I saw Serenity on Monday and it was great. I was of course nervous going in, I loved Firefly and was afraid that the movie wouldn't live up to what I was expecting. But I should have known to trust in Joss. It was totally great. My boyfriend, also a fan of the show, decided it was his favorite film of '05 so far (and don't take that lightly, he has a list and has ranked all of them. I'm not joking).
What made the movie work was the balance between keeping the characters and world of the show intact while upping the ante so it felt like a movie rather than just another episode of Firefly. And it worked, I won't say what happened in the film other than that it's a continuation of the River storyline. My boyfriend pointed out that one thing that made the film great was that nothing in the preview (or almost nothing) took place after the first thirty minutes of the movie, so everything you're expecting gets out of the way quickly, then the film moves in a different direction. Even non-fans seemed to like it, I heard some folks at a screening at the same theater the next night (that time I was going to see Oliver Twist, I'm kind of a screening whore) talking about how they were at Serenity and without knowing anything about the show and how they really enjoyed the movie. David Walker, reviewer for the Willamette Week here in Portland seconded that opinion.
According to Entertainment Weekly a couple of weeks ago, reps from Universal have said the film would need to make at least $80 million for sequel consideration. Come on people, the bar has been set!
So after September's rather icky batch of movies, we're finally getting some good ones. The Corpse Bride opened today, i plan to see it tomorrow night. Then on Friday, both Mirrormask (the Neil Gaiman penned film done with the Henson Creature Shop) and SERENITY. I swear I've been waiting forever for this movie. Here's the synopsis:
Joss Whedon, the Oscar® - and Emmy - nominated writer/director responsible for the worldwide television phenomena of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE, ANGEL and FIREFLY, now applies his trademark compassion and wit to a small band of galactic outcasts 500 years in the future in his feature film directorial debut, Serenity. The film centers around Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, who now ekes out a living pulling off small crimes and transport-for-hire aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew who are the closest thing he has left to family –squabbling, insubordinate and undyingly loyal.
I think he was nominated for Toy Story for the Oscar, and I know the Emmy was writing a few eps of Buffy, it never got any of the major awards. Anyway, the website is here if you want to take a look at it. I was on the browncoats thing a long while ago, it was sort of a holding ground on the internet to motivate fans into a salivating army. I think it must have worked though I never recruited enough people to win a free poster. I think I only got Will to join.
Anyway, I'll see the movie Monday if everything pans out and write my review. I really hope I love it or it will be a very sad review.