But First...
Strangest, coolest cartoon title ever:
Bobobo-Bo Bo-bo.
Alright, Serenity time. Spoiler time.
No, seriously. If you don't wanna know who lives and who dies, stop now...
Alright, here we go.
Joss pulled it off. Serenity was a beautifully written movie that both drew in new fans while, at the same time, giving the fans of Firefly plenty of things to love, to cry about, and to look forward to.
The movie started a little slow, having to throw out enough technojargon to allow newcomers to figure out what was going on. The one thing that Joss didn't do as well, though, was fill in the gap between the end of the sereis and the beginning of the movie for the fans. I had read the three comics that were released in the past few months, comics which explained the entrance of the Operative, as well as the exit of Shepherd Book.
It makes sense from a storytelling perspective. Joss explained the history of Simon and River, but left the history of the Serenity crew to be pieced together through character dialogue. In the interest of a better movie I can accept this.
However, it did make me feel sorry for those unfamiliar with the show during the attack on Haven and the death of Book. He was an expendable character from the beginning of the series, you could tell by his screen time that Ron Glass wasn't planning on keeping himself as a major face in future stories. But his death was pretty meaningless to those who didn't know him.
The fact that Book attempted to save the colony, thought he had killed to do it, but ended up dying with his soul unknowingly clean, was a nice coda to the character. And Mal's reaction to the death revealed a character unknown to fans, one that, while not stooping to the level of the Operative, would do more than others, even his own crew, were wiling to do.
It was one of Joss' better scenes in the movie. And it forced the writers to earn the death, not cheapen it just to get a character out of the picture.
The same could be said for the death of Wash, a scene that, thinking back, was my personal favorite in the film. From the moment Mal turns the cannon on an approaching Reaver ship, all the way through to the end of the film, was classic Whedon. The attack on Mr. Universe's base was breathtaking, reminding me of one of the good space battles from the Star Wars prequels, while adding a few impressive twists (the reaver ship hooking to the Alliance vessel and spinning it like a tiltawhirl comes to mind).
It also gave Wash a beautiful exit. Because of that scene the line that will always stick in my head is for his character is "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar," followed by flying that would put Han Solo to shame.
His death seconds later was completely unexpected to me. It was also the second-most shocking image in the film, behind River standing on a pile of Reaver corpses. It also makes me wonder what kind of tone the next few films will set.
Wash was the comedian of the group, obviously. All the characters have the Joss Whedon charm, sure. But Wash was always the one who put it all into perspective, being funny and lightening the series even while being tortured by a mad scientist. If Firefly could be compared to Buffy, Wash was Serenity's Xander. Without him it one goofball, Kaylee, alone in a ship full of hard cases.
The next ones are definitely going to be darker without Wash. I'm very curious to see how his death affects Zoe, the most business-like soldier on Serenity who is suddenly without her only source of levity.
The movie answered a lot of questions. It explained the origin of the Reavers, and also the master plan for both River and the Alliance.
However, it should be fun to see the next ones because, while leaving the ending open, the writers really didn't give too many hints about what is to happen next except "The Alliance will be after us."
Or maybe they did, but I only saw the movie once.
I'm going back to take another shot at it this week.
I don't know what else to say, as its getting late and I'm tired. Which I'm sure you can tell by my lack of coherance in the previous few paragraphs.
Best summary, taken from a review of the film in a mainstream newspaper:
There are two types of people in the world. Those who think joss Whedon is a genius, and those who are wrong.
In other words: See it, love it.
Bobobo-Bo Bo-bo.
Alright, Serenity time. Spoiler time.
No, seriously. If you don't wanna know who lives and who dies, stop now...
Alright, here we go.
Joss pulled it off. Serenity was a beautifully written movie that both drew in new fans while, at the same time, giving the fans of Firefly plenty of things to love, to cry about, and to look forward to.
The movie started a little slow, having to throw out enough technojargon to allow newcomers to figure out what was going on. The one thing that Joss didn't do as well, though, was fill in the gap between the end of the sereis and the beginning of the movie for the fans. I had read the three comics that were released in the past few months, comics which explained the entrance of the Operative, as well as the exit of Shepherd Book.
It makes sense from a storytelling perspective. Joss explained the history of Simon and River, but left the history of the Serenity crew to be pieced together through character dialogue. In the interest of a better movie I can accept this.
However, it did make me feel sorry for those unfamiliar with the show during the attack on Haven and the death of Book. He was an expendable character from the beginning of the series, you could tell by his screen time that Ron Glass wasn't planning on keeping himself as a major face in future stories. But his death was pretty meaningless to those who didn't know him.
The fact that Book attempted to save the colony, thought he had killed to do it, but ended up dying with his soul unknowingly clean, was a nice coda to the character. And Mal's reaction to the death revealed a character unknown to fans, one that, while not stooping to the level of the Operative, would do more than others, even his own crew, were wiling to do.
It was one of Joss' better scenes in the movie. And it forced the writers to earn the death, not cheapen it just to get a character out of the picture.
The same could be said for the death of Wash, a scene that, thinking back, was my personal favorite in the film. From the moment Mal turns the cannon on an approaching Reaver ship, all the way through to the end of the film, was classic Whedon. The attack on Mr. Universe's base was breathtaking, reminding me of one of the good space battles from the Star Wars prequels, while adding a few impressive twists (the reaver ship hooking to the Alliance vessel and spinning it like a tiltawhirl comes to mind).
It also gave Wash a beautiful exit. Because of that scene the line that will always stick in my head is for his character is "I am a leaf on the wind, watch how I soar," followed by flying that would put Han Solo to shame.
His death seconds later was completely unexpected to me. It was also the second-most shocking image in the film, behind River standing on a pile of Reaver corpses. It also makes me wonder what kind of tone the next few films will set.
Wash was the comedian of the group, obviously. All the characters have the Joss Whedon charm, sure. But Wash was always the one who put it all into perspective, being funny and lightening the series even while being tortured by a mad scientist. If Firefly could be compared to Buffy, Wash was Serenity's Xander. Without him it one goofball, Kaylee, alone in a ship full of hard cases.
The next ones are definitely going to be darker without Wash. I'm very curious to see how his death affects Zoe, the most business-like soldier on Serenity who is suddenly without her only source of levity.
The movie answered a lot of questions. It explained the origin of the Reavers, and also the master plan for both River and the Alliance.
However, it should be fun to see the next ones because, while leaving the ending open, the writers really didn't give too many hints about what is to happen next except "The Alliance will be after us."
Or maybe they did, but I only saw the movie once.
I'm going back to take another shot at it this week.
I don't know what else to say, as its getting late and I'm tired. Which I'm sure you can tell by my lack of coherance in the previous few paragraphs.
Best summary, taken from a review of the film in a mainstream newspaper:
There are two types of people in the world. Those who think joss Whedon is a genius, and those who are wrong.
In other words: See it, love it.
posted by Bill at 8:32 PM
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