Serenity (the movie)

Question

I finally got around to seeing Serenity, which I really enjoyed, but then I was a fan of Firefly.
I'd be curious to hear from anyone who saw Serenity who hadn't seen Firefly. Did you like the movie? Did you feel like you had all the information you needed for the story to make sense? How long did it take you to figure out that Wash and Zoe were married if, in fact, you did figure that out?
Does anyone know what the budget for this movie was? I thought it looked GREAT.

Dena Jo
Email goes to denajo2 at the dot com variation of the Yahoo domain.

Plonk the bastards: http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/trolls.html

Usenet · Accepted Answer

[nq:1]I finally got around to seeing Serenity, which I really enjoyed, but then I was a fan of Firefly. I'd ... it take you to figure out that Wash and Zoe were married if, in fact, you did figure that out?[/nq]
I saw the movie a couple nights ago, never saw the series. It was aiight. I dont even know who Wash and Zoe are. Lets see who I remember. Mal? River? Linderman?
Too me it seemed like a very well done SciFi Channel Original Movie, and as bad as this year has been, I'll take it. My only advice to the director would be, dont do an 8-ball of cocaine the next time you sit for a directors commentary audio session.
Oranse

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Too me it seemed like a very well done SciFi Channel Original Movie, and as bad as this year has ... director would be, dont do an 8-ball of cocaine the next time you sit for a directors commentary audio session.[/nq]
Heh.
So Duck, did you get around to seeing About Schmidt?

Dena Jo
Email goes to denajo2 at the dot com variation of the Yahoo domain.

Plonk the ********: http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/trolls.html

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[nq:1]I finally got around to seeing Serenity, which I really enjoyed, but then I was a fan of Firefly. I'd ... Dena Jo Email goes to denajo2 at the dot com variation of the Yahoo domain. Plonk the ********: http://www.panix.com/~mwsm/trolls.html[/nq]I fit into that category. I saw the movie and liked it fine, thought it was a good movie. Then I saw probably 6-8 episodes of the show and with each episode I liked it more and more. As I got used to the characters it got a lot more entertaining. By the time I got to the episode where the captain got unknowingly married I thought it was hilarious. So anyway, I'm at that point where I'm really enjoying the tv episodes, but I haven't finished them and so I just watched the movie again and I enjoyed it a lot more.

There are certain things that I didn't fully understand the first time around, but mainly it's the characters that were a lot more enjoyable this time around. Being able to view the characters in the context in which they're intended makes their dialog and behaviors much more entertaining.

Well that was a lot of words to say mostly nothing, to put it simply, I think the movie is okay as a stand alone, but really exceeds as an extension of the tv series.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]Does anyone know what the budget for this movie was? I thought it looked GREAT.[/nq]
I loved the series. The scene in one episode where the two guys joked around while being tortured was one of the best I've ever seen on television.
The first half of the film I loved. When the guys walked around the ship with no cuts, I was ready to build a ship in my back yard so I could walk around it too. The second half I thought was okay for a second half. But the third half made me sad. The whole thing became a ho-hum hero/antinhero fistfight mixed with a monster killoff. I was sad to see such a fun franchise end in hackneyed cheese.

Also, the film lacked a lot of the charm of the series. The people were a shade too dark, a shade to angry and not quite spunky enough.

This is what happens when I go into a film with high expectations. I expected this to be worth more than the $1.50 I paid for it, but like the vast majority of films, it was not.

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I finally got around to seeing Serenity, which I really enjoyed, but then I was a fan of Firefly. I'd be curious to hear from anyone who saw Serenity who hadn't seen Firefly. Did you like the movie?[/nq]
'Salright. Not bad, not overly wonderful. Felt a lot like Joss Whedon's other stuff.
[nq:1]Did you feel like you had all the information you needed for the story to make sense?[/nq]
More or less. The opening "Story of the Film, So Far" stuff worked well enough.
[nq:1]How long did it take you to figure out that Wash and Zoe were married if, in fact, you did figure that out?[/nq]
Didn't figure it out (assuming that's the Capt'n and the hooker/geisha; you know me and names) but their relationship was pretty obvious.
[nq:1]Does anyone know what the budget for this movie was? I thought it looked GREAT.[/nq]
They kept talking about how modeast the budget was; I'm guessing no more than $10M-$20M. They made use of a lot of practical F/X (like the hovercraft chase, which should have been better but looked okay) which tend - these days - to cost more than CG.

Life Continues, Despite
Evidence to the Contrary
Steven

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]I finally got around to seeing Serenity, which I really enjoyed, but then I was a fan of Firefly. I'd ... it take you to figure out that Wash and Zoe were married if, in fact, you did figure that out?[/nq]
I never saw the show. I don't think it was shown on any of the UK terrestrial channels or the freeview ones.
But I really enjoyed the movie and yes, I thought all the necessary information was well conveyed, as early as possible (I loved the credits shot - the long take wandering around the spacecraft which filled in a lot of that essential background). I can't recall whether I figured about the married characters, though, or even which ones they were.

Hercule Platini

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[nq:1]I'd be curious to hear from anyone who saw Serenity who hadn't seen Firefly.[/nq]
I found it confusing, muddled, and far too tricksy in a look-at-me-aren't-I-being-clever sort of way. The dialogue - presumably an attempt at alien, or at least removed, speech patterns and content - just came over as stilted and unbelievable. And my word, it was unremittingly loud, or at least it was for the thirty or so minutes I was able to sit through before I left the cinema. Life's just too short.

I've been amazed by the fanatical following this film seems to have.

Bert
www.bertcoules.co.uk

Usenet · Answer

@reader1.panix.com:
[nq:1](snippage)[/nq]
[nq:2]Does anyone know what the budget for this movie was? I thought it looked GREAT.[/nq]
[nq:1]They kept talking about how modeast the budget was; I'm guessing no more than $10M-$20M. They made use of a ... chase, which should have been better but looked okay) which tend - these days - to cost more than CG.[/nq]
I seem to recall the figure $40 million being bandied about back when the film was in production...
OK, not exactly definitive, but:
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=serenity.htm

"Production Budget: $39 million"
And as long as I'm posting, the thing that disappointed me most about the film was that the Reavers were simply a government snafu. I would've much preferred if they'd turned out to be "boogeymen" that the government was using to hide a larger secret. Sort of like the mechanical dragon in Dr. No. I wonder if that might've been the original plan, had the series run for five or more years, but they changed it to give more closure to the film...
Oh, and I also would've preferred it if, instead of CGIing out Inara's bow and arrows, they reshot a bit to show that the arrows have explosive tips Inara pulls out the bow and arrows; Jayne gives her a disparaging look; Inara strings an arrow and lets it fly; the arrow sticks into a Reaver; the Reaver turns menacingly toward them and then... EXPLODES! Reaver bits spatter the deck; Jayne nods his approval.

Although, I don't know if you can have explosive-tipped arrows blowing holes in bodies and spattering flesh in a PG-13 film.

Mark

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]look-at-me-aren't-I-being-clever sort of way. The dialogue - presumably an attempt at alien, or at least removed, speech patterns and content - just came over as stilted and unbelievable. And my[/nq]
This seems like an instance where things could've been made clearer for filmgoers who hadn't seen the series. It was established in the series that there are no aliens in this reality/universe. What I'm assuming you're referring to, then, are the Chinese expressions that are mixed in with the English dialog. This was explained in the series as being the result of the two remaining superpowers the US and China uniting politically to form The Alliance. This, in turn, resulted in a commingling of cultures, similar to what you might find today in places in the US with large Hispanic populations where certain Spanish expressions are used by native English speakers.
Feliz Navidad - Mark

Usenet · Answer

[nq:1]What I'm assuming you're referring to, then, are the Chinese expressions that are mixed in with the English dialog.[/nq]
Not just that: the whole tenor of the speech seemed to me to be stilted, convoluted, and quite unnatural. I just didn't believe that those were real people talking in a real way.
Bert
www.bertcoules.co.uk

Serenity (the movie)

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