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thehefnerWith quiet solemnity, I nod, give thumbs up, and thoroughly approve of Serenity.
Yes, I am one of the very few people in this world who generally detests Whedon and general Whedonisms (I still itch at lines like, "I don't wanna explode!"). And just like Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson before them (and to a much lesser extent even Tarantino), I thoughoutly hate how their style has so totally influenced all surrounding genres with watered-down imitations of a style I really didn't like to begin with. No one cares about the complaints of one little minor fan, believe me I know that all too well, but this is my journal and I can bitch about whatever I want.
But that's not the point.
The point is that Serenity, to this anti-Whedonite who really really liked the show but didn't see it as the second frickin' coming (I overheard a guy at the comic store proclaim it as the greatest sci-fi show ever. Not his favorite. "The greatest." Then again, geeks are geeks, aren't they? I include myself, of course), was absolutely lovely. That was the word that came to mind as the credits rolled, "lovely." Very moving, very powerful, very funny. But I have one question:
Was it a good movie?
I loved it, yes I did. But here's the thing. Never mind the reactions of people who've never seen the TV episodes. What will the general public think? Will they get it? That's the real question. Because this wasn't really a movie in the general sense. I mean, even Spider-Man and Batman Begins and Sin City, the finest of these genre films to date in my opinion, were very accessible to the common audience member. Serenity feel like it was purely for the geeks. For lovers of the genre. People who, and I know I've been using this phrase an awful lot lately, "get it."
I'm not talking about story accessability. This is much bigger than that. This takes more than just being able to follow a movie without having seen the TV series before it. Geeks are geeks because these things they love have struck a particular chord with them that just hasn't affected the majority public the same way. Serenity didn't seem to make a single effort to be anything other than a love letter to the fans.
As such, it really reminded me of the Farscape mini-series/movie. Serenity really felt less like a movie I'd normally see at the theater and more like a slighty bigger-budgeted made-for-sci-fi-channel movie. A lot, from the big battle to the tragic stuff and all, was done (but not this well) in Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. That's not necessarily a complaint, because it didn't seem to aspire to be anything more.
Wash and Inara got fucked, story-wise. I mean, Wash got an AWESOME scene before his death, but dude, even Jayne got some more character development and depth in this film than Wash did. Only if you've seen the show do you really get the impact of Wash's death, I think, which is another way this film is purely for the geeks. As for Inara, all I can say is there'd better be a sequel because, wow, that was lame. She was a half-character at best, all allusion and nothing else.
Also, ok, Simon is a pretty horrible actor, comparatively. His first scene with Mal was laughable. And I'm gonna get strung up for this, but after Simon, Kaylee's the weakest of the actors. I've always thought so. She's adorable, don't get me wrong, but she's written and dressed to be more blue collar, more "cowgirl," with drawls and double-negatives abound. But then she opens her mouth and she sounds like someone who should be in a Brittany Murphy romantic comedy. It doesn't match and it's rather bothersome. She is warm cuteness and little else.
Also? She's much hotter before the weight loss. With a healthy weight like she had on the show, she was much more attractive than as the waif we see here. When will these women (and society at large) ever learn? Healthy is hot, not stick.
Shepherd Book looked like shit. Anyone else notice this?
That's all I have for complaints. For now.
I will see this movie again, probably alone. I want this movie to succeed and make a good deal of money at the box office. Not because I want to support Whedon or be a browncoat (although I do kind of regret not wearing my Bill the Butcher coat for the attention). But because this movie is a triumph for geeks and genre, just as Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars was, and I want more of these kinds of things to happen. It's the principle of that matter, you understand.
I loved the film. Don't know if it was an actual good film or just something thoroughly enjoyable for the fans just yet.
Yes, I am one of the very few people in this world who generally detests Whedon and general Whedonisms (I still itch at lines like, "I don't wanna explode!"). And just like Wes Craven/Kevin Williamson before them (and to a much lesser extent even Tarantino), I thoughoutly hate how their style has so totally influenced all surrounding genres with watered-down imitations of a style I really didn't like to begin with. No one cares about the complaints of one little minor fan, believe me I know that all too well, but this is my journal and I can bitch about whatever I want.
But that's not the point.
The point is that Serenity, to this anti-Whedonite who really really liked the show but didn't see it as the second frickin' coming (I overheard a guy at the comic store proclaim it as the greatest sci-fi show ever. Not his favorite. "The greatest." Then again, geeks are geeks, aren't they? I include myself, of course), was absolutely lovely. That was the word that came to mind as the credits rolled, "lovely." Very moving, very powerful, very funny. But I have one question:
Was it a good movie?
I loved it, yes I did. But here's the thing. Never mind the reactions of people who've never seen the TV episodes. What will the general public think? Will they get it? That's the real question. Because this wasn't really a movie in the general sense. I mean, even Spider-Man and Batman Begins and Sin City, the finest of these genre films to date in my opinion, were very accessible to the common audience member. Serenity feel like it was purely for the geeks. For lovers of the genre. People who, and I know I've been using this phrase an awful lot lately, "get it."
I'm not talking about story accessability. This is much bigger than that. This takes more than just being able to follow a movie without having seen the TV series before it. Geeks are geeks because these things they love have struck a particular chord with them that just hasn't affected the majority public the same way. Serenity didn't seem to make a single effort to be anything other than a love letter to the fans.
As such, it really reminded me of the Farscape mini-series/movie. Serenity really felt less like a movie I'd normally see at the theater and more like a slighty bigger-budgeted made-for-sci-fi-channel movie. A lot, from the big battle to the tragic stuff and all, was done (but not this well) in Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars. That's not necessarily a complaint, because it didn't seem to aspire to be anything more.
Wash and Inara got fucked, story-wise. I mean, Wash got an AWESOME scene before his death, but dude, even Jayne got some more character development and depth in this film than Wash did. Only if you've seen the show do you really get the impact of Wash's death, I think, which is another way this film is purely for the geeks. As for Inara, all I can say is there'd better be a sequel because, wow, that was lame. She was a half-character at best, all allusion and nothing else.
Also, ok, Simon is a pretty horrible actor, comparatively. His first scene with Mal was laughable. And I'm gonna get strung up for this, but after Simon, Kaylee's the weakest of the actors. I've always thought so. She's adorable, don't get me wrong, but she's written and dressed to be more blue collar, more "cowgirl," with drawls and double-negatives abound. But then she opens her mouth and she sounds like someone who should be in a Brittany Murphy romantic comedy. It doesn't match and it's rather bothersome. She is warm cuteness and little else.
Also? She's much hotter before the weight loss. With a healthy weight like she had on the show, she was much more attractive than as the waif we see here. When will these women (and society at large) ever learn? Healthy is hot, not stick.
Shepherd Book looked like shit. Anyone else notice this?
That's all I have for complaints. For now.
I will see this movie again, probably alone. I want this movie to succeed and make a good deal of money at the box office. Not because I want to support Whedon or be a browncoat (although I do kind of regret not wearing my Bill the Butcher coat for the attention). But because this movie is a triumph for geeks and genre, just as Farscape: The Peacekeeper Wars was, and I want more of these kinds of things to happen. It's the principle of that matter, you understand.
I loved the film. Don't know if it was an actual good film or just something thoroughly enjoyable for the fans just yet.
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-27 04:09 am (UTC)I kinda disagree about it not being accessible outside fandom. The market audience is sci-fi/action, and I think it will do okay at pulling those in. The story hangs together tightly, and moves quickly enough that I don't think people will notice the lack of backstory.
But the series does fill in the chinks.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-30 04:09 pm (UTC)I don't know how it was for the non-fans of the show, but I was really upset that they killed off Wash. Not Ted Kord kind of upset, not even Data kind of upset, but upset nevertheless.
I seem to have a knack for picking favorite characters that ultimately get killed.
Now, sure, he had a great death scene (so did Book, although that was almost the only scene he had!), and that fact that he was killed in his own little safety zone of the pilot's chair was both poignant and ironic. But I still felt as though many of the characters were robbed of their development. I heard that there were almost two hours cut from the film which will probably be reinstated on the dvd release. I sure hope there will be more with Wash and Inara.
Sad about Wash.