Brand new fan of firefly... not digging the movie so much by bvz

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Brand new fan of firefly... not digging the movie so much

POSTED BY: BVZ
UPDATED: Monday, January 23, 2006 07:20
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Sunday, January 22, 2006 10:02 PM

I am not a Sci-Fi fan generally speaking, which may account for some of my comments and criticisms. That said, it also really highlights the significance of my appreciation for the series.

I had heard of firefly and that it was being cancelled and that the fans were rallying to save it. I thought to myself, "Whatever. Get a life."

Then I saw an episode.

About two weeks ago a friend of mine (who is REALLY not a Sci-Fi fan) forced me to sit down and watch Our Mrs. Reynolds (A wise choice I think). Inside of 5 minutes I was hooked.

I immediately bought the DVD set and proceeded to watch the entire series - metering out an episode a day so as not to rush through it too fast. I even got my roomate addicted, and if you knew her you would know how amazing that is. We love the series (and once again I have to qualify that by saying we do not watch ANY other tv).

Last night, she and I rented Serenity (cleared out a Saturday night for it). Unfortunately, we were both rather disappointed. To us, it seems, the film was only barely related to the series. Sure the universe was the same, and the characters had the same names, but everything else was different. Perhaps it was the intervention of the hollywood system, but where the show seemed to take pleasure turning conventions on their head, the movie was a string of cliché's. It was full of action and had an interesting story, yet it lacked nearly all of the really fantastic character development that made the series so incredible.

I understand that the movie had to stand on its own, but still... Honestly, it could have been just about any Sci-Fi flick out there.

(Ok, I didn't hate it, I just thought it pales to the point of transparency compared to the series)

What was wrong with it? Jayne was dull. Mal was just pissed all of the time without showing much humor himself. Wash (spelling?) was almost not even in the movie. Zoe continued to be herself which was good, as was Book. Kaylee, however, wasn't nice OR interesting. The doctor was all of a sudden this bad-ass punching out the captain (which would have been fine except that it came out of nowhere). Where was Inara? She had a couple of scenes but that didn't really go anywhere. What WAS there was a whole lot of action. An impossibly bad guy. Fights. More fights. Yet some more fights. Lots of River flashbacks. Explosions. Etc.

The plot idea (which was interesting) seemed to overwhelm the rest of the film so much that - between shocking us with the revelations and treating us to over the top eye candy - that there was no longer any room for the really fundamental things that made the series so different and special. Little humorous banter. No taking cliche's and turning them about. No real character development. We learned absolutely nothing new about any of the characters. I dunno. It was just disappointing after being treated to some really new and entertaining shows on the series.

Anyway, just my 2 cents worth. I still absolutely LOVE the series and try to get as many people hooked on it as I can.
bvz

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 10:18 PM

STDOUBT

Welcome, bvz

If it helps any, I look at the movie as kind of
an 'accelerated' and compressed rendition of the
story it really was. Firefly on steroids as it were.

There is a starkness, cool color palate (in contrast
to the series) to the film. It was bittersweet and
really sad IMO. A kind of requiem for the series I
guess. To some, these aspects make the movie all the
more compelling and gut-wrenching which I think was
JWs point.
FWIW, I don't watch TV either. FF/Serenity were the
first DVDs I ever bought, and I'm a tech-head.

Good job on the recruiting -the more people that
become fans, the more likely we'll see more...
-----
"...would honor,....my honor..!"

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 10:23 PM

BVZ

Well, after ragging on the film, I should also point out that I was a little bummed out that Wash died. I mean, honestly bummed out, not just a "Oh a character I liked died", but rather "Hey, I am sad I am not going to see this person any more" kind of thing. So, in that vein, it was a fairly compelling experience...

bvz

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 11:10 PM

RACOONBOY

yeah, wash dying sucked, but as for characters and whatnot, they couldn't focus on all 9, so instead they focused on River and Mal.

Mal's character deevlopmentness was that he regained his faith sorta, and stuff, and became a less bitter, angry person, and they needed to make him really angry, as you say, to get the point across that he was mean and angry ever since the war.

River, we found out, can kick some serious ass, and not only that, she lost a big chunk of what makes her so damn insane, and, from the looks of the ending, she has replaced Wash as the pilot.

Granted, the movie should have been longer, I mean it ain't even 2 hours, which sucks, but it's still an amazing movie. You should watch it again, I find I'm more impressed with it each time I watch it.

As for a sequel, I don't know what characters it will focus on, but I'm sure one of them will be Zoe.

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Sunday, January 22, 2006 11:31 PM

STDOUBT

Yup -I was actually quite angry about our pilot's
demise... I cursed Whedon. Still don't much care
for him. Actually, I think he's a dork. Which is
probably exactly how he'd want it, damn him!

Can one love the work and not the man? I don't
know, but his work does seem to have me in some kind of Vulcan mind-grip ;] That bastard!

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Monday, January 23, 2006 12:03 AM

SERGEANTX

Quote:
Originally posted by bvz:
...Perhaps it was the intervention of the hollywood system, but where the show seemed to take pleasure turning conventions on their head, the movie was a string of cliché's. It was full of action and had an interesting story, yet it lacked nearly all of the really fantastic character development that made the series so incredible.

BVZ, I'm sort of the opposite of you, in that I've been a fan since the first episode aired, but I share your disappointment in the movie for exactly the same reasons. Welcome to the board!

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Monday, January 23, 2006 12:31 AM

RHYIANAN

I too was disappointed in the movie. It lost everything that I love about firefly--the wit and character interactions. The show portrayed them all as real people with real problems. The movie.....not so much. It was more about the plot.
And as I'm sure someone has said, Wash's death was a huge blow. It almost made me think that Joss didn't want firefly to go any farther....I mean, even if it does, it won't be the same.

Yeah, I know that I spoke heresy, but it's how I feel.

Wash: Yeah, but psychic? That sounds like science fiction.
Zoe: You live on a spaceship, dear.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 2:41 AM

SERGEANTX

I dunno about it never being the same. Character deaths are part of Joss's storytelling. He makes them work. We'd see the crew change and deal with it. It might be a lot more interesting than you think.

What made losing the characters in the movie so hard is that you get no rebound. There's not an episode the next week to smooth things over. It's like we're all just left there, with that big spike in our chests and no real resolution.

SergeantX

"Dream a little dream or you can live a little dream. I'd rather live it, cause dreamers always chase but never get it." Aesop Rock

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Monday, January 23, 2006 4:46 AM

FOLLOWMAL

Quote from RacoonBoy:

"You should watch it again, I find I'm more impressed with it each time I watch it."

This is what I would say to you too. I can't say I'm disappointed in the movie... I've come to love it as much as the series. But that love came about after watching it more than several times. I think it's a given that the series pulls you in and makes you watch it over and over and I've found that to be true of the movie too. I've seen something new in it every time I've watched it. Give it another try and another, see if it doesn't resonate more with you.

I think the next movie ( or whatever incarnation we get) will be more along the lines of what the fans love in the series. Not so much action, not
so much exposition. We will get our characters and how they live with the aftermath of what has transpired. I can't wait!

"Yup... that went well..." Mal

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Monday, January 23, 2006 4:46 AM

FOLLOWMAL

By the way, welcome to our little home here.

Glad to have you!

"Yup... that went well..." Mal

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Monday, January 23, 2006 4:59 AM

THARIDRA

I saw Serenity after watching all of Firefly. I'd heard that Serenity was a sequel of sorts to the series. In a way, it kinda is.

I really liked how you finally figured out what happened to River and why the Alliance wanted her back. In the series it was all "She's worth a lot to the Alliance and they want her back at any cost". By the end of Serenity, you see why they wanted her back, to hide the secret.

I was confused as to where Book went. He was just..gone. As for Inara, in the series, she told Mal she was leaving. Did she tell the crew? Did Mal? Kaylee seemed to think that Mall kicked her off..There's a lot of plot left out in between the plot and the movie. I hear there's a comic that bridges the gap..

I'll stop rambling now. Heh.

The Operative: Do you know what your sin is?
Capt. Malcolm Reynolds: Aw hell, I'm a fan of all seven... but right now, I'm gonna have to go with Wrath.

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Monday, January 23, 2006 7:20 AM

VINA

Hi! I'm a new Firefly fan too! I kept seeing bits and pieces on Sci-Fi while watching Stargate, so I finally watched a whole episode and got hooked as they say. I now have the DVDs and the movie.

I agree that the movie wasn't as good as the TV series, but it did answer a lot of interesting story threads that had been left open. I would have liked to see more "development" between Mal and Inara though--maybe in the next movie?

Also hated losing Wash and Book. I loved them both!

Vina

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