Post by Kermit The Hulk on May 22, 2010 17:16:13 GMT -5
Now, for “Serenity”:
After Firefly got cancelled, all the producers of Firefly tried hard to shop Firefly around to another network. Meanwhile, the show’s loyal fans, known as Browncoats, got organized in order to get the show back on the air. The funny thing is…it worked…sort of. While they weren’t able to get another channel to pick up the show or to get FOX to pick it up again, they did generate enough support to get a movie made. Of course, the fanbase hoped that the movie would do well enough to get the show picked up again. That did not happen. But, at the very least, it was able to come back, tie up all the loose ends, and finish things up in a satisfying way for fans. Though, it isn’t that hard to see why the movie didn’t succeed well and ended up being a cult movie to go along with the cult show that spawned it:
Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed it, had to do so many things with this movie that made it impossible to become a blockbuster hit. First, he had to conclude Firefly’s mythos in just two hours, meaning that a whole season’s worth of mythology had to be compressed into just two hours. Then, he had to tell a story that successfully work as a conclusion to the Firefly story but at the same time leave it open ended enough for the chance of it continuing. And, he had to do all this in a way that not only satisfied all the Browncoats but was also welcoming to new fans. It was pretty much impossible for him to set up the Firefly universe while setting “Serenity”’s plot in motion in a way that got newbies caught up while also not talking down to the fans who jumped on when the show was on FOX. Unfortunately for Whedon, something was gonna suffer. What did was the film being welcoming to new fans. Basically, if you’re new to Firefly and want to get into it, I would suggest watching the show first before the movie. The older fans will also feel a little short changed as the relationships the show spend much time wonderfully building are glossed over. Mal and Inara’s frisky interplay and Kaylee’s pining of Simon all sort of come and go so quickly that they would have been cut in a stand-alone film as they appeared to just pop up out of nowhere and concluded in a short span. And, there was Shepard’s sudden cameo. To older fans, his appearance comes off a disservice to the character since we got to sort of know him on the show; and to new audience, it comes of as a little weird that man who appeared in two scenes
Another thing that suffers is the quality of the film. Here’s the thing: “Serenity” is not a bad movie, but there are times when it feels more like a two-part episode of the show rather than a movie. Though, it is obvious that Whedon tried to make it look like a film. And, indeed there are some film characteristics to it: better CG effects than the show, better fight choreography and stunts, a more epic feel to the story. But, the plot, the interaction between the characters, the mythology; it all rings the bell of made-for-TV movie. The plot is simple: the Alliance is fed up with River Tam being a fugitive and sends a mysterious covert agent known only as the Operative, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, to find her. This causes Mal and crew to figure out why they want River so badly, which leads them to Miranda, a mysterious planet that was supposedly abandoned because terraforming was impossible on said planet. Of course, they soon learn that’s not true and find out what the Alliance had planned for its citizens before things soured. After learning the truth Mal and crew are determined to get the truth out. Now, this isn’t a bad idea. In fact, it would have worked on the TV show, but again that’s the problem: it would have worked on the TV show, especially as the main plot to run through the course of a season. Still, it does work as Ejiofor is amazing as the Operative. He is so stone cold serious, playing it with such sinister bloodlessness, that it helps to elevate the story and make it epic. This guy is nothing to f*** with, which means the Alliance ain’t playing around anymore and that the stakes are much higher. Also, the cast is still in top form, nailing their roles much like they did on the show. Plus, there are a lot of great lines in this movie. My favorites:
The Operative: Are you willing to die for that belief?
Mal: I am… but it ain’t exactly Plan A.
Inara: Mal, what are you doing here?
Mal: You invited me.
Inara: I never thought for a second you'd be stupid enough to come!
Mal: Well that makes you a tease.
[after the hovercraft makes a crash landing in the hanger of Serenity. Simon runs to his sister]
Simon: River?
River: I swallowed a bug.
Mal: [on the ship's intercom] This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then - explode.
Mal: Dear Buddha, please bring me a pony and a plastic rocket...
Kaylee: Goin' on a year now I ain't had nothin' twixt my nethers weren't run on batteries!
Mal: Oh, God! I can't *know* that!
Jayne: I could stand to hear a little more.
Wash: It's okay, I'm a leaf on the wind!
Mal: What does that mean?
Mr. Universe: There is no news. There is only the truth of the signal. What I see. And, there's the puppet theater the Parliament jesters foist on the somnambulant public.
Shepherd: [dying] I killed the ship that killed us. Not very Christian.
Mal: You did what was right.
Shepherd: Coming from you that means - almost nothing. [grin]
All in all, it is a good movie, made even greater once you’ve seen the show. Hell, this is one of the best movies based on a TV show that was made. Though, it does help that most of the people involved on the show came back to make it. Still, it captures the spirit of the TV show: the Western feel, the sci fi trappings, bringing some originality into the sci fi genre, the rebellious and anti-establishment essence, the beautiful blend of drama and comedy, the exciting (and purposeful) action, and the general fun feeling of the show that made it such a great place to hang out in. Also, it is obvious that they did try to make a film rather than a two hour episode of the show. Honestly, I think one of the reasons “Serenity” comes off as more of a long TV episode rather than a movie is the fact that that fear was instill in people’s minds before the movie came out and largely didn’t leave afterwards. And, while it does have the problem of not really hand holding newer fans, it can’t really do that all the time. In fact, Whedon can only do so much hand holding before he loses the older fans AND the new viewers. But, the main thing that makes this movie great is that it gives a show that should have gone on for a long run a satisfying conclusion. Hell, most successful shows don’t get a satisfying conclusion; they usually overstay their welcome, peter out, or just blow the whole thing with an ending that makes no sense. However, “Serenity” isn’t just a satisfying conclusion; it’s a realized fantasy for people who like to see brilliant-but-cancelled shows get a second chance and for the loyal, passionate fanbase that fell in love with this crazy ship and its crew.
Note: I’m watching the original DVD release, AKA the “Normal Edition.” I will get around to seeing the Collector’s Edition and/or the Blu-ray soon, so look for that. Special features include commentary with Joss Whedon; an introduction from Whedon’ Future History: The Story Of Earth That Was, a featurette about the origins of Firefly’s backstory and mythos; What’s In A Firefly, a featurette about the special effects in the movie; Re-lighting The Firefly, a featurette about how “Serenity” rose out of Firefly’s ashes; deleted scenes: an extended scene of Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and River about to go rob a bank, an extended scene of Jayne and Kaylee talking while cleaning up after the bank robbery, Inara talking with a friend at the Companion Training House, the Operative tracking Mal’s history, an extended scene of Simon comforting River after her barroom fight and leading to Serenity landing on Haven, Mal and Inara escaping from the Companion Training House, Mal and Inara’s shuttle being chased, Mal and Inara talking as Serenity flies to Miranda, and Mal talking with the Operative after they’ve revealed what the Alliance did on Miranda; and outtakes. The special features are okay. I did like the deleted scenes a lot; in fact, I’d like to see a cut of the film with those scenes put back in. And, I liked this gag reel a lot more than the one for the Firefly set, mainly because it was longer.
All in all, these are great DVDs to have. It’s just amazing that a cancelled TV show would not only get released on DVD (that was rare back in 2002; now it’s pretty common) but also get a major motion picture as well. And, it’s great testament that to all those wonderful ideas that made great TV shows but just didn’t get to fully realize those ideas because of ratings and network demands.
Highlight: Firefly: “Out Of Gas.” “Serenity”: “Goin' on a year now I ain't had nothin' twixt my nethers weren't run on batteries!”
Firefly: Highly recommended.
“Serenity”: Recommended mainly if you’ve seen Firefly or have that DVD set as well.
After Firefly got cancelled, all the producers of Firefly tried hard to shop Firefly around to another network. Meanwhile, the show’s loyal fans, known as Browncoats, got organized in order to get the show back on the air. The funny thing is…it worked…sort of. While they weren’t able to get another channel to pick up the show or to get FOX to pick it up again, they did generate enough support to get a movie made. Of course, the fanbase hoped that the movie would do well enough to get the show picked up again. That did not happen. But, at the very least, it was able to come back, tie up all the loose ends, and finish things up in a satisfying way for fans. Though, it isn’t that hard to see why the movie didn’t succeed well and ended up being a cult movie to go along with the cult show that spawned it:
Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed it, had to do so many things with this movie that made it impossible to become a blockbuster hit. First, he had to conclude Firefly’s mythos in just two hours, meaning that a whole season’s worth of mythology had to be compressed into just two hours. Then, he had to tell a story that successfully work as a conclusion to the Firefly story but at the same time leave it open ended enough for the chance of it continuing. And, he had to do all this in a way that not only satisfied all the Browncoats but was also welcoming to new fans. It was pretty much impossible for him to set up the Firefly universe while setting “Serenity”’s plot in motion in a way that got newbies caught up while also not talking down to the fans who jumped on when the show was on FOX. Unfortunately for Whedon, something was gonna suffer. What did was the film being welcoming to new fans. Basically, if you’re new to Firefly and want to get into it, I would suggest watching the show first before the movie. The older fans will also feel a little short changed as the relationships the show spend much time wonderfully building are glossed over. Mal and Inara’s frisky interplay and Kaylee’s pining of Simon all sort of come and go so quickly that they would have been cut in a stand-alone film as they appeared to just pop up out of nowhere and concluded in a short span. And, there was Shepard’s sudden cameo. To older fans, his appearance comes off a disservice to the character since we got to sort of know him on the show; and to new audience, it comes of as a little weird that man who appeared in two scenes
and dies in one of them
is given such weight. Wash’s death may have been a little weightier to newer watches as he was in most the movie, but it would have also appear as inexplicably tragic to them if they hadn’t gotten to know him as well. However, both scenes are shocking and handled nicely by Whedon’s writing and the acting from Glass and Tudyk.
. These subplots suffer because Whedon is more concerned with the need to drive the narrative forward and tell a thrilling adventure to give them the time to grow. That’s one of the things the show has over the movie: time. Even though Firefly appeared that it would be the most episodic show Whedon had done since the first season of Angel, it still have some interconnected threads that it was nicely setting up in what would have been the first season and would have continued to build upon as the show went on. However, here, he has to fast-forward pretty much to their logical conclusions in a short time while still telling a compelling story. It doesn’t really work, and the film suffersAnother thing that suffers is the quality of the film. Here’s the thing: “Serenity” is not a bad movie, but there are times when it feels more like a two-part episode of the show rather than a movie. Though, it is obvious that Whedon tried to make it look like a film. And, indeed there are some film characteristics to it: better CG effects than the show, better fight choreography and stunts, a more epic feel to the story. But, the plot, the interaction between the characters, the mythology; it all rings the bell of made-for-TV movie. The plot is simple: the Alliance is fed up with River Tam being a fugitive and sends a mysterious covert agent known only as the Operative, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, to find her. This causes Mal and crew to figure out why they want River so badly, which leads them to Miranda, a mysterious planet that was supposedly abandoned because terraforming was impossible on said planet. Of course, they soon learn that’s not true and find out what the Alliance had planned for its citizens before things soured. After learning the truth Mal and crew are determined to get the truth out. Now, this isn’t a bad idea. In fact, it would have worked on the TV show, but again that’s the problem: it would have worked on the TV show, especially as the main plot to run through the course of a season. Still, it does work as Ejiofor is amazing as the Operative. He is so stone cold serious, playing it with such sinister bloodlessness, that it helps to elevate the story and make it epic. This guy is nothing to f*** with, which means the Alliance ain’t playing around anymore and that the stakes are much higher. Also, the cast is still in top form, nailing their roles much like they did on the show. Plus, there are a lot of great lines in this movie. My favorites:
The Operative: Are you willing to die for that belief?
Mal: I am… but it ain’t exactly Plan A.
Inara: Mal, what are you doing here?
Mal: You invited me.
Inara: I never thought for a second you'd be stupid enough to come!
Mal: Well that makes you a tease.
[after the hovercraft makes a crash landing in the hanger of Serenity. Simon runs to his sister]
Simon: River?
River: I swallowed a bug.
Mal: [on the ship's intercom] This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and then - explode.
Mal: Dear Buddha, please bring me a pony and a plastic rocket...
Kaylee: Goin' on a year now I ain't had nothin' twixt my nethers weren't run on batteries!
Mal: Oh, God! I can't *know* that!
Jayne: I could stand to hear a little more.
Wash: It's okay, I'm a leaf on the wind!
Mal: What does that mean?
Mr. Universe: There is no news. There is only the truth of the signal. What I see. And, there's the puppet theater the Parliament jesters foist on the somnambulant public.
Shepherd: [dying] I killed the ship that killed us. Not very Christian.
Mal: You did what was right.
Shepherd: Coming from you that means - almost nothing. [grin]
All in all, it is a good movie, made even greater once you’ve seen the show. Hell, this is one of the best movies based on a TV show that was made. Though, it does help that most of the people involved on the show came back to make it. Still, it captures the spirit of the TV show: the Western feel, the sci fi trappings, bringing some originality into the sci fi genre, the rebellious and anti-establishment essence, the beautiful blend of drama and comedy, the exciting (and purposeful) action, and the general fun feeling of the show that made it such a great place to hang out in. Also, it is obvious that they did try to make a film rather than a two hour episode of the show. Honestly, I think one of the reasons “Serenity” comes off as more of a long TV episode rather than a movie is the fact that that fear was instill in people’s minds before the movie came out and largely didn’t leave afterwards. And, while it does have the problem of not really hand holding newer fans, it can’t really do that all the time. In fact, Whedon can only do so much hand holding before he loses the older fans AND the new viewers. But, the main thing that makes this movie great is that it gives a show that should have gone on for a long run a satisfying conclusion. Hell, most successful shows don’t get a satisfying conclusion; they usually overstay their welcome, peter out, or just blow the whole thing with an ending that makes no sense. However, “Serenity” isn’t just a satisfying conclusion; it’s a realized fantasy for people who like to see brilliant-but-cancelled shows get a second chance and for the loyal, passionate fanbase that fell in love with this crazy ship and its crew.
Note: I’m watching the original DVD release, AKA the “Normal Edition.” I will get around to seeing the Collector’s Edition and/or the Blu-ray soon, so look for that. Special features include commentary with Joss Whedon; an introduction from Whedon’ Future History: The Story Of Earth That Was, a featurette about the origins of Firefly’s backstory and mythos; What’s In A Firefly, a featurette about the special effects in the movie; Re-lighting The Firefly, a featurette about how “Serenity” rose out of Firefly’s ashes; deleted scenes: an extended scene of Mal, Zoe, Jayne, and River about to go rob a bank, an extended scene of Jayne and Kaylee talking while cleaning up after the bank robbery, Inara talking with a friend at the Companion Training House, the Operative tracking Mal’s history, an extended scene of Simon comforting River after her barroom fight and leading to Serenity landing on Haven, Mal and Inara escaping from the Companion Training House, Mal and Inara’s shuttle being chased, Mal and Inara talking as Serenity flies to Miranda, and Mal talking with the Operative after they’ve revealed what the Alliance did on Miranda; and outtakes. The special features are okay. I did like the deleted scenes a lot; in fact, I’d like to see a cut of the film with those scenes put back in. And, I liked this gag reel a lot more than the one for the Firefly set, mainly because it was longer.
All in all, these are great DVDs to have. It’s just amazing that a cancelled TV show would not only get released on DVD (that was rare back in 2002; now it’s pretty common) but also get a major motion picture as well. And, it’s great testament that to all those wonderful ideas that made great TV shows but just didn’t get to fully realize those ideas because of ratings and network demands.
Highlight: Firefly: “Out Of Gas.” “Serenity”: “Goin' on a year now I ain't had nothin' twixt my nethers weren't run on batteries!”
Firefly: Highly recommended.
“Serenity”: Recommended mainly if you’ve seen Firefly or have that DVD set as well.