Bloggers Review Serenity

Movie Review: Serenity The distribution partners for the new film Serenity, the sequel to the short-lived television series Firefly, have decided to embrace the blogosphere in order to promote its movie. They asked bloggers to set up pre-release screenings across America (or to attend previously scheduled screenings) for free as long as the bloggers agreed to write about the film on their blogs. They did not demand or even suggest that the blog reviews be positive or encouraging, just to write something.

One might assume that Universal might have taken this approach for one of two reasons. The first motive that occurred to me was that the studio did not have confidence that Serenity would score with traditional critics and wanted to bypass them, which would indicate a poor effort. The other option was that the studio didn't have confidence that a sci-fi film based on a failed TV series could find an audience in the fall season, and they wanted to get some buzz going so that a good film would not fall off the radar screen for moviegoers.

I'm happy to report that, based on the film itself, Universal must have had the second motive in mind. I never saw more than five minutes of Firefly, so I have no idea how this fits in with the series. I can tell you that this may be one of the better sci-fi films I've seen in the theaters in a long time. It has some flaws, but they remain minor and do not interfere with a movie that does not take itself too seriously but also does not kneecap itself by insulting its audience with dumb gag lines, either.

It takes a while to understand all the plot elements -- perhaps because I was unfamiliar with the series -- but the story coalesces around the sister, River, of the doctor, Simon, who rescues her from a secret facility that has programmed her for some heavy-duty purpose. A government operative (played with monstrous humanity by Chiwetel Ejiofor) sets out to get her back, which puts him on the trail of the ship Serenity. Mal decides that he must protect her, a decision that he will come to regret, but one that may also unlock a way to finally prevail against his enemies.

I won't tell you more than that; for the purposes of this review, it isn't necessary to give anything away. Very little of what follows is illogical or unbelievable, but most of it will surprise viewers. The film unpredictably navigates an incredibly complex universe, almost never allows viewers to rely on a pure good/pure evil paradigm, and puts its main characters on the line like no movie will risk in an age of focus-group testing and reliance on sequels.

Its characters do not rely on speeches and noble slogans (much), and most of them have their own sense of gallows humor that come from their own unique identity. The laughs the movie gets come honestly from realistic dialogue, from having the characters on the screen say what the audience is thinking, but avoids the "I like you, Solly, I kill you last" kind of goofiness.

In fact, the only major complaint I have with the film is its rating. The film has far too much horrific violence for a PG-13 rating. I thought it must have been an R, and only after the film ended did I discover its MPAA rating. Some of the futurespeak got on my nerves as well, but that gets less troublesome as the movie goes along.

My recommendation: Sci-fi fans will love this film. It reminds me of the best of the classics, where the purpose of all the hardware and the costumes is to remind us of our humanity and how easily it can be lost. It's good enough that many who do not normally enjoy sci-fi might find this one an exception to the rule. Don't bring the kids, though.

Well, I saw the film tonight, and I wish to indulge myself in a rather elaborate review. I hope that for those on the fence, I can make a compelling argument for why you simply cannot miss this film.

Be advised, there is a point or two i simply cannot make - and need to make - without involving a particular spoiler. I will not say it outright, but if you have any insight at all, you can figure it out. I will insert a warning before and after the portion which contains the spoiler - read it at your own risk!

*****
Serenity is a very hard movie for me to describe, at once demanding and defying comparison.

but the most salient point I can make to start is that I liked it better as a SF film for the general audience than as a continuation of Firefly.

Is Serenity a perfect film? Not at all. but almost every complaint I could muster would be based on my status as a Browncoat. It bothers me a tick that the general audience probably won't be able to fall in love with the cuddly Kaylee I know...it bothers me some that we see so little of Book ...it bothers me some that Inara is, of a necessity, regulated to extra status after Mal "wishes she were elsewhere"...it bothers me Ididn't get to hear the gorram theme song - at least over the end credits.

But all these whines arise from my being so involved in Firefly.

I spent the forty minute drive home sorting through my impressions and in every case where I might have tweaked the film, the temptation arose from my passion for the creation I see on my DVDs.
and yet for all that, as a Firefly fan, I loved the film. It served to further the story from the series very well - I "get" why Mal has become more dark, more desperate, more "out there on the ragged edge." I understand the evolution, in fact, of all the characters except for the less cuddly Kaylee. In the magazine, Joss emphasizes that the movie and the series are "different animals" and he also says that the Malcolm we see here is the one he always intended to write before Fox insisted he be "more likable" - I see and agree with his point in both cases. But it does give the film a different, less comfortable "feel" for the Browncoat. Speaking strictly as a Browncoat, I'd give the film an A or an A- depending on how much I differed to Joss on the "different animal" consideration.

But - and here's the real review - thinking as an average SF fan who never saw the first episode of Firefly, I can't resist the temptation to heap the most lavish praise on this film. In that context, this IS, IMNSHO, a seminal film on the order of Blade Runner, Alien and The Matrix. Even Star Wars though I don't want to be misunderstood as predicting such a cultural impact or financial success as that. I cannot be sure of box office success, though my gut tells me it will be enough to make the film the "story" of the season in terms of success. But I feel sure it will be successful enough to support a status as a comparable motion picture "event" to the movies (save SW) that I mentioned above.

For all that, it's easier to say what Serenity is NOT, than what it is. It is NOT pure, no-message, action in the mold of Alien. It is NOT as ruthlessly cold as Bladerunner, despite be a dark story. It is not "clever" in the sense that The Matrix is....and it is most assuredly not "fun" in remotely the same sense that Star Wars was. (or "big" as ESB was).

What it IS, is very hard to say. It is more than the sum of its parts. it pushes emotional buttons that you can't even figure out why they are being pushed. I found myself emotionally overwrought at moments when, from an analytical point of view, I would not have thought I should have been (Kaylee's "I'm gonna live!" for instance) and I was never left cold by a moment clearly intended to evoke a strong reaction. The characters and their motivations make sense... they are real, not stock caricatures, and their relationships are authentic. I understand, from a now-Browncoat POV, WHY everyone here is doing what they are doing. there no sense of contrivance or artifice to drive the plot.

The tightness with which the plot is constructed is outstanding, there are no wasted scenes or unnecessary movements. I would loved to have seen maybe 8-10 more minutes on Haven for some character exposition...especially regarding Book... and I would have liked one or two scenes of Inara contributing some dialog or something to the time she spent as an extra, but otherwise, it's really hard to find fault.

The dialog, overall, was very effective. Not overloaded with Whedon witticisms (as befits a dark story) but not absent the well-done gallows humor either. A lot was said in a few words and with the reactions to them on numerous occasions.

Speaking of reactions, nobody except possibly Jewel Staite does a bad job here, but Nathan Fillion gave what would have been, in another setting, a nomination-consideration performance. He said more, on half a dozen occasions, without opening his mouth, than many notable Hollywood pretty-boys might speak in an entire film. He literally graduates to Film Star in this movie.

Glass was excellent though with limited opportunity, the villain was masterfully played (and had the potential to make Fillon look bad by comparison but as noted NF held up his end superbly). Summer Glau nailed her role, though no more so than in Firefly and ditto for Baldwin. The rest, in most cases, lacked enough exposition to really shine but none could be criticized.

The direction, especially in the demanding action and flight sequences, was again superb. I virtually teared up at the perfection of the opening movement of Serenity entering atmo. there is much here that illustrates just how well that "hand held camera" illusion that was used in Firefly and now in BSG really holds up on the big screen. I might quibble with some, but not all, of the tight facial shots that lingered on, but that's purely a judgment thing.

finally, a word hidden by the spoiler tags due to the nature of the comments:

!!!!!SPOILERS!!!!!
!!DON'T RISK IT!!

I have to echo the writer I read from Ain'tItCoolNews last night: you simply CANNOT overstate the importance of brutal honesty in this film. The easy, popcorn-munching action movie has every featured player walking away the big damn hero. Very rarely does a film deliver the full emotional impact of bad things happening to the characters that the moviegoer has learned to love. And in most cases, the films that do are regarded as classics.
The writer called it "not cheating."

Joss did not cheat. As much as the Browncoat in me was traumatized by that spear, as much as I can't imagine how the fill the gap left where someone needs to deliver the witty rejoinder...for all of that, as a non-Browncoat, the movie seals it's position as a potential classic when that spear lands and there is no going back...no revival, no miracle. Grim, brutal, reality. From that moment on, the average fan can possibly trust that any character he sees on the screen will live until the end. And he doesn't know what he'll think if they do - or if they don't.

All of the imagery of darkness in this film...all of it is reduced to mere shadow if there is no immediate in-your-face consequence to the heroes - but there IS consequence, and that makes the darkness real, and the victory (at least for the moment) more solid.

It validates the whole story.

So, I stand by my remarks. some will surely call it hyperbole. So be it. It is not fair to compare films which don't try to do the same thing and say one is better than another. Serenity is not trying to be what any of those other films were, and most of them were not trying to be what Serenity is. I cannot in good conscious say Serenity is better than Star Wars. but neither can I say the reverse. for all their commonalities, they are apples and oranges.

But I will say this, Serenity is every bit as memorable and important a film as any of those I mentioned before. it will, I'm confident, be mentioned among the best space-based SF films of all time. It is as good at being what it is - it succeeds as much or more in accomplishing the full "vision" of what it sets out to be - as any movie I've ever seen.

As a non-Browncoat, this film is off-the-charts good. A++ doesn't begin to cover it.
*****

I look forward to hearing thethoughts of others - especially those who were/arenot familiar with Firefly.

Other than the really tacky line in the bar, what was your problem with Jewel Staite's performance? Having seen Serenity a second time today (after seeing a preview screening a few months ago), I now think the Kaylee presented in the movie does a much better job of hanging together than it did for me in the series, where the character seemed to shift around a lot -- shy and vulgar, bumpkin and worldly, unsure and confident -- depending on the episode or scene. Sweet Kaylee who blushes and hides never quite fit with the blunt Kaylee who talks about sex and talks with authority for me. Playing down the shy, bumpkin, and unsure helped the other side work for me better than it often did in the series, much as playing down the Western elements and playing up the Science Fiction (e.g., they carry assault rifles as well as revolvers) worked better for me than the anachronisms in the series. (The final version feels more "Western" than the preview did because the preview I saw didn't have the final soundtrack which does a lot to add a Western feel back into the movie.) Bear in mind that I'm saying this as someone that prefers Sweet Kaylee to Slutty Kaylee.

Please note that this is a mild complaint and nit-picking. I think it was a great movie based on a great show. I knew going in, even the first time, that it was a movie and not a TV show. What you say about tight pacing is true, and I think some Firefly resent the fact that the movie doesn't have the more leisurely pacing of the TV show with time for banter and character building. But I think it's a great movie, and the non-Firefly watching non-SF fan that I went to see the preview with like the movie just fine enough to go see it again last night.

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