairly crowded theatre for a first show of the day. Not entirely packed, but well populated. I was glad that there was a nice seat in one of my favorite seating areas available, but wasn't jammed in next to anyone else. I hope that the later evening shows are packed to the walls. The multiplex I saw it at has 2 theatres running the film which is a good sign that they expect plenty of attendance. It's not a holiday weekend, and gas has gotten more expensive and all, but again, I hope people get out and see this movie. It was worth every penny once, and I fully intend to see it again later in the weekend when my family can go see it as well.

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That Joss Whedon sure knows his stuff.

lol. Interesting statement from Cordy. Aren't you dead?

I never saw Firefly, but I have all the Buffy DVDs. Why didn't Firefly last longer?

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Why didn't Firefly last longer?

One word: FOX

Seriously, they screwed the pooch badly on scheduling it, then tried to save the worthless piece of trash Tiffany Amber Theissen (sp?) show Fastlane rather than giving Firefly the more prime scheduling spot.

Besides scheduling, Fox also ran the show out of order. The pilot aired very late in the series TV run, was actually cut up a bit by then I think, and the episodes that did air earlier were aired in almost random episode order. Fox decided the pilot didn't have enough action and/or wouldn't draw fans into the show (as if they would know....) so they picked one of the hardest to follow episodes and had it aired as the series premiere.

If you have watched 24, or if you are watching Prison Break on Fox currently, consider how you'd feel if you tried to watch the series and Fox aired the 7am-8am hour of the show first, then aired 4am-5am next, then aired 3am - 4am next.... It would make no sense. Or with Prison Break, if they show something that happens in the 4th week of the guy being in prison, then air the 1st week in prison, then bounce to 3rd week, then go back to 2nd week. Same deal.

Like Family Guy before it, and then later Futurama, Fox has had good shows on their network and not shown patience with them, made stupid decisions about what order to air the shows in, or other idiotic decisions that helped to torpedo shows.

I give them credit for patience with 24, but it was truly a critical darling. They almost had Arrested Development's continued airings forced upon them thanks to emmy awards for the show. But except for the Simpsons and Malcolm in the middle, lately they've had little success (again, including 24, and now Prison Break). If they don't do American Idol, heck, they may be gone as a network entirely (though they still have the NFL)

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pfft, no worries on violence. My daughter actually watched me play DOOM 3 from start to finish, and I doubt the movie, much less the trailer is any worse. I was more wondering about adult situations. I don't really even care about language. She's watched movies with the 'F' word since she was about 7.

Sounds good. If the movie is no worse than the show, I don't see a problem with her seeing it. I can't wait, myself

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If you have watched 24,

I like 24. It pretty much demands to be shown in the correct order.

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Even sweeter the second time through!

Took the family to catch the movie this afternoon, and really enjoyed seeing it again. A modern classic for sure.

In the next few days, anyone that wants to toss in spoilers here and discuss the film please feel free. Once we get through the weekend and most people have had a chance to catch it if they wanted, the spoilers should be less an issue, and the time for reflection can perhaps give time for thinking about where we really think things will head in the future for the crew.

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