Serenity spoiler thread

[WindupAtheist]

You are a Cunt of the highest order.  Don't even try to say that you weren't making this all about Star Wars in the first place you horrible horrible little faggot.

Wait...  *looks at thread*

It was you!  Well Teleku beat you to it by one post, but yeah, apparently I now have mind control powers.  I can trash Serenity fans with an analogy to The Great White Hype, and in some sort of weird equation, Ironwood starts talking about Star Wars and it's my fault.

For my next trick, I'm going to rip into Buffy the Vampire slayer by comparing it to a scene from Play It To the Bone.  My going theory is that my powers will kick in again, causing Schild to begin speaking uncontrollably about how Lord of the Rings blows.  Fear me.

[Yegolev]

The hell with Jayne's ballad, his whole reaction to the kid taking the bullet for him and his "Don't tell them what I did" in Aurora gave him more depth than three prequels did for Anakin "I whine, therefore I am" Skywalker.

I was genuinely afraid that Jayne would experience some real personal growth after that, but thankfully I was mistaken.

I feel that the movie did what it could to introduce the characters, but they are all complex to varying degrees on the show and only so much could be done.  I know someone that did not realize what Inara's profession was.  This background issue should not keep anyone from watching the show, and there are only eleven episodes anyway.

[Nevermore]

14 episodes actually, Fox never aired 3 of them.

[Samprimary]

I'm not allowed to think that the prequel sucked if the numbers don't agree with me?

No.  Popularity is directly proportional to quality.  Except when ninja elves are involved.

Ohhh. This must be what it feels like to go crazy.

[Yegolev]

14 episodes actually, Fox never aired 3 of them.

My math must be off, I thought they aired seven.

[Samwise]

I'm not allowed to think that the prequel sucked if the numbers don't agree with me?

No.  Popularity is directly proportional to quality.  Except when ninja elves are involved.

Ohhh. This must be what it feels like to go crazy.

You're not going crazy, friend.  You're going sane in a crazy world!

[Daeven]

I'm not allowed to think that the prequel sucked if the numbers don't agree with me?

No.  Popularity is directly proportional to quality.  Except when ninja elves are involved.

Ohhh. This must be what it feels like to go crazy.

You're not going crazy, friend.  You're going sane in a crazy world!

Yeah. Because millions of English and Indian fans of Cricket can't possibly be wrong. I mean, there's MILLIONS of them! MILLIONS I TELL YOU!

Damn cricket hating heathens.

[NiX]

14 episodes actually, Fox never aired 3 of them.

My math must be off, I thought they aired seven.

Nope, it's 14. Picked up the boxset for $30 bucks and there's 14 episodes.

[Roac]

Geez, piss and moan.  I really enjoyed Serenity.  The wit was way off from what is normally out there, and I liked the change of pace.  Having characters that are reasonably good at playing anti-hero, both in terms of acting and script, is nice.  Space ships with ray guns is always  .  But come on, going apeshit because there are a couple plot holes?  What movie has ever written that doesn't have them?  They're going to assume things, skip details, all for the purpose of entertainment - because it's not very fun to sit in place for 10 hours while they explain everything.

Screw it.  I went with some friends, we enjoyed it, and left us all being happy if they'd make a sequal or return to TV.  While it may - may - be entertaining to build a plot sequence diagram or to try and reconstruct their technology, I'm not going to do that in the ~2h I sit in a theatre.  I liked Star Wars too, both for nostalgia and because there are a lot of creative elements that catch my interest.  Much of the writing/acting sucked.  I liked it well enough inspite of it, so what?  Loved Dark City.  Didn't care for 13th floor - etc, etc. 

But hell, I watch this stuff for entertainment.  I was entertained.  Anyone who is out to try and "prove" that a movie sucked - go drown in your own vinegar.  If you want to talk about what you didn't like, have at it.

[Johny Cee]

The show "Firefly"....  well....  It had some real issues going against it, despite the poor scheduling.  The fact that when it was aired Whedon was playing hardball with the Fox execs over his other shows didn't help.

It relied way too heavily on the Western in Space crap.  The hokey accents and steel guitar intro probably didn't endear it to alot of people.

The plot was preceding at Whedon's typical glacial plot development speed.  I watched the box set, and we really find out almost nothing about what the overall plot arc is going to be.  We get some hints about River,  alot of retreading Mal's history, and a couple bits about the Blue Gloves.  That's it, through most of a season.

At that same time,  "Farscape" was airing.  For a while,  both airing at the exact same time.  The fact that "Firefly" seemed to be borrow alot of plot elements from "Farscape" worked against it amongst the type of viewer that would check out sci fi shows.

Both had/were: character based,  with the characters on the run from an oppressive neo-Fascist enemy that might not be all bad.  One character treading the bondries of stark raving insane.  Unrequited love interests.  One character with hidden knowledge the baddies wanted access to.  Witty and ironic dialogue. 

Most importantly I think, both required very large budgets.  This required higher viewership than would normally be the case for an hour long drama.

Please don't think that I completely hated the show.  I'm just of the opinion that it's cancellation was not entirely without merit.

For the record,  I'll check out Whedon projects because he has shown that he can do some GREAT things.  The Buffy episodes "The Body" and "Hush" high up on the list.  But he has some pretty serious flaws.  His pacing could be better,  and the fact that many of his characters end up sounding like they're all speaking with the same voice.

[Sobelius]

Getting a little back on topic: Sobelius, I agree with you that the movie at best did a cursory job of explaining any backstories. For that reason alone I would highly recomend going back and seeing the series. The series was almost entirely about developing those characters and thier relationships. The whole attraction thing between the Engineer and the Doctor is spread over about 10 episodes for example. Oh, and you won't call Jayne one dimensional once you've heard his ballad.

Well, you've highlighted one of my points exactly -- in order to get any sense of who the characters really are you need to see the TV show. My comments are based on having plunked down $8.50 to see a stand-alone movie, and in that sense the characters didn't hold up on their own. You wouldn't expect to go to most theatrical releases expecting to have to watch 14 hours of other storylines in order for the characters to be developed.

I still enjoyed it on it's own merits -- it's just too bad it's not accessible enough and strong enough to bring in the "unwashed masses". Then again, Joss Whedon doesn't write for the unwashed masses, and that's why I like him. He raises the bar on what should be mundane and ordinary material by infusing them with respect for the audience's emotional and intellectual maturity.

I've recently been enjoying some quality snuggling time with my boyfriend by watching Buffy from the beginning. We're 4 episodes into season 2 and even though he's from the UK and thinks Spike and Drusilla have terrible accents, the show's beginning to grow on him. It's made me aware of how long it takes for the characters to grow and develop -- and yet it makes me love the show that much more because the gradual changes are natural and unforced.

If I decide to give Firefly a chance, it'll be because of Buffy, not Serenity.

My turn to derail the thread a little: anyone else like "Shaolin Soccer" and "King Fu Hustle"? I just watched them this week and loved 'em. </ducks>

[schild]

My turn to derail the thread a little: anyone else like "Shaolin Soccer" and "King Fu Hustle"? I just watched them this week and loved 'em. </ducks>

Yes, and all of that comedic troupes other movies were good as well.

[Bunk]

I haven't seen Shaolin Soccer yet, but I just recently watched Kungfu Hustle and I have to say I was blown away by it. Great movie.

[Murgos]

I haven't seen Shaolin Soccer yet, but I just recently watched Kungfu Hustle and I have to say I was blown away by it. Great movie.

Same.

[tazelbain]

If the subject is niche movies that are really good, I'd like to give Fallen a nod.

[Abagadro]

Finally went and saw this today. Thought it kicked serious ass. My wife who has never seen an episode of the show liked it a lot too.

[schild]

If the subject is niche movies that are really good, I'd like to give Fallen a nod.

Definately my favorite Denzel Washington, John Goodman, Donald Sutherland movie. Really though, it's quite good. If you enjoyed that you might enjoy the new TV show The Supernatural. It's basically just the monsters side of XFiles. It's good stuff.

[Surlyboi]

Fallen did indeed rock. Well written, well acted and a cool-ass premise.

I liked The Order as well, which was another movie in that vein.

[Cheddar]

If you enjoyed that you might enjoy the new TV show The Supernatural. It's basically just the monsters side of XFiles. It's good stuff.

Speaking of which I love this show.  I dunno why, but Supernatural just does it for me!  I hope it is doing well in the ratings, though this is doubtful.


I admit I liked Freaky Links when it came out.  All my favorite shows get cancelled (I will stab someone to bring Keen Eddie back!)

[Samwise]

I liked The Order as well, which was another movie in that vein.

The only part of The Order that I liked was the line "Your order rivals even the Jesuits in its heretical pursuit of knowledge!"  (I went to a Jesuit school.)  I found the rest of the movie to be meh.  Which is sad, because I really wanted to like it.

[schild]

I need to see The Order. I'm not afraid to admit that I like Heath Ledger and it's because of Knight's Tale. Though I probably like Knight's Tale because of Paul Bettany.

[Samwise]

Though I probably like Knight's Tale because of Paul Bettany.

Yes.  Heath Ledger was incidental.

[Pococurante]

Yes.  Heath Ledger was incidental.

Ooooh SNAAAAAP!

Now STFU. ;)

[Surlyboi]

I need to see The Order. I'm not afraid to admit that I like Heath Ledger and it's because of Knight's Tale. Though I probably like Knight's Tale because of Paul Bettany.

Bettany and Alan Tudyk, which brings us full circle back to Serenity. Poor Wash.

[schild]

I need to see The Order. I'm not afraid to admit that I like Heath Ledger and it's because of Knight's Tale. Though I probably like Knight's Tale because of Paul Bettany.

Bettany and Alan Tudyk, which brings us full circle back to Serenity. Poor Wash.

Actually, it brings us back to Knight's Tale. Muaha.

[Comstar]

Shows the first 14 minutes of the movie Large version is full screen widescreen, theres also a dialup version.


Unfortunatly, I forgot to bring my sword to work today.....oh...you did...

[HaemishM]

I need to see The Order. I'm not afraid to admit that I like Heath Ledger and it's because of Knight's Tale. Though I probably like Knight's Tale because of Paul Bettany.

The Order was boring shit that could have been good. But it wasn't. Not even remotely. Peter Weller as a corrupt bishop or some such was just really bad. Also, I like Heath Ledger. If you like Heath too, see Ned Kelly. It even has Orlando Bloom in it.

[ClydeJr]

Orson Scott Card reviews Serenity

[Surlyboi]

Orson Scott Card reviews Serenity

Good review. I usually think Card talks out of his self-righteous ass (and he does that a little here as well with his talk of "values") but this time I mostly agree with him. The Salon review said a lot of the same things. You actually care about these characters. The missus had only seen half the series when we saw Serneity the first time and she cried when Book bought it and absoluetly bawled when Wash took his final bow. She was still sniffly even on the second viewing. And Mal's, "I aim to make mischief" is now on her lips regularly.

[Ironwood]

"You can move models around on the screen all you like. Just because you whoosh up your spaceships doesn't make it science fiction as it's supposed to be. "

[AcidCat]

The difference between the Star Wars prequels and Serenity can be summed up by the death of a main character - when Padme dies, no one gives a shit, it's just like marking a box on a plot checklist. When Wash died it hit me in the gut, I felt something. It lingered on after I left the theater. I don't care if it's sci-fi or drama or action or any other genre people want to classify films into, what separates a great film from something average is an investment in the characters, caring about fictional people as if they were real - Firefly/Serenity makes this emotional connection where Star Wars simply doesn't, and that makes all the difference.

[WindupAtheist]

In other news, Serenity has dropped from second to ninth at the box office, with a 51 percent decline in revenue from last week.  For shits and giggles, I'll point out that Flightplan has suffered only a 27 percent decline from last week, and is making more in it's fourth weekend than Serenity made in it's opening.

Yes Lum, adults do still go to theaters.  They just don't care about this movie.

[Pococurante]

Except adults are the lowest number who attend movies.

Why is this puke not yet IP banned.

[Abagadro]

In other news, adjusted for inflation, such films as Independence Day, Grease, Love Story, Home Alone, and Towering Inferno made more than EP III.

Who gives a shit.

[Rasix]

Why is this puke not yet IP banned.

I'm not sure being a tasteless, annoying, moronic douchebag is a bannable offense.

Saw the movie, liked it a lot.  Then again I've seen every episode of Buffy, preordered the Firefly DVD, and caught most of Angel.  Certain seasons of Angel and Buffy were not all that good, but for the most part I've always liked Whedon's style. 

I've read page one of this thread and now page 5.  I can hazard a guess that the intermediate pages read something like the following:  "OMG PLOTHOLES IN A SCI-FI MOVIE", "umm.. more characterization please, please", "Buffy season 4-7 sucked", "why is this losing to Panic Room: Airplane Edition?", or "NOOOOOOOOOO, Star Wars still rules, even though this movie is probably better than any thing Lucas has ever breathed on".  I think I'll save myself the clicks and inevitable headache.

This movie didn't rock my world ala Batman: Begins, but I knew what I was going to get coming in.  I wasn't disappointed.  Well worth the popcorn induced stomach ache.