Serenity - yay!

[sally_maria]

So I finally got to see Serenity, and I was completely blown away. I shouldn't be surprised I suppose, since I've always been firmly in the "Joss is a genius" camp but I was truly impressed.


I loved the way it continued the story from the series without, I think, making it too difficult to understand for people who were new to the Firefly universe.

The bad guy was truly scary, in the way he believed he was doing the right thing while still knowing he was a monster. There were a couple of moments when you almost wondered whether he was right - which to me is the sign of an excellent adversary.

I loved River in full attack mode - it was one of my favourite parts of the trailer and in the film it was even better. Is it wrong that I want to see lots more River taking out the bad guys? Summer Glau's ballet training made it so convincing - I really felt she could move her body like that, unlike a lot of martial arts fight scenes.

Finally, Wash. I knew he was supposed to die, but not how and it was still a complete shock. It felt so real - I read a comment that it was like a punch to the stomach and that was how it felt for me. I didn't cry, I was too shocked to do anything but sit there and try and breathe. The graves at the end made me tear up - that picture of Wash grinning over his shoulder, forever.

Comments

[cadiliniel.livejournal.com]

I've only seen a hanful of Firefly episodes, but I'm still going to cry like an idiot when I see Serenity and see Wash die *sob*

[sally_maria]

Well, there are only a couple of handfuls. ;-)

I've never been able to work it out - some shows/films have me crying my eyes out and feeling raw for hours, others just don't. It isn't a reflection on the quality of the writing or acting either. Serenity for me was more like LotR, with a lump in the throat and slightly damp eys, whereas a Stargate vid to a cheesy Country song can have me weeping buckets.

[na-lon.livejournal.com]

The fact that Wash is probably my favourite character from Firefly isn't exactly making me want to go see this movie. :-(

[sally_maria]

It is difficult. I liked the Zoe/Wash relationship but wasn't a particular fan of his, so it wasn't as hard for me.

I suppose, for me, it's that Joss kills characters and it feels like it's real - it hurts but it feels right, somehow. Whereas on Stargate, they kill people and it just annoys me, because it feels like they are wasting a good character for the sake of cheap drama; particularly in the later seasons.

I don't want to tell you to see something that will make you miserable - but it is such a good film overall that I can't help thinking you will be missing out it you don't see it. Otherwise, you'll just have to send the_marquis and get him to tell you all the details. ;-)

[the-marquis.livejournal.com]

But I liked Wash too! Doooooom!

[sally_maria]

Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal! ;-)

In that case, I have no more not-so-bright ideas.

[na-lon.livejournal.com]

To be honest, when I first heard that not all the characters were going to make it, my immediate thought was: "Oh well, that's Wash doomed then..."

*wails* Why, oh why, is it that I always (well usually) like the characters that get bumped off?!

I am still not decided about going to see it.

Is Wash's demise at least somewhat 'pointy' (as Buffy would say) - as opposed to gratuitous and grim (like Sirius' sordid end courtesy of Harry's daftness in OotP)? I have to admit to guessing at the latter...

[sally_maria]

It's in the course of doing something that all the crew consider to be important, and worth giving their lives for. (So, nothing like as pointless like HP.) On the other hand, it's not, at the moment it happens, because he is doing something particularly heroic or vital to the success of the mission.

Storywise, I think it genuinely serves the purpose of making you unsure that anyone will survive or that they will succeed. I was really afraid for the remaining members of the crew - and I'm usually pretty cynical about these things. But how much of a comfort that is when you really love a character I'm not sure.

I must admit that I've been lucky and Joss has never killed any of the characters I really loved apart from Spike - and even if I hadn't known about Angel, it was such an appropriate end, I couldn't really resent it.

[na-lon.livejournal.com]

I am starting seriously to resent Joss Whedon's policy in killing off characters: in Angel, my favourite was Doyle - that was semi-allright, but why in a bleeding Nazi-episode. While Spike's death in the last ep of Buffy was - like you said - very fitting, Anya's was just gratuitous.

As for Firefly... Wash is my favourite character, and - erm... Shepherd Book the second favourite... I really seem to have no luck. I guess I will eventually work up the guts to watch Serenity, but I guess the words 'work up the guts' really express my feelings more eloquently. I guess having this previewing downer might actually mean I'll enjoy it more when I do see it.

Hm... I also can't really cope with hand-help camera stuff in a cinema setting. Makes me queasy. So all in all I feel like I might be better off waiting for the DVD. *sighs* I am such a wuss really. :-(

Thanks for bearing with me with all the whinging. Your comment about the way Wash dies is actually fairly reassuring. I mean, I do want to feel drawn into a story, and generally I have enjoyed Joss stuff a lot - except for his particular approach to killing characters.

Oh well. I'll talk to the Marquis about whether or not we're going to try and see Serenity...