Am I the only one who didn't like Serenity?

[Halcohol]

Waaaaay overrated. You have to be a fan to like it.

Not necessarily true... me and my brother went to go see Serenity and we both thought it was really good... the whole "epic battle" at the end between the Alliance and the Reavers seemed a bit overdone, but what can you do.

IMO it was essentially the Star Wars for a new generation... not as epic or classic, but with good writing, intriguing characters, and some good humour and action scenes. If it wasn't for Serenity, I never would have found Firefly, which I consider to be one of the best TV shows that barely was.

You're free to dislike the movie however you want, but I think the general arc of the story and

Spoiler

Wash's death

ruined the movie FAR more than the "ultimate warrior" dispatching the Reavers (not to mention it also gave rise to the coolest shot in the whole movie, her standing there with the blood dripping from the axe )

 

[Jonathan Archer]

Not necessarily true... me and my brother went to go see Serenity and we both thought it was really good... the whole "epic battle" at the end between the Alliance and the Reavers seemed a bit overdone, but what can you do.

IMO it was essentially the Star Wars for a new generation... not as epic or classic, but with good writing, intriguing characters, and some good humour and action scenes. If it wasn't for Serenity, I never would have found Firefly, which I consider to be one of the best TV shows that barely was.

You're free to dislike the movie however you want, but I think the general arc of the story and

Spoiler

Wash's death

ruined the movie FAR more than the "ultimate warrior" dispatching the Reavers (not to mention it also gave rise to the coolest shot in the whole movie, her standing there with the blood dripping from the axe )

I don't dislike the movie, actually. I enjoyed it. But not really a huge thing that everyone is making it out to be. Average (or perhaps an iota above), but that's it.

Now, if you're a fan, however, the reviews might be somewhat different.

 

[Mr. Credible]

i effing love Serenity.

i think it's one of the best movies i've seen in the past few years, mostly becasue of the interaction between the characters and the witty, snappy dialogue, but everything else was good too... in my opinion.

 

[Horrorfan]

The people who usually say stuff like 'OMG you didn't liek Serenity? You are teh n00b! Your opinion hurts humanity!' are usually the bitter little loosers who hate that the movie flopped, and who think because you were a fan of a show or whatever, you have to devour and love everything that bears it's name. Thankfully there are only one or two people like that in this thread, I was kinda expecting to get flamed more lol. But it was a pleasant surprise to see that it was mostly kept civil.

 

[Mee]

You have to be a fan to like it.

I had never even heard of Firefly until Serenity came out. So I wasn't a fan of the show. But I am now a fan of the movie.

 

[deathshead2]

I wasn't a fan of the show either but I watched the movie liked it and saw a few episodes very good.

 

[The Question]

I saw the movie after having seen about 20 minutes of an episode, and I was barely baying atentionm at the time. Loved the movie. Wasn't tye best movie of all time, but it was definately the best sci-fi film of the year.

 

[Fettastic]

Serenity is a steaming shit-pile. I walked out of it because it was complete crap.

 

[pyromaniac]

The people who usually say stuff like 'OMG you didn't liek Serenity? You are teh n00b! Your opinion hurts humanity!' are usually the bitter little loosers who hate that the movie flopped, and who think because you were a fan of a show or whatever, you have to devour and love everything that bears it's name. Thankfully there are only one or two people like that in this thread, I was kinda expecting to get flamed more lol. But it was a pleasant surprise to see that it was mostly kept civil.

It has made a profit on DVD, which bodes good news.

One has to understand that the appeal of both Firefly and Serenity lies in its marriage of wonderfully rendered, multifaceted characterisation, metaphysical narration and geopolitical sentiment.

Even three years on, Firefly is much beloved and discussed to death on podcasts, on message boards, on a daily basis. Serenity is just a new kind of beast that had to necessitate compression in order for the overarching story that Joss had wanted to tell.

Otherwise, Serenity is what Firefly should have been had it continued.

 

[Qoèlet]

Mal in the show came off much better; here he seemed bitter about loosing the war to the point where it became hard for me to empathise. He seemed like a spoilt child in that if his side didn't win, he would try to sabotage the other,d espite the war being over.

Interestingly, that's just the opposite of how Whedon said he was trying to portray Mal. He's just broken down and apathetic until the attack on Haven and the revelation on Miranda, and only then does he start to pick up some of the motivation he had lost. I mean, he spends the whole movie running away and pretending he doesn't care, then he finally goes to war again, because he finds something worth fighting over. That's what they were trying to get at, but I can see why you saw it the other way.
When the Operative comments that he understands how Mal feels about the Alliance, to be met with the response "You have no idea", the intent (and Joss Whedon said this himself) was that Mal meant "You have no idea: I really don't hate you, I'm just done with this whole thing and I want to be left alone", not, as it's understandable to read it "You have no idea: there are no words for the ardent hatred I possess for you and yours".

You have to be a fan to like it.

And you have to like it to be a fan... it's a paradox!

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

My 2 cents:

Van Helsing blew.

I liked Serenity but it didn't come close to being a great movie. The acting was lame for the most part and the look of the movie was total T.V movie and the dialouge was spotty.

Rating: 7/10 I forgot already.

 

[Armand Z Trip]

Serenity was brilliant, I mean its no Van Helsing or Judge Dredd, but still pretty good.

 

[Horrorfan]

Otherwise, Serenity is what Firefly should have been had it continued.

Then I am glad it didn't continue.

Quoelet, good post....Nathan Fillion is AWESOME, and I loved Mal in the series....but the incident seemed like a terrible error by the government more than a malicious intent. It was hugely tragic, and I can understand the anger, but by uncovering it, all he will do is cause unstability and, if the government fell, a power vaccum (and you can see how well that goes down in iraq). so while I felt he had the right intention and I could understand his anger, I felt he was motivated more by the selfish need for revenge as he didn't think out the consequnces of bringing down a government. Better the devil you know, after all...

 

[amazingfantasy15]

A friend of mine got me to watch Firefly when it was on Sci-Fi channel before the movie, I thought the show was good and unique and bought the season.

I went into Serenity not expecting to much and was blown away by it, I thought it was brilliant, a sci fi movie that relied more on character and story than special effects. So many things just worked so well, the Operative wasn't the typical villian, he was a man who had a job to do and I love the opening scene where he tells the doctors that Simon wasn't madness that drove Simon, it was love. The opening 4-5 minute unbroken shot on Serenity basically showing us the main cast and their personalities right from the start. Finally, Wash's death, which I know many people didn't like, but I think it really gave you a sense that the main characters might not make it out and good guys may not win and if they do at what price.

In my opinion Serenity was everything Van Helsing wasn't, a movie with heart that focused on a solid story rather than the latest trick people could use with digital effects.

 

[Katsuro]

Humongous Firefly and Serenity fan here. Absolutley love the show and film. I dont see how people can think of it as usual sci-fi channel crap. In fact, one thing I really like about it is that it throws out a whole lot of conventional sci-fi things. There are no aliens with wierd foreheads or ears (odd that two species would evolve on seperate planets for billions of years, and the only difference would be the shape of their ears). There's no lame faster than light travel that they try to explain with made up pseudoscience. Hell, they dont even use laser guns! (they exist in the universe, but only two are seen in the whole series).

Also, there is still hope we may get a sequel. At a recent event, the actors whose characters died in the film (

Spoiler

Alan Tudyk (Wash) and Ron Glass (Shephard Book)

) said that they'll be returning for a sequel if it's made (most likely in flashbacks). So it's definatley not out of the question for a sequel, and there's still hope.

 

[CConn]

How is it people can totally bash something in a review then still give it a 7/10?

 

[CConn]

In any case, I have sort of an odd reaction to both Serenity and Firefly, myself. I love the characters. Yet, seemingly, I don't like anything else. I find the dialogue to be overly campy and amateur-ish, the plot seems to take a back seat to character interactions involving an over abundance of said campy dialogue, etc. It's like I'd love the thing if Whedon didn't actually write it.

 

[zanos]

I did not like Serenity at all and I loved the tv show. I feel most ppl who saw the film also felt the same way I did but still felt compelled to be positive about it simply because of their loyalty for the show.

 

[pyromaniac]

Then I am glad it didn't continue.

No, I mean the core elements and some of the arcs and stories that would surely have found their way - over a longer span of time of course - into Firefly.

The most obvious being that the nine-manned cast would have remained strong for a couple of more seasons yet.

Joss of course had to compress all that into a two-hour film.

And Cconn - the dialogue is more 'mature' than that on Buffy, simply because they're adults... But did you ever notice there's never any pop culture references that would otherwise add another texture to it...? Yeah I know, because obviously it's set in the future, but the humour that they use is so that it makes you only realise halfway through the show that no such reference is ever made, particularly coming from a man of both visible and obscure pop culture paraphernalia.

Of course, that said, one doesn't need to rely on pop culture-peppered dialogue for humour. It's just clever in my opinion, is all. How they give insight to respective characterisation if you'll notice.

At least it's not 'cold' and 'clinical' like so many other sci-fi shos.

 

[deathshead2]

In any case, I have sort of an odd reaction to both Serenity and Firefly, myself. I love the characters. Yet, seemingly, I don't like anything else. I find the dialogue to be overly campy and amateur-ish, the plot seems to take a back seat to character interactions involving an over abundance of said campy dialogue, etc. It's like I'd love the thing if Whedon didn't actually write it.

Or you talking about the show or movie cus Most episodes I think were written by the guy who did the tick.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Well, i never watched Firefly until after Serenity came out at the cinema, by the time i finished watching, Serenity had finished its cinema run and i had to wait four months for the DVD. I ABSOLUTELY LOVE both the movie and the series, they are effing great. If you dont like them fine, but you guys are missing out on some great Sci-Fi, and this coming from a life-long Star Wars fan.