Ok so I saw this. I even talked my fiance into going with me. I didnt’ really watch the show when it was on television. I tried but they kept moving it on me and then it was gone.
I am a big fan of Joss Whedon. I watched Buffy the Vampire Slayer (until it moved to UPN). I love his storytelling and his dialogue.
Which brings us to the film. The movie is supposed to be a capsule which tells the story he wanted to tell in the first season of Firefly but didn’t get to because they cancelled it.
My take on this has always been that Wheadon came off of Buffy and did Firefly and jumped right back into telling epic stories. Which is fine except that , that didn’t give people enough to hang onto about the characters. Basically there was so fun silly period where it seemed very episodic and you could get to know and love the people in the show. There was always the tension between almost ever memer of the show. Which is totally fine if you’ve been watching them for a while, but in the begining it makes it a little hard to like them.
Back to the movie:
The movie is an improvement over the show. The budget is bigger - the special effects are bigger, the camera work is more sophisticated. The film has everything you want in a great Sci-Fi film- good guys, good bad guys, great battles, narrow escapes, scarey technology and a whole lot of moments when you are sure everyone is going to die.
Which by the way is something Whedon doesn’t hold back on. People die. Not just red-shirt no name people. People you know and like die! As a movie goer I thought that was awesome - as a fan it kind of sucked since it meant that whatever else happens those characters won’t be back.
I liked the film even more than I thought I would. The truly suprising thing to me was that Annie liked it so much. She had never seen a single episode of Firefly. Other than a littler confusion about why there were guns instead of lasers, she seemed to really enjoy the ride.
The rumor I read on the net said that he doesn’t plan to make the show again, but he is open to more movies if the film does well. I guess I’ll have to wait and see happens.
Bottom Line: This is a fine example of how great Sci-Fi can be when it is put into the hands of someone who doesn’t count success based on the number of explosions.
P.S. In an odd note - Summer Glau (River Tam) is actually from San Antonio, TX. Small world.
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