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Serenity: Grim's Official Review


Grim Squeaker

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I don't know, I think the movie stood on its own quite well. Believe it or not, it makes a movie better to kn==not know the history of every character - even if the history is availiable. It keeps the characters from being foils.

 

I'll disagree here. Did you watch the movie first without knowing anything about the series at all?

 

Basically, we did, and then listened to the commentary.

 

And there it started.

 

Inara is a high-class whore?! I thought she was a priestess in a Buddhist like temple. What's the deal with that bow and arrows that they kept talking about (I still don't get it what's the deal with the bow and arrows).

So, River and Simon were with the crew for a long time, not just came on board and nobody knows anything about them? Oh, that's why Mal took River back in.

These 2 'good' guys who get killed off - a pity, but no big deal, they were expandable.

 

The characters with the simpler, clearer backgrounds came accross Okay for me - Kayley, Jayne, Zoe. But the rest of them just became a mush and it was difficult to distinguish one from another or guess what they are. You had to be very attentive to catch the refernce to Book once traveling with the crew, and it felt as something unimportant.

 

In fact, after watching the movie first I thought that the villain was the most interesting character. 'Cause he actually got development. River got lots of screen-time, but she came accross as just another protege who suddenly became a super-ass-kicking thinggie due to some evil governement operation, something rather trivial, a-la X-files or any number of 'and they made a super-duper-ass-kicker' from him/her.

 

Now, after watching the series, my perceptions are very much changed. Inara and River are the biggest winners, and the rest of the crew really are not that far behind, going from What's-His/Her-Name-Okay-Character to Great Character! Plus, to be honest, most stories in the series are much more fun than the movie's plot.

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I'll disagree here. Did you watch the movie first without knowing anything about the series at all?

 

Yes, I have no knowledge of the series at all. I went into the movie without a clue, watched it, and went way without any real desire to know more about the characters, how they got where they were, or anything. It was enough for the movie's purposes, the movie told a good yarn, with a moral and had some wondrous fun battles.

 

you give a lot of background I frankly don't care enough to bother with or wonder at from the movie alone - and probably would have not bothered to watch the Firefly series, if it's as deep into character development as you say. If I want drama, I'll get a sex-change operation and give up my testicles, because I'll have stopped using them.

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Not going to see the series is a shame, because Firefly manages to be both an excellently-realised ensemble piece of drama and killingly funny AND an action-packed Space Western. Something for everyone.

 

(You're not calling every guy who likes to see well-written character development 'A Sissy-Boy', are you? Seems an odd point of view for the author of a new NPC to hold.)

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Just wondering if someone can explain one little thing to me. I have watched both the movie (when it was in theaters and planning a rewatch soon) and have just recently seen the show all the way though. One thing I do not get is that at then end of the show I see absolutely no intention from Shepard Brook to leave the ship...yet in Serenity he is off of the ship. Why? What did I miss?

also one fun question. Who knew right away that Simon and Kayley had a thing for each other? I figured it out two minutes into the movie. :)

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Just wondering if someone can explain one little thing to me. I have watched both the movie (when it was in theaters and planning a rewatch soon) and have just recently seen the show all the way though. One thing I do not get is that at then end of the show I see absolutely no intention from Shepard Brook to leave the ship...yet in Serenity he is off of the ship. Why? What did I miss?

also one fun question. Who knew right away that Simon and Kayley had a thing for each other? I figured it out two minutes into the movie. :)

 

Your first question is answered in a brief comic series that was released to bridge the gap. Basically, he became concerned that the actions of Serenity's crew were beginning to effect thing (i.e. he was losing something of his moral standing), so left.

 

In response to your second question/statement, that was the idea. Joss Whedon basically had to try his best to recap everything that had been built up in the series in a very short amount of time. In this case, apparently it worked.

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Your first question is answered in a brief comic series that was released to bridge the gap. Basically, he became concerned that the actions of Serenity's crew were beginning to effect thing (i.e. he was losing something of his moral standing), so left.

 

Available here and here.

 

The comic will also explain what happened to the infamous 'hands of blue'... :)

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If I want drama, I'll get a sex-change operation and give up my testicles, because I'll have stopped using them.

 

Tell that to William Shakespeare.

 

Besides, if I want nothing but action, I'll get a brain operation and give up most of my brain cells, because i'll have stopped using them.

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Heh.

 

Everything in moderation. I, personally, despise most of the SF series people have sqealed over, like the new Galactica, Babylon 5, Stargate, and Star Trek since, oh, 1993 or so. Blakes 7 did nothing for me, and I could sleep through Movies like THX-1181 (or whatever it was) and Logan's Run.

 

I want Science fiction to approach questions and see what happens. I don't want a western in space, I don't want a soap opera in space. I want Science Fiction that explores how science is affecting people.

 

Which was why I liked the Serenity movie. It explored how a number of radical technological things were affecting people. Like the girl who got trained as an assassin - she didn't want to be deadly as an adder in a rat cage; but push her, and she takes the issue in hand, with what she is. I can identify with that. i thought it was GREAT that the serenity movie ended up being about a place where technology to try to make things better turned so horribly wrong - letting the majority of those it was tested on die of ennui, the rest become reavers. that was just the sort of thing that really engages me.

 

So when a SF series gets into being a drama about the characters, or the politics or an alien suit gallery, well, I don't bother. I kinda liked Enterprise, but then they got into a politics type of mode, introduced technologies which Star Trek hadn't seen centuries later, and blew the whole continuity so far out of the water I couldn't take it.

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Just wondering if someone can explain one little thing to me. I have watched both the movie (when it was in theaters and planning a rewatch soon) and have just recently seen the show all the way though. One thing I do not get is that at then end of the show I see absolutely no intention from Shepard Brook to leave the ship...yet in Serenity he is off of the ship. Why? What did I miss?

also one fun question. Who knew right away that Simon and Kayley had a thing for each other? I figured it out two minutes into the movie. :D

 

Your first question is answered in a brief comic series that was released to bridge the gap. Basically, he became concerned that the actions of Serenity's crew were beginning to effect thing (i.e. he was losing something of his moral standing), so left.

 

In response to your second question/statement, that was the idea. Joss Whedon basically had to try his best to recap everything that had been built up in the series in a very short amount of time. In this case, apparently it worked.

 

Thanks for the answer Grim! Now I understand and yeah that does make sense. Why would a Shepard stay on a ship full of law breakers? :)

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About "I've seen this movie now, and these characters are all alike / mean nothing to me":

If you're seeing a movie that is well-known to have been based on existing work--which you have not read or seen--don't blame the movie if you feel the expositional character and plot development leave something to be desired. I vastly prefer films that don't spend the first 15 minutes explaining that Harry is a wizard, and he's not allowed to use magic when outside of Hogwarts.

 

About River's combat abilities:

Grim Squeaker cottoned onto it first (in this thread), but he didn't really emphasize it clearly enough: Mind-reading abilities are a huge help in combat. If you're focused enough, you could tell what your opponent was planning to do, and when, whether he's planning to throw you off with a feint, etc. Much faster than waiting to see what he does with his muscles, and then plotting backwards from that to find out his intentions, so being psychic gives River much faster reaction times, which of course is nectar & ambrosia in a fight. This ability is even more important in that it has no blind spots: She can read you just as well no matter where you are. The ability would be clouded & confused, no doubt, when engaging many enemies at once, especially when they're mindless brutes with "KILL" as their only emotion, but a huge help nevertheless.

Even so, the fight scenes would have been much nicer if they were *cough* a tad more realistic. Multiple times, a 200-poundish guy comes charging at her at speed, she pulls a move (either a grab-his-neck then throw, or a simple punch to the jaw), and the guy goes flying off in the opposite direction. Did you ever roll a bowling ball towards a stationary volleyball? After the resulting collision, ever see the volleyball still sitting in the same spot, while the bowling ball comes rolling back to you? Yeah, me neither. Heck, in the 2nd fight scene, it was painfully obvious that Summer was never even in the same room as the guys whose butts she was supposed to be kicking.

 

About Summer Glau:

I got the impression she was cast because a) she's a rather good little actress and b) with the right makeup, her face gives a faint hint of having Down's Syndrome, which of course is perfect for the character. As for her physical condition, I'll believe that she's a dancer, but not that she's a martial arts star. Bruce Lee wasn't buff, but he was ripped--on Summer, I saw no muscle definition whatsoever.

 

About physical beauty:

Casting by sex appeal is an unfortunate habit that isn't going to stop. Ever. Not only does it greatly increase the number of folks who want to see the film, but you'll never find work in Hollywood if you don't have good teeth.

"You know why we're not gonna die? Because we are so very, very pretty. Look at that chisel jaw. Eh?"

 

About martial arts > superior numbers:

I don't care how pretty it looks, one black belt is not going to defeat ten white belts. Unless, of course, the white belts play by the rules and patiently wait their turns, and don't use the unsportsmanlike tactic of simply grabbing a limb & holding on (a tactic which, I must note, would be the very first thing a Reaver would do).

 

About Inara's bow:

Soo . . . she left the Training House with nothing but the clothes on her back. Meaning that she left a bow either at Haven, or in the "trunk of stuff" she left on Serenity. Meaning . . . she travels around with a longbow, for some reason. Huh?!? Hey, Joss, what the heck was wrong with just letting her borrow one of Jayne's six hundred guns???

 

About the Pax (the gas):

As far as I can tell, the only reason to explain its widespread effect is that it requires a great deal of time--weeks, maybe years. Perhaps it takes that long for the gas to build up in one's system or brain (giving the body time to try to adapt to it, which might help to explain the 10% of the population that had the opposite reaction), or perhaps it took that long for the gas to react with another chemical in the atmosphere, one which was not present during lab testing. (If the Pax is declared safe, pumped into the atmo, and then somebody invents a new type of engine that gives off a certain exhaust, these things could theoretically happen.) Either way, adding the time factor seems pretty much the only way there could ever be another Serentity movie, since everybody that landed breathed that air--just only for a short(ish) time.

 

About the Reavers:

The Firefly universe's only serious flaw. Every single settlement that we've seen has access to firearms (at least, the contrary is never even hinted at, and even the dang monastery has a powerful anti-aircraft cannon). So why the hell can't the Alliance defeat a gang of cannibalistic space pirates who can't plan a coordinated attack, have no form of stealth or camouflage, and most importantly, hardly ever use any form of ranged weaponry whatsoever? This is like Machine Guns vs. Guys With Sticks.

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About the Reavers:

The Firefly universe's only serious flaw. Every single settlement that we've seen has access to firearms (at least, the contrary is never even hinted at, and even the dang monastery has a powerful anti-aircraft cannon).

 

Book has come around as well prepared (for a shepard!) before. In the episode 'War stories' when the crew is off to save Mal book takes a number guns out of what seems to be his locker and hands them out to Simon and Kaylee. Okay, it's never explicitly said that it's his locker, but that's the initial impression I got.

 

So why the hell can't the Alliance defeat a gang of cannibalistic space pirates who can't plan a coordinated attack, have no form of stealth or camouflage, and most importantly, hardly ever use any form of ranged weaponry whatsoever? This is like Machine Guns vs. Guys With Sticks.

For the same reason they (the government) don't supply enough medicine and other comforts of the civilisation to the outer planets. I think that's supposed to be one of the western elements. The outer planets are the wild frontier, where while you're more free to make your own fortune, you're also less in the protection of the government. The good boys and girls at the Alliance are way too busy to make the Tam family comfortable to get all wound up if a guy in the border planes has a pox or is eaten by another dude from a ghost story.

 

Because that's what the official truth is: reavers don't exist, they're part of ghost stories told at campfires. Certainly you would not send your well trained government troops to chase ghosts when they have so much better things to do (like check your papers)? :)

 

It also worthwhile to remember that it's actually supposed to take weeks to travel from one moon or planet to another, though this is not too obvious in the film.

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About Inara's bow:

Soo . . . she left the Training House with nothing but the clothes on her back. Meaning that she left a bow either at Haven, or in the "trunk of stuff" she left on Serenity. Meaning . . . she travels around with a longbow, for some reason. Huh?!? Hey, Joss, what the heck was wrong with just letting her borrow one of Jayne's six hundred guns:)

 

Thinking about it a bit, there is an episode in which Inara shows herself to be at least passably familiar with fencing techniques. It's possible that part of the curriculum at the Companion temples include physical sports and pursuits. If she's passably familiar with fencing, makes sense that she could well be passably familiar with archery too - in which case, her longbow is kind of like a hockey stick, a memento of sporting times.

 

This could mean that she's actually a better shot with a bow than she is with a gun.

 

And yes, supposedly her longbow was in the 'trunk of stuff' she left behnd on Serenity - a bunch of her best stuff, left behind as an expression of hope to return to Serenity at some point (this is 'explained' in the DVD commentary).

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