"Serenity" Review and Thoughts

DISCLAIMER:
If you're not a Browncoat, and/or haven't seen the movie yet, it would probably be in your best interest to skip this blog, and go down and listen to me talk about the Colts and lots of other pointless stuff.

This review WILL contain SPOILERS about the film, and is really meant for people who have seen the film already.

AGAIN, I'm going to state this for those who skimmed the last sentence: Today's Blog is ONLY about "Firefly" and "Serenity". AND it contains SPOILERS! DO NOT READ THIS if you haven't seen the film, or want to be surprised with EVERYTHING in the film. MAJOR SPOILER WARNING! PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I got stuck working on Monday night, I wasn't supposed to, but it happened. And XBOX Live was down for some upgrades that night, so I decided to stay at work and watch a movie. I talked to Jason during the night, and asked him if there was anything he'd be willing to come watch with me (Jason and I haven't watched a movie in the same theatre together in EONS, aside from the first time I watched "Serenity"). So, Jason said he really wanted to watch "Serenity" again, and didn't get to before his theatre lost it. I was looking to watch something I hadn't seen before, but I also knew I wanted to watch "Serenity" again, and I was long overdue to write this review. So, we decided to do it. Now, at my theatre, we don't start movie we don't sell for, and generally the last set of movies we don't do much business, and don't start many things. So, I planned on starting "Serenity" right when I got done doing all my work, and not getting out too late. Of course, on this night, we ended up selling TWO TICKETS for the show, and it didn't get over until after midnight. But, I was commited to watching it, and we threaded it up and started it as soon as it was over.

At one point, Jason called and asked if a couple of people could come. He had mentioned to some of his buddies that he was going to watch it again, and they wante to come as well. Justin, Phil, and Aaron all come with Jason, and it was a reuniting of the group of us that used to watch "Firefly" episodes together on Monday nights.

"Serenity" has made it into my top FIVE of the year. And not to sound bad, but that's not hard to do this year. Here's my top five, so far:

1. "Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith"
2. "Elizabethtown"
3. "Sin City"
4. "Serenity"
5. "Batman Begins"

It's odd. Two comic book movies, two Sci-Fi movies, and a Cameron Crowe flick. Not a typical Top Five List. There's a couple more flick coming out before the end of the year, that will probably alter this list ("Narnia" and "Potter 4") but, this is it as of now.

Onto the flick. It's probably the BEST written film of the year. Over the past few monthes, I've really enjoyed Josh Whedon's writting, both on the show, and in the movie. The dialogue is great, quick, and quirky.

Wash: This is gonna get pretty interesting.
Mal: Define "interesting"
Wash: Oh God, Oh God, we're all gonna die!
Mal (into intercom): This is the captain. We have a little problem with our entry sequence, so we may experience some slight... turbulence, and then explode.

The characters are well defined, and show great range of emotion. Nathan Fillion ROCKS. Mal is probably one of my favorite Sci-Fi characters of all time, and rank right next to Han Solo as the "cool" captain of a spaceship. The character of Mal has so many levels about him. He's obviously harbring some DEEP psychological issues regarding the fact that he lost a large number of men at the Battle of Serenity Valley, and when this issue comes up between Mal and Jayne, it's one of the most tense moments in the film, and it's all in his eyes. Jayne was a character that was always enjoyable in the series, and this continues in the film. He's got some of the best one-liners and subtle jokes that I don't think a lot of people catch. I think it's easier to catch them if you've seen the TV series, because you're expecting them, but for people who've ont seen the show, they might come too fast, and might be hard for some to follow. Through the TV series, the audience has more than enough time to get accustomed to Jayne and his attitude. The rest of the cast are fine as well, however many of them didn't have the presence that they deserved.

Shepherd Book was missing for too much of the show, and I'll address him later. Inara's absence was also felt. I understand her leaving, and how it played out through the film and the plot, and it's requirement for her to be gone, and I did like it was mentioned in the TV series, near the end, and who knows what would have happened if the series had continued on air, she might not have ever left. But, she did, an dit works in the film, but it lost something that was a key part to the TV show, and that's the relationship between Mal and Inara. If you're looking for it, it's there in the movie, and one of the final scenes gives you that hint and glimmer of what was missing, but their constant bickering and fighting, overlying their true feeling for each other, was almost non-exsistant in this film. The moments they had during the show were perfect, and kept you wondering when they would finally get together. A part of me is glad that they didn't, at the end of the film, but I was bothered that there wasn't more moments in the film, address their relationship that was present in the series. People who have not seen the show, would not fully understand what these two mean to each other, and their history. But, this is a two-hour film, "Firefly" was 13-ish hours, and had more time to develop.

Well, let's get onto the film. The Opening Title sequence is AWESOME. One LONG shot, taking the viewer through the entire ship. I have since learned that this was actually two seperate takes, and there is a "seem" where they put them together (a la "Rope" by Hitchcock, it happens in the middle of a camera move when no one is on screen). he shot follows Mal from the bridge, through the entire ship, both levels, and ends up in the big storage area, where they are gettign ready for their mission that's going to open the story up, and give a look at what these guys do. The dialogue in the opening is quick, and fast paced, but it gives the viewer a lot of information about what is going on. It develops a lot of the ack story, and shows you how Mal takes charge, and people listen. Then, you've got one of the drawback to movie (in my opinion). Simon's character has CHANGED from the show. Jason and I have had a couple of discussion regarding this, and he has some valid points about how Simon is merely standing up fro River, and would do so now matter what, because it's his sister. But, it just bothers me, because in the TV series, he's very passive and fearful of Mal, but right away in the opening scene of this flick, he's presented as a tough guy, who is willing to stand up to the captain, and almost disregards the fact that for the past 8 monthes, Mal has been hiding him and his sister from the Alliance. So, I'm sure it's a little thing, and probably didn't bother anyone else, but I didn't like how is character was canged from the TV series.

Mal: Nothing to fear, doctor.
Simon: This isn't fear. This is anger.
Mal: Well, kinda hard to tell one from the other, with a face like yours.
Simon: I imagine if it were fear, my eyes would be a little wider.
Mal: I'll look for that next time.

I talked about the absence of Inara and Shepherd Book, and Jason has a REALLY good theory about this. There's a lot of stress and tension on the ship, in the movie. And Jason believes that this is because those two are missing. Inara kept Mal happy (okay, maybe not happy, but he was in a better mood when he used to flirt with her!), and Shepherd Book kind of kept everyone calm and peaceful and was a good character of knowledge, wisdom, and guidance (things which are now missing from the ship). I have to agree with Jason and his theory, and say that things definetly changed on the ship without their presences.

Mal: You're not dying on me.
Book: ...can't order me around, boy. I'm not one of your crew...
Mal: Of course you are.

I was sad to see Shepherd Book die, but I was afraid that too many people weren't going to care. You don't get 13 episodes to meet Book, you get one scene where Mal and the crew hide out, Book and Mal have their typical Beliver/Non-Believer debates, and then they go on their way, only to come back and find Book dying.

Book: When I talk about belief, why do you always assume I'm talking about God?

Those who haven't gotten to know his character throughout the series are not going to see this for the HUGE lost that it was. Book was awesome! He kept a crew of misfits banded together for the entire run of TV show. Now, they will forever be without his guidance. Something else I want, related to Book, is to know his history. I want to know where he came from, and what he did.

Book: You know, I wan't always a preacher.
Mal: You'll have to tell me about that someday.
Book: No, I don't.

Book is somethign special. When he was shot, and taken to the hospital, a card in his wallet was scanned, and everyone reacted right away, and treated him like he was something super-important. And I doubt all of that was because he was a Shepherd. He's got to have some kind of connections, somewhere. In an interview with Joss Whedon, he said "...Book has done works for evil men, in his past..." Justin pointed out that "evil men" could mean the Alliance, and that he could have, at one point, been an Operative himself. Which would be pretty cool. And it would be a story I would love to one day see expanded on, especially if he had some kind of previous connection to Serenity, which caused him to choose that ship for his journey, in the Pilot episode. Book is a mystery, and one I'd like to know more about.

Another misleading part of the film deals with the opening, and introduciton to River and Simon. First, in the TV series, Simon claims to not have any idea what they are doing to his sister. Now, this might be something Joss had not considered doing, until the movie, or it might have been something that he had planned, and Simon was just lying to everyone. But, his going in and learning as much as he can from the doctors, just before he break her out, kind of changes what Simon does know throughout the series, and how he acts lik ehe doesn't know they did to her. Now, I've only seen each episode once, but I'm going to have to go back and re-watch them to see if there's any little hints anywhere, or if this was just overlooked until it needed to be addressed. Aside from this, when they are in the elevator shaft, and look up to see the ship drop something to rescue them, I am afraid those who don't watch the show are going to think that it's Serenity helping them, and that's how they came to be on ship. Those who have seen the show, know the truth, and perhaps some things like that are geared towards those who have seen the show, but I still don't like the ambiguity of it, and how people can think the wrong thing about their escape, and how they came to be on the ship. Jason's response was, "It doesn't matter, who cares if people think it's Serenity. It's still got them hooked on the movie..." To some extent I can see his point, but I don't know if I truly agree on it. I would prefer people to know the truth and exactly what's going on. I guess it's kind of like a history lesson, somethings you just have to go backand learn for yourself, so that other things can make sense. Seeing the series is just a must for ANYONE!

River is beyond awesome, and her WHOOPING up on the Reavers was incredible. I didn't realize until the second time, that the shot of her tearing them up, is one uncut shot, that circles her 1080-degrees. It's amazing. It was WELL choreographed. Also, her scene in the bar, where she is "unlocked" for the first time, and begins single-handedly tearing the place up: TOO COOL!!!!

Wash: Can we start with the part where Jayne gets beat up by a 90 pound girl? Because that's never getting old.

Chiwetel Ejiofor is just AMAZING as The Operative. I've dug this dude ever since I first saw him in "Love, Actually". I also think he was very good in "Four Brothers", and his acting style is top-notch in my opinion. I love the way he delivers lines, and how hehas presence on screen. He's much better than the assassain that borded "Serenity" in "Ojects in Space" (technically the final episode).

The Operative: Every minute you keep River Tam from me, more people will die.

He's cold, he's stone cold and plays it well. He's cold, but you can read emotion in his eyes. You can see what he is thinking. It's just amazing. Chiwetel brings more to this character than any of the other bounty hunters or assassains that the Alliance has sent, and I like the fact that he doesn't have a name or a ranking in the Alliance database.

The Operative: Because, like this facility, I do not exsist.

Wash's death was by far the most unexpected moment in the film, and in the "Serenity" universe. It just happens. You've just caught your breathe, and then WHAM! Who knew? Who could have seen it coming? Wow. And it sucks. And I know a number of people who are really disappointed about it. But, MAN, did it change Zoe's character! And that made for some good tense moments and action during the standoff scene with the Reavers, where Zoe shows no fear and walks directly into them firing.

Kaylee: Wait, where's Wash? Where's Wash!?!?
Zoe: He ain't comin'.

I'm interested to see where that takes the characters in the future. It's obvious that it's going to change Zoe's life in the future, and now Mal has to pilot the ship (for the time being). It's just so sad to see Wash go. Book is a little easier to deal with, he left the ship, he was going on with his life, and tragedy happened. But Wash had just saved the day, and his reward: The Reavers killed him!

River delivers my favorite line from the entire TV series. With Jayne sitting on the operating table in the medical room, River pops her head in and calmly says to him "I can kill you with my brain", then turns around walks out. GENIUS! She's so freaky, just being a nuerotic psychotic little 17-year-old girl, who we all know it MESSED UP! It was cool to see what she was capable of. River ROCKS! And Summer Glau is going to have a great career (I hope), because she has a great screen presence, and a large amount of her acting, for her character, is done in her eyes and face. The facial expressions speak VOLUMES compared to what she actually says. I'm wondering if she knows other secrets, and if ther's more to River than we learned in this film, which was a great deal. I almost wish they wouldn't have given it away in the trailer. I had already seen the trailer for "Serenity" when I started watching "Firefly", so I knew that River went psychotic in the bar, and that she was a weapon. This is a fact that is completely void of the TV series. We know River is "special" but we don't know why. Well, I knew why while wathcing the show, but it still didn't hurt the movie's appeal. However, if they never would have show River going crazy on people in the bar, it would have REALLY stood out in the film, and shocked a lot of people.

Jason is right about the emotions in the film. They are an AMAZING roller coaster. Up then down. Happy then sad. Shocked then confused then blown away. Even while writting this review, I'm getting emotional. Think about the way lines are delivered, thinking about how Mal reacts to Book tying in his arms and then how Mal basically loses his sanity towards everyoneone his ship and tells them to either do what he says, or get off his boat. Thinking about how Zoe reacts to life after Wash dies. She has no fear, and she wants revenge on the Reavers, no matter what Jayne tells her. She's going at them with no fear, all adrenaline and vengence. Thinking about Simon and his love for his sister, and how River was willing to sacrifice herself in order to make sure that her brother and his friends are taken care of. I can remember the first time watching the flick, when Simon is shot, and River looks at him at tells him "...you've done a good job of taking care of me, now it's my turn..." and runs back into the room full of Reavers. Joss Whedon NAILS emotions and dramatic situations. The most emotional scene for me in the movie is Mal's "heroic" speech. After they've all learned the secret River knows, and they decide they have to get to Mr. Universe, so they can tell the world, Mals' got an amazing speech that kind of sums up who he works.

Mal: Y'all got on this boat for different reasons, but y'all comin' to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe everything. Sure as I know anything, I know this: In a year or maybe ten, on another planet, or perhaps even on this very ground, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people better; and I don't hold to that. So, no more runnin'.
(long pause)
I aim to misbehave.

It's beautifully shot, the light coming into the dining area, everyone sitting around the ship, listening. It's the moment where people who didn't watch the TV series, realize that despite all the fighting and bickering that goes in between this crew, they all look to Mal for his leadership, and his need and desire to do the moral and right thing. Now, even though Mal and his crew are a band of rebels, who take and do illegal jobs, they're still seen as the hero, because they are robbing from the rich, and giving to the poor. And in the episode "The Train Job", you learn early on in the series that Mal is about doing the right thing, when his crew steals medical supplies that are needed to help a group of people survive, and he gives them back, butting a price on his head and the head of his crew. This episode also includes one of my favorite scenes, when Mal kicks one of Niska's thugs into the engine turbine. Mal's a great character, and most of the film doesn't do him justice, as compared to the TV series. He's more upset and angry in the film, but it's understandable. Still, I think it would be better for people to see his joking side on the TV series, before seeing how intense he is in the fim.

Mal Reynolds is an amazing character, and I love the depth that Nathan Fillion takes him to in the series. Behind everything, he's got a big heart, and wants to do the right thing, while getting by in the universe. Mal's dedication and determination are a great part of his character, and he often says the right thing, at the right time.

Mal: You think she'll hold together?
Zoe: She's torn up plenty, but she'll fly true.
Mal: Likely to be a bumpy ride.
Zoe: Always is.

He doesn't patronize her, instead he reminds her of how much Wash meant to the crew and to the ship. He reminds her that things don't always go perfect, but they still get through it all, and Zoe handles it well. They've been through a lot, and he's going to protect her, now that Wash can not.

It's probably one of the top two best written films this year. The thing that most attracts me to this universe, is the writting. Since I started watching "Firefly", I have been very impressed with the way the characters are written, and the actions that they take. The stories are well thought out, and gave extraordinary impressions about the characters. It's filled with action and adventure, excitment and fear, and it's just plain smart. It's got all the elements that I look for in something I want to watch. I only wish it would have done better on TV, and that the box office numbers were higher, so that a sequel would be guaranteed. I hope to see more stories about these characters, and find out more of what Joss has in store for this galaxy. The film ended perfectly. I nice interaction between River and Mal, who have not always seen eye-to-eye.

Mal: It ain't all buttons and charts little Albatross. You know what the first rule of flyin' is? Well I suppose you do, since you already know what I'm about to say.
River: I do, but I like to hear you say it.
Mal: Love. You can know all the math in the 'Verse, but take a boat in the air you don't love, she ain't keepin' up just as sure as the turning of worlds. Love keeps her up when she ought to fall down, tells ya she's hurtin' 'fore she keens, makes her home.
River: Storm's getting worse.
Mal: We'll pass through it soon enough.

Heartland Opening Event

So, once again, the Heartland Film Festival's Opening Night has come to a close, for the fourth year in a row. I'm going to start with a pair of pictures from the night:

Shane M. White, John Gatins (director of "Dreamer") and Kristen White.

Shane M. White and Judge Reinhold!!!

So, Jason invited Kristen and I and Cecilia Shaw to the Heartland Film Festival's Opening Night Event, which this year included a screening of the film "Dreamer". First, there was dinner and drinks, and we had the pleasure of meeting a couple of guys who work at a local TV station. Randy and one of sons, along with Andy and his wife. They were a pleasure to share dinner with, and we constantly ran into them through the course of the night. VERY NICE people. The film was at the IMAX Theatre, and being dinner guests we were allowed to walk into the theatre on the red carpet, which was rather cool.

After the film there was a reception with a Q & A session. During the Q & A, there was a woman standing near our table, and she eventually went and stood directly next to Kristen, and at the end of the Q & A it was made known that she was Dakota Fanning's mother. It was neat to know that I was close to her (not knowing who she was). I guess that's a good thing for parents, they can cruise through the audience and no one knows who they are. She seemed extremely nice, and was always smiling.

Following the Q & A, I snuck up near the stage and talked with John Gatins for a couple of minutes, basically just about the other films he's written ("Varisty Blues", "Summer Catch", "Hardball", and "Coach Carter"). "Coach Carter" being one of my favorite recent films, I had to let him know how much I enjoyed the films he has written. He seemed really cool, and kept commenting about how polite people are out here in Indiana. It was nice to hear, especially when he compared us Hoosiers to the people in Los Angeles. He was a really nice guy. After talking with him, I snuck over and grabbed a picture with Judge Reinhold. Being a HUGE "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" fan, I had a couple words with him (in 2000, he was in town for the festival and I had him sign my "Fast Times" VHS tape, so I didn't ask for another autograph), however, people were pulling him in many directions and our time was only a couple of seconds. It was nice to get the chance to take a picture with him.

It was an AWESOME night. I really hope this isn't my last year going, but if it is, then I had a GREAT time, with some fun people. THANK YOU to Jason for bringing me once again.

I also ran into Jason Kistler, who has done some acting for GemInI in the past. He's a volunteer with Heartland this year, so it was good to talk to him for a quick second, and I need to shoot him an email, so we can chat some more.

"Lost" ROCKED last night!!!!!!!!!!!!! It was so cool. I've got lots of new theories, but I'm going to save them for another Blog.

Jason and I are supposed to get together tomorrow afternoon and begin working on "Crazy About You" stuff, so hopefully we'll make some progress on that. I'll write more tomorrow.