Just got back from a midnight screening.

Holy shit.

First, story was top notch. Not any major flaws I could see. A friend who hates everything Whedon (the writer/director) loved this flick.

Second, for a movie that only cost $40 million (we are talking Hollywood here) it looked GOOD.

Third, all the actors did a great job. The right delivery, the right reactins, the right emotion all perfect.

Now the "What the fuck?" part of the thread.

Why was Book in the film so little? It worked (he was just passing through in the series) but I wanted more of him. He was always the wise old man that seemed to help keep everyone grounded.

And Walsh? Jeez! My mouth just dropped open and didn't shut again for several minutes as it sank in. That came out of NOWHERE.

All in all a fine movie. Definitely worth the cost. Actually, worth seeing it a second time (already have tickets for Fri. night).

I have to mull it over a bit and see if I can find any faults with the film. I'm sure it's not 100% perfect but it is damn close.

For those who have seen it, what are your thoughts?

For those who have seen it, what are your thoughts?

Can't argue with anything you've said. Book was underused, as was Inara, but with a crew of nine there was always going to be casualties.

First draft had Book still on the ship and AN Other as the leader of Haven, but the turning point didn't ring true with AN Other, and Book wasn't necessary on the ship, hence he became the voice of Haven.

But Whedon has not ruled out the idea of all nine appearing in sequels, especially Books back story being a key part of a possible plot. How? Don't know, but Whedon has done it before in interesting ways, so hopefully he can do it again.

Watching the film a second time I think it does sag a little in the middle, with one too many 'Get off now, or join me in my crazy plan' speeches. But it always stays interesting, and with the amount of other stuff in there it is a minor quibble.

Fingers crossed for a sequel, and when does the DVD come out

Dave

But Whedon has not ruled out the idea of all nine appearing in sequels, especially Books back story being a key part of a possible plot. How? Don't know, but Whedon has done it before in interesting ways, so hopefully he can do it again.

The easiest way would simply to have "prequel" movies that are after the t.v. series. This movie almost felt like the final chapter in a story.

HOLY CRAP THIS MOVIE WAS INCREDIBLE. Now, for some discussion; opinions can't be shared because I haven't the language.

It was pretty clear to me that Book was a retired Operative.

First, there's the obvious connection between the two characters Joss had by making them both black. That's just one of those visual things. Second, Book made it clear that his past was off limits to talk about; but he seemed to know a lot about the way the Alliance worked.

Second, the Operative in the movie was obsessed with sin; Book was a preacher. An Operative who'd realized what he was doing was evil ... what better redemption than to serve God, and to discover and preach about sin in a Godly manner, not the twisted manner of Operatives.

Finally, he was, for some part, a pacifist. A person who was trained to kill, and likely did kill many times over, becoming a pacifist--not unheard of.

So, that's my two cents on movie analysis. If they played this like a trilogy, then I imagine the next movie would have the system gearing up for another civil war as the news of what happened on Miranda spreads. And I imagine Mal will be slowly drawn to the heart of the conflict, despite not wanting to do the war all over again (after all, he's pretty bitter about the last one).

Third movie? War, of course.

That's pretty perceptive, nijimeijer. It's pretty obvious he worked for the Alliance, but I hadn't made that connection. The extreme reaction his ID card got on an Alliance cruiser when he was shot on the series indicated he had a pretty powerful position. Very cool insight.

Finally saw it last night.

Wow! Best science fiction movie in a very, very long time. Even without the series to back it up, everything about this movie was fantastic. Acting, story, special effects, everything.

I do agree that Book and Inara were the least used members of the crew, but both were introduced and utilized to provide motivation for Mal.

One of the great things about the show (and the movie) is that explanations are given in a single sentence, or a single look. There is no long speech that explains an interaction or a history to the audience. It's there, quick and precise.

Serenity is among my top 5 All-time favorite movies. After repeated viewings, I'm sure it'll move into the top three.

I'm off to see it a third time tonight (been a few weeks since the last time).

The London Premiere was last night in Leicester Sq. I don't normally go to these things but found myself there anyway. I purchased the International One Sheet (poster to you and I) beforehand and got it signed by Joss.

Nice chap, nice poster.

Dave

Based on what I've read here about Firefly I would like to see the series. Unfortunately, none of the rental places carry it. So I'm wondering if any of you proud owners would be willing to loan me yours. I will gladly pay any postage and replace it should it get damaged. You can respond here or PM me. I would appreciate it and would be willing to loan anything of mine in return.

This message is primarily directed toward Marc from my wife:

"Are you crazy? Thinking kids younger than 12 could see 'Serenity'?"

In a brief discussion about the movie after Marc had seen it, but before I could. I suggested the possibility of taking my 6-1/2 year old boys. He said there was a bit of language, but other than that, he'd thought it'd be okay to take my boys.

Well, while I wouldn't be as strongly opinionated as my wife, I do agree with her that the movie is not appropriate for kids younger than 10-12. But, once my boys hit that age, well, they will be watching everything Serenity/Firefly for sure.

I think very young kids might be pretty scared by the Reaver scenes, but older kids would probably enjoy it.

I was thinking yesterday - Serenity is probably the ONLY recent action-adventure movie set in space that hasn't had a big merchandising tie-in with McDonald's, Burger King, etc... Maybe that hurt the revenues a bit, but I think Universal is (rightly) marketing it as the thinking person's space opera and not a kid's flick.

I understand some fans are concerned about the box office on the movie, but considering how low a budget it had, how much of that money ended up on screen and wasn't wasted, and international sales and the inevitable high sales of the DVD when it is released, and I think it will do well. It certainly cost less than Sandra Bullock's last "comedy" and will probably make a much higher profit, got very good reviews from a wide variety of sources, and may see a spike in ticket sales from word of mouth and reviews if it is kept in the theaters longer.

We're kind of conditioned to think every space action adventure has to have a huge budget and HUGE revenues, but there may be a place for smaller, critically acclaimed SF films such as SERENITY.