Serenity / Firefly Fans

[gyusher]

I bought the movie "Serenity" last night. I guess you had better be a "Firefly" fan to get the most from it but I did enjoy it. A bit over the top in a couple places but that's SciFi I recon. Looking at it from a series point of view the movie was great however as a stand alone movie it leaves a little to be desired.

Sad to see the loss of a couple characters. Not sure where they are going with this but my hope is that they continue the series.

All in all a great movie for me but put that cast together in a "Firefly" show and I am going to love it regardless.

[Jack G]

Yea, you really needed to be a fan to appreciate the movie. There was too much info lacking for anyone who hasn't seen the series, to fully get it.
No, there probably won't be anymore firefly movies. JHoss is now working on another project, suposedly, Wonderwoman.
Jack

[M Jarve]

I finally saw the movie last night, and thought it was pretty darn good. Many TV -> big-screen transitions don't stay as true to the series, especially when it comes to sci-fi. I had borrowed the complete Firefly series on DVD from a friend a couple of months ago, and I got the DVD collection myself for Christmas. Now I just need to buy Serenity for myself, and I'll be set.

It was disappointing to see the one character die, especially since they never really got into his background (it will remain a mystery I guess, though I have my suspicions about it...).

I would not be surprised, however, if there is another movie made. ArsTechnica ran an article about that some time ago, and both the Sci-Fi channel and Fox were toying with the idea of a direct to DVD movie. They were going to gauge response to the Serenity DVD release before making a decision, though.

[Army]

I got the Serenity DVD for christmas, and thoroughly enjoyed it last night. I caught a number of the Firefly episodes and think you gentlemens comments are right on the money. If you haven't seen Firefly the movie didn't really go into enough detail as far as the relationships. Especially concerning the characters that died and or the love interests.

I hope they continue with either another movie or more tv episodes. That and I really liked the music played in the background of the tv episodes

[Texas42]

I have the movie Serenity, but haven't watched it. I also have never seen the Firefly series. With this in mind, should I get the series first and watch it before the movie, or vice versa?

[Army]

The movie would IMO make more sense if you watched the series first.

The series would give you a better perspective on how all the crew members interact and the relationships between them.

I received this movie for Christmas as well and I must say that I rather enjoyed it. Having never seen the series, though I wanted to, but could never catch it, I went into watching this movie with no background knowledge and had no problem. There were a few jumpy moments, but nothing that couldn't be extrapolated from various quips made by characters at other times.

Sure, it's quite formulaic and predictable, feeling more like an extended TV episode over a theatrical movie, but I felt that it's well enough done that you can suspend such feelings and just plain enjoy it.

- JP

[fuzzyuu]

Being a huge fan of the show, I have to say I was a little bit disapointed. It just didn't seems as fantastic as the show. Also, I was under the assumption that the serise would continue, but I later found out that it would not, which would explain much of the story in the movie. Also, for those who are fans, there are comic books out there that tell the story of what happens between the end of the show and the movie. But I do have to say, it helpd true to the show, which is really refreshing.

[Donny]

Firefly was a good show. I had never heard of it till I read this thread ,to bad it ended so soon with only 14 episodes. Thanks to the movie the series did have an ending of sorts.

[Holst]

Inspired by this thread I bought the DVD, I loved it, my wife hated it. I've since bought the Firefly DVD, my wife watched the pilot episodes last night and changed her tune, she now wants to see the whole series and watch the movie again.
A real space western, you'd think they'd have tried this in the 60's with all the wild shows they came up with then. The closest was Warren Oats on "Lost in Space" as the space cowboy "Hap".

[daveshel]

I posted this little review on the Browncoats forum (now defunct) after seeing a test screening last September. I saw it again. I liked it less the second time.

"I'm not a huge fan of the cinema, although I do watch my share of movies on DVD. But even removing the annoyances of the theater experience does not entirely quell my criticism of the output of Hollywood. Suffice it to say I am a bigger fan of stories and characters than I am of sensationalism. I love to read, but find it so addictive and time-consuming that I tend to avoid it day-to-day and save it for vacations and special occasions. I have been known to become passionate about the characters and stories I have met on the small screen: it is relatively easy to fit sixty minutes of drama into my life. (Don't tell Madison Avenue that I am usually out of the room during the commercials.)

So when I heard that Firefly was coming to the big screen, my positive reaction to the benefits of enhanced production capabilities was tempered with fear that the things I liked about Firefly would get lost in sensationalism. And my viewing of a special advanced screening of Serenity has proven that my fears were justified.

What was it I liked about Firefly? The premise was good, and served as a vehicle to integrate an interesting story line with an unlikely mix of characters that came together as an ensemble of undeniable synergy. But one of the things Whedon had accomplished in the original episodes was a subtlety that took the edge off of the violence and harsh unreality of life in the outer reaches of the 'verse.

And this was the first thing to bother me about Serenity. It hit me in the pursuit scene where Jayne's leg wound is overblown and gratuitous in ways that Whedon would have been unable to do on the small screen, but that did nothing to enhance the story. Before that point it was like seeing old friends again. There was a lot that was well executed: the dialog was exceptional, with maybe even more humor and anachronistic quirkiness than the original eps. The performances were excellent, although Fillion brought a little more edge and desperation to Reynolds than was useful. It was like he had to take himself a bit more seriously on the big screen. The music was well done, although I was hoping they would use the song, maybe even with some verses. I guess the special effects were good, although they didn't too much for me, and occasionally got in the way. The vehicular density when they crossed among the Reavers on the way to Miranda then again when they drew the Reavers into confrontation with the Alliance forces was beyond credibility, and the action in the latter scene was busy and overblown.

But the thing that really bothered me about Serenity was Wash getting killed. I found it a bit severe when the Alliance started killing off everybody who had ever harbored our friends, but it served the story. I found it extreme when they got Shepherd Book, but it was justifiable in terms of motivating the characters: again, it served the story. But they didn't need to kill Wash. The director's thing is to get a reaction from the audience, and this he clearly accomplished. But other than getting our attention, what does the death of this character accomplish for the story?

As I understand it, there will be two more movies. It is hard for me to imagine how breaking up an ensemble cast will serve the ongoing story. Wash added a lot to the group dynamic, and gave balance to Zoe. What is Whedon thinking? And while I was glad to see he didn't pull a Chris Carter and avoid the major story arc, I fear that he may have resolved too much. Since he killed opportunity to delve into the Shepherd's incongruous past and explained why the Alliance was after River, what is left? I'm going to need more than the sexual tension between Mal and Inara. I wonder if The Operative can drive.

If I can speak for more than one Firefly fan, we didn't need the big screen or the surround sound to make this boat float. If the cost of seeing our beloved characters released from the confines of television formatting is getting them killed and turned into Die Hard 14, it isn't worth it."

[bully]

I only caught Firefly on SciFi channel, but being "into" science fiction, I thoroughly enjoyed the series. Where can I get the dvd of the series?
I bought the dvd of Serenity and enjoyed it, but I admit I'll need to watch it again because I fell asleep while watching. I seem to do that a lot watching movies because I get so comfortable.

I bought the Firefly DVD set a while back after seeing a couple, and my friend telling me it was on sale. I watched it on my 77" front projection set and it was amazing. The charactors are great, the plots are great, sets and effects A+. Fox deserves a beating for canceling it. My projector just died so now I have to wait untill I fix it to watch the movie argh !

[missing_eric]

Originally Posted by jackson

I bought the Firefly DVD set a while back after seeing a couple, and my friend telling me it was on sale. I watched it on my 77" front projection set and it was amazing. The charactors are great, the plots are great, sets and effects A+. Fox deserves a beating for canceling it. My projector just died so now I have to wait untill I fix it to watch the movie argh !

I totally agree..I just bought the set also after seeing a few..Fox is Stupid!!!!

[soundmotor]

My wife gave me the Firefly box set for Christmas.

Incredible, really just incredible.

Fox desrves far more than a beating for cancelling what may have been the best sci-fi series on TV; ever!