Newsgroup: it.fan.tv.buffy
Titolo: Recensione controversa di Serenity

Contiene spoiler.
http://aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20570
Dem Bones bones SERENITY...
Hey folks, Harry here... I just can't seem to get excited about SERENITY. I
know how passionate the Firefly fans are... but their enthusiasm leaves me
feeling like I did coming out of TANK GIRL. When I saw that film - the
audience I saw it with seemed to absolutely love and enjoy every second of
that film. While I sat there looking at them like they were insane. I
didn't really enjoy FIREFLY on DVD when I saw it. Wished I did. It would
mean the love of Herc, which is like being wrapped in a thousand twitching
tongues for 42 minutes. I'm hoping to enjoy the movie though, Robogeek
claims it's the best movie he's seen this year. Though I don't know if that
holds still... he's seen HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE and the Miyazaki geek in him
may be stronger than the Whedon geek. Here's Dem Bones' review - beware of
spoilers...
Hello Harry, Moriarty and crew--here is a review of “Serenity“, if you want
to publish it…
Oh Firefly. I loved that show. The characters, the world, the writing,
direction, acting--I loved it. But I am not here to praise it,
unfortunately -- I am here to bury it.
After less than half a season, Fox dumped the show, leaving many of us who
loved the show up in the air, until it got a new life on DVD, prompting
rabid sales and now, a movie sequel--”Serenity”.
I got a chance to see the film last night in Columbus, Ohio--and as amazing
as it was to see the crew come together, as fantastic as the effects and
directing were, Universal has a problem on there hands. They have invested
their money in an odd, dark, science fiction fetish movie expecting a new
franchise--but it really only works as a finale to the TV show. As good as
the film is, I do not expect it will bring new fans into the fold, except
to get people to watch the DVDs of “Firefly”. I really think it is a very
good film, but it has major hurdles to overcome. I will try to talk about
the film with minor spoilers…
On of the major problem with “Serenity” is that you really need to have
seen Firefly to enjoy it. The events of the film, the good and bad, only
affect us if we have an intimate knowledge of our Merry Band of Pirates
from watching the show. If you had not seen the last two episodes, you
would not know why “hooker-with-the-hear-of-gold” Inara is not on the ship,
who she is, what she means to Mal, and what the big deal is to get her back
onto the ship. In fact, there is no reason to have her in the movie at
all--she really does nothing to advance the plot nor is she a big help when
the chips come down. Even in the end, when we should get some kind of
payoff for the implications of Mal and Inara’s feelings--we get nothing.
The major plot points of the film, as you can tell from the trailer, deals
with crazy, psychic River Tam and the crazy, cannibalistic Reavers -- two
of the weaker elements of the show, now brought to the forefront. Do we
really care why the Reavers became mad-dog cannibal murderers? Is it really
that important? Men have gone crazy and committed murder forever--why do we
need a ‘McGuffin’ built around them? Do we really need to focus on what in
River’s head makes her crazy? We know through exposition that she was
experimented on Mengele-style to become an assassin…isn’t that enough? And
where are our blue-handed, evil Alliance men?
Another thing -- when there are TWO MAJOR CHARACTER DEATHS in the film, you
really need to have strong scenes setting them up, so you can feel
something when they die. Having seen the show, they did affect me--but to
someone unfamiliar to the show, they might not feel anything. One of the
deaths I understand--it moved the characters forward…but the other death
was so pointless and hackneyed it actually made me angry--which is more
than I can say about the characters in the film. They just shrug it off and
move on, and that is another problem with the film --everyone seems cold.
When you get the aforementioned character deaths, you would think that we
would get some moment at the end that had our characters actually
experiencing some kind of display of emotional outpouring--but no. The film
fails to build enough character moments in the first half, so that you
really feel the loss of the characters.
In the original pilot for Firefly (also titled Serenity) Whedon had Malcolm
Reynolds be an angry loner sourpuss, convinced that God had abandoned him
-- and that was okay. I don’t know if it was studio’s tweaking, but he
seemed lighter as the show went on. And this film needs more light. It is
uncompromisingly dark--and the captain comes off as a real jackass. He is
not the fun captain we expect, and he doesn’t go through a character arc to
become him in the end.
I think, in the end that is the sad truth of the film--it is not fun. And
we wanted it to be fun--to be a celebration of continuing on, even in the
face of cancellation. It would have been nice if it was a smart,
complicated lark--that’s how you start a franchise, letting them get darker
as the series progresses. You build your relationships, so you can pull the
rug out from under your audience, sweetening the emotional resonance. The
sad thing is, as close to great as this movie is, there isn’t time or money
for improvements. The movie, outside of the music score, is finished.
These pre-screenings really serve no purpose, since there will be no
re-shooting or re-editing. The only purpose for these screenings I can
think of is that Universal knows that there is little chance of it
succeeding at the box office, so the hope that a grass-roots,
limited-engagement screenings will drive up the grosses for opening
weekend. If they were smart, they would just open it in limited release,
keeping the viewing of this movie an event.
We thought we were getting a sequel or a new beginning, and what we get is
an ending, a burial. This film will not spawn sequels or a new TV show. At
least when we left the show with “Objects in Space”, there was still the
open-ended hope of new adventures. Now, with Serenity, the coffin is nailed
shut.
I hope that is helpful to you guys. I am sorry that my opinion isn’t
higher. I certainly wanted it to be knocked out of the park.
If you do use this , just refer to me as “Dem Bones”
-- 
Jolan Tru, Filippo "Hytok" Simone: l'oracolo sampdoriano di Sunnydale
La Casa degli Elfi - 
http://lacasadeglielfi.altervista.org/
Enclave del Dominio - S.N.S. Despiser - 
http://ildominio.altervista.org/
http://www.voyageritalia.com/

 when I saw it.
Need we read more? 8-)
-- 
Laz - [
http://www.dimensionedelta.net
]
"We all come in from the cold, we come down from the wire, and everybody 
warms themselves to a different fire" 

Eccone altre, sempre da AICN... piu' interessanti 8-)
Attenzione... soliti GROSSI SPIOILER!!!
-------------------------------
AICN - More Reviews From The SERENITY 35 (Including A Totally Objective 
One From The Author of That New SERENITY Book)!!
AICN
http://www.aintitcool.com/display.cgi?id=20574
More Reviews From The SERENITY 35 (Including A Totally Objective One 
From The Author of That New SERENITY Book)!!
I am – Hercules!!
First. An excellent article in The Weekly Standard looks at what’s going 
on with all these nutty, early “Serenity” screenings.
Second. Ain’t It Cool’s sexy new webmaster Doc Falken - who, last I 
heard, was crawling the walls in anticipation of seeing “Serenity” 
(unlike some AIC staffers I could think of) - happened upon this nifty 
interview with “Serenity” writer-director and all-around boss dude Joss 
Whedon.
On to the reviews. NOTE PLEASE: FROM THIS POINT FORWARD? HUGE, 
UNINVISOTEXTED SPOILERS ABOUND. When I saw “Bones” bone last night’s 
version of “Serenity” this morning (so horrified by what he witnessed, 
“Bones” managed to draft his review before anyone else’s!), I had to 
assume Joss had somehow visited a fierce buggering upon the movie since 
its May 26 version screened. But the folks who waited just a little 
while longer to write in? They kinda seem just as happy with the new 
adventures of Mal, Kaylee, River, Inara and Jayne as most of the earlier 
reviewers! Huh!
Still, we should have discarded this particular review, as it was 
contributed by Robert B. Taylor, one of the fellers who wrote “Finding 
Serenity: Anti-Heroes, Lost Shepherds and Space Hookers in Joss Whedon's 
Firefly”. Is it cool that he helped write a book by that title without 
having seen the movie earlier than this? I vote NO! It is not cool. 
Still, we foolishly publish his take – in which he declares, “If you 
enjoy smart science-fiction, you’ll like this movie” - for the record:
Hey Herc,
So another round of Serenity advance screenings, another round of 
reviews? I figured I’d submit one, as I caught the movie in Pittsburgh 
on Thursday. A Whedon devotee, I am well-versed in the world of Firefly 
having written an essay called “The Captain May Wear the Tight Pants, 
but It’s the Gals Who Make Serenity Soar” for the book “Finding 
Serenity,” which you’ve been so graciously hawking at the site.
Bottom line: If you enjoy smart science-fiction, you’ll like this movie. 
And if you were a fan of Firefly, you should LOVE this movie.
I’ll tiptoe around the spoilers and won’t bog this thing down with plot 
details. Not that it matters, since, like all of Joss Whedon’s work, 
this movie is more about characters than it is plot. Oh, sure, there’s a 
nice thematic throughline about protecting free will and human 
individuality at all costs, but the emotion of the story comes from 
Captain Mal Reynolds and his crew, not from any MacGuffin that drives 
the story.
Serenity is not a science-fiction film in the vein of Star Wars. It’s 
not epic. It’s not structured around mythic archetypes. Instead, if I 
had to compare Whedon’s first big-screen effort to another well-regarded 
outer space yarn, I’d equate it to Aliens, another movie about how a 
diverse group of people react when their backs are to the wall. After 
all, both Ripley and her marines and Mal and his crew are stalked by 
ruthless, shadowy killers. The step from the aliens to the Reavers is 
not a large one. Both have a female action lead. Both share a skeptical 
view on big government and/or greedy corporations. And, honestly, can’t 
Adam Baldwin’s Jayne be a distant cousin to Bill Paxton’s Hudson? (Maybe 
none of this comes as a shock given Joss’ rather notorious involvement 
in the Alien series.)
Serenity is joyfully thrilling, often hilarious, and occasionally 
moving. The Reavers also offer up a few good scares. I believe my butt 
even left the seat on one occasion. Whedon remains the master at mixing 
genres. The version we saw Thursday seemed to be almost complete. No 
placeholder scenes. The strong F/X looked mostly finished. About the 
only thing missing was end credits. (The music even seemed very 
Firefly-esque, what with the rootsy acoustic guitar, and I didn't 
recognize any of the themes from elsewhere. So were parts of this the 
actual score? I'm honestly not sure, but I wouldn’t bet against it.)
The cast stands out, which will be no surprise to anyone who’s ever 
watched the show. Baldwin is still knocking one-liners out of the park 
as the ship’s token wiseass. (A running gag about his tendency to overdo 
it on the weaponry … especially his fondness for a good supply of 
grenades … earns big smiles.) Joss often says Malcolm Reynolds is his 
Han Solo, and Nathan Fillion has that same rascally twinkle in his eye 
that Harrison Ford did back in '77. Yes, he’s slightly grumpier at the 
beginning of the movie than he was at the end of the TV series. But the 
man’s got to have an interesting character arc, and Fillion pulls it off 
nicely. Summer Glau cuts a mighty fine action-hero pose. The big new 
addition to – Chiwetel Ejiofor as The Operative – is a successful one. 
His merciless, government-employed assassin easily ranks among the 
Fireflyverse’s great villains.
Heading into the movie, I was aware that most Internet grumbling about 
the movie was directed at the movie’s two BDDs (Big Damn Deaths), 
although I was unaware which characters bought the farm until last 
night. I assure you, neither is as jarring as some would have you 
believe. The first is not surprising at all, being the deceased is 
probably the most expendable person in Joss’ large cast. His death is 
noble and organically fits with the story. The second BDD – the more 
controversial one – is, I will admit, a bit sudden. Not 
Anya-in-the-Buffy-series-finale sudden, mind you. But sudden none the 
less. And, yes, it seems the crew recovers a tad quickly from said 
character’s demise. But his death does actually serve a point in the 
movie by confirming that Reavers are not something you want to mess 
with, and by movie’s end, proper enough tribute is given to his passing.
Honestly, the only real problem with the movie (from a fan’s 
perspective) is that it constantly forces you to say to yourself, “Damn 
this is cool … but just think of how much cooler it would have been if 
Joss had five years to tell this story instead of two hours!” When 
Firefly fans say they aren’t pleased with Serenity, I’m pretty sure they’re 
not considering the concessions that must be made when fitting such a 
massively rich universe into a two-hour movie. As a result, some 
characters are glossed over, and the general public might find 
themselves sporadically lost. (If you were a Firefly newbie and watched 
this movie, I don’t think you’d even know that Inara was a prostitute.) 
The Reavers are fierce and frightening but still more of a “token movie 
menace” than they would have been if their mythology could have been 
slowly revealed over the course of several seasons. And, yes, I’m sure 
the deaths of beloved characters could have been handled much more to 
everyone’s liking if Joss had hours and hours to devote to such a 
painful loss instead of Serenity’s final 20 minutes.
Well, he didn’t. Fox gave up the show, and this is what we got in 
instead. Well, I’ll take it … and not just as a consolation prize. I’ll 
take it as a brilliant and charming bit of sci-fi from a first-time 
movie director. (Consider that for a moment. It’s a fact that is being 
overlooked since Joss is treated as a fanboy deity. But this is his 
first time working on a project of this scale, and he handles it 
deftly.) I’ll take it as a more-than-worthy expansion of a wonderful, 
little show that didn’t get enough time or support to find its audience. 
And, hopefully, I’ll one day be able to take it as the rip-roaring first 
act of a successful sci-fi trilogy.
If you’re a sci-fi fan, ignore the hype. Ignore the backlash. Ignore all 
that nonsense. Just go see it and judge the movie on its own strengths. 
Because there are many. And anyone who says otherwise isn’t really 
looking.
“Novagrass,” who – as far as I know – has written no “Serenity” books, 
labels the movie “one of the coolest movies I've seen. Ever.”:
Hi. This will be my second review for this site… both of which have been 
Firefly related in some way. Way back before the show premiered, I got a 
screener copy of the pilot, also titled Serenity. And my review, 
published in the coax news section, was super-effusive. Now I'm back 
with a review for the other incarnation of Serenity… but first some 
background.
Yes, I am a fan of Firefly. So, I am not unbiased. I wish I could be, 
but I can't. That said, I'm also a giant movie geek. And a Dramatic 
Writing student at NYU… just so you understand how pretentious and 
film-snobby I can be. And I'd say, if I really got down to it, my 
movie-geekiness outweighs my Firefly-geekiness. That said, I'll try to 
review in a movie geek kind of way.
I honestly believe Serenity is one of the coolest movies I've seen. 
Ever. And I'll tell you why.
It is unabashedly innovative. It's like there was a creative valve in 
the heads of each force behind this movie, a valve with the pressure 
building, gradually increasing in intensity. And here, with this movie, 
that creative valve has gone up flipped out exploded and produced 
something new, something beautiful. Everyone from Production Designer, 
Barry Chusid, to Director of Photography, Jack Green, work to create an 
incredible visual world for these characters… a world that is beautiful 
and dirty and broken. What's really cool is that since Whedon has been 
creating really intricate and ornate visual worlds for quite some time 
now, with a very small WB/UPN sized budget, when given $50m to create 
something bigger… the team really soars. It reminds me of people like 
Peter Jackson, who were making these micro-budget horror films for so 
long, scrimping and saving, trying to get the most out of a buck, so 
when they're given their mega-budgets they still use that economy, and 
end up creating something really remarkable. (And If anything, Serenity 
proves that you don't need a Lucas-sized cash surplus to create great 
special effects, because what Zoic has produced here, well, it's almost 
as good as anything in ROTS, in some places better because the creative 
team still has a zeal about them that imbues everything with a very 
powerful energy.)
The visual style of Serenity is really a strange amalgam of flashy 70s 
American expressionism, Altman-esque fluidity (there is a beautiful, 
like 3 minute long, tracking shot that moves from steady cam to 
hand-held in one gorgeous, long single take, that introduces us to each 
of the initial primary characters and the environment of the ship 
itself), Western grit, and in places a kind of Croneberg/Lynchian 
surrealism. If anything, Whedon here has succeeded most in elevating 
this from the limits of TV to real big epic huge movie. No one can fault 
this for looking "too TV." If they do, they've just got an axe to grind.
I'm really not going to address much of the story here because others 
have done that to death. The only thing I'm going to talk about is a 
certain death. Others have been whining about how they didn't feel 
enough for X-character's death. The film doesn't have a schmaltzy "oh 
you're dead I'm so sorry… don't die don't die" cliché tear jerky 
situation. A scene like that is not in line with the theme of the movie. 
This movie is about people who have a lot of shit happen to them, but 
keep on moving regardless. Pain is a part of their lives… and to dwell 
on it damages everyone (though, that's not to say they don't react. The 
most certainly do react). It's about moving on. And that's what they do. 
The death works very gracefully, very elegantly, and those who are 
angered by it, most likely, are angered because they're sad X-character 
had to die, not because it doesn't work for the story.
I wish I could say I went into this unbiased. But I can't. And no one 
who has seen the series can. Which means they can't guess how a larger 
audience will react to this movie. It is impossible because they can't 
become someone who hasn't seen the show, cared about the characters. The 
thing I worry about is that people won't care enough about the 
characters to care about the story and what happens in it. But in all 
reality, I have no idea how well Whedon sets them up, if he makes the 
audience care. Maybe he does, I really hope he does, but there is the . 
There's no way I can tell. No way any fan can tell.
Otherwise, it's awesome. It really is. It's an action movie at heart, 
but it's also a comedy, a romance, a western, a space opera, a character 
drama, a political yarn, and, believe it or not, a zombie movie. It's 
got something for everyone, and while other movies claim that they "have 
everything!", this movie IS everything. It doesn't just go through the 
motions of these genres, it becomes them. And it succeeds just about 
always.
“AnnaMorfick" says, "as sure as I know anything, I know this... SERENITY 
is one kickass film.":
Hey guys. I had the good fortune to see SERENITY last night in CT; it 
was my second time seeing the film. I attended the previous screening in 
Boston and you guys were good enough to post my review. Well now I'm 
askin' more of you, than I have before. I'm asking you to post my new 
review. Because as sure as I know anything, I know this... SERENITY is 
one kickass film.
(No major spoilers in here.) First off, the print. WOW! Unless my memory 
is really bad, last night's print looked AND sounded like a completely 
different movie. Lighting, effects, everything just seemed much more 
polished. I did find that the first half of the film looked better than 
the second half. Could be that's as far as they've gotten thus far in 
cleaning it up. There seemed to be less filler music this time around, 
but I could be mistaken. The first time we see Serenity (the ship), it's 
entering atmo to land on the planet below... the music here is awesome. 
Very Firefly-ish. I don't recall hearing that piece last time, but I 
loved it last night. (One of my chief complaints last time was that 
SERENITY wasn't Firefly-ish enough.) There were lots of scenes 
completely devoid of background music, or so it seemed. Didn't bother me 
a whit, because the action and drama here is plenty intense to stand on 
its own. Also, I don't remember seeing the actor credits on-screen last 
time during Mal's stumble through the ship. They looked very slick.
OK stop reading after this sentence if you're nervous about spoilers - I 
loved this film, a lot more than I did last time, and I think it's going 
to make a much bigger splash than the droves of Whedon naysayers will 
admit.............. still with me? OK. I just want to comment on a few 
goods and bads and then I'll be on my merry.
First, the goods. There are many of them. The effects look great. Having 
only just seen Star Wars III last week, it's incredible the difference 
between Sith's green screen-o-rama and SERENITY's subtlety. Like the 
show, exterior shots dart around and go out of focus, as if we're 
watching actual aerial photography. Nothing and I mean NOTHING in this 
film screams CGI.
This is River's movie, no doubt about it and Summer Glau is just 
amazing. She shimmers in this role and I fully expect her to become a 
household name before too long. In one shiny moment: she gets a 
Buffy-esque reveal shot that had the entire audience cheering. Great 
stuff.
The same goes for Nathan Fillion. Though I think Whedon hardened Mal a 
little more than I would have liked, and didn't show enough of his 
softie side, Mr. Fillion does his best work to date in this film. Adam 
Baldwin (looking mighty trim) is a joy to behold as Jayne. Ron Glass is 
phenomenal as Book but oh how I wish he'd had more screen time. His role 
here is great through and critical to the plot. And finally the humor. I 
complained last time that the film wasn't as light-hearted as the TV 
series. In point of fact, that is very true. It's a heavy, serious and 
sometimes shocking film. But there is also some of Whedon's funniest 
stuff in here and some of River's facial expressions alone are worth the 
price of admission. Several weeks of reflection have brought me to a 
different place re: the film's tone. Last night I completely embraced 
its darkness and loved every minute of it.
Now for the bads. The opening sequence re: Simon and River left me 
somewhat uneasy last time. Last night, I liked it better. However, I'm 
still not crazy about Simon's character in the film. SERENITY's Simon is 
a far cry from the frail and uppity Simon of Firefly. He doesn't have 
too much to do in the film, but the dynamic between him and the rest of 
the crew is just different. I don't want to say bad (granted we're in 
the "bad" section of this review), because it worked in the film. And it 
doesn't hurt the film. It's just a mild shock to the system when you're 
used to him behaving a certain way and SERENITY casts Simon in a 
different light.
Wash and Zoe. Last time, I thought one could leave the film and not even 
know that these two were married. After last night, I think my criticism 
still applies, but to a lesser extent. I picked up on some dialogue and 
body language I had missed last time. But it's subtle. Their marriage on 
Firefly was a perfectly crafted thing. The fighting, the love, the need 
for each other. That's not as evident in SERENITY, but it's there if you 
know to look for it. The same could be said of Inara. Blink and you 
might miss her. Which is unfortunate. There is however one great (albeit 
brief) exchange with Mal that was pitch perfect. I'm really hoping we 
get a sequel because Mr. Whedon has shaken the chess board and the 
players are now arranged quite differently. I really want to see where 
we go from here.
In closing, I think SERENITY is perhaps Whedon's finest hour(s). This 
film is at times hilarious, at times brutal but there was not a single 
moment I wasn't captivated and entertained. And in the end, isn't that 
what it's all about? Mr. Whedon is asking, "ARE YOU NOT ENTERTAINED?!" 
Yes sir. Completely sir. Bravo!
“Darth Homercles” says: “I drove for four hours to get to the Aventura 
Mall and gladly drove for four hours back home. This movie was well 
worth the trip!”:
I just returned from the Miami screening of SERENITY. I drove for four 
hours to get to the Aventura Mall and gladly drove for four hours back 
home. This movie was well worth the trip!
I'm sure you're getting flooded with other reviews, and in the interest 
of not repeating past reviews, I'm going to try to keep my reaction 
short and sweet.
STRONG POINTS
This movie is funnier than I thought it would be. There were one-liners 
and reactions that absolutely had me floored. None of the humor was 
cheap or stupid, however. It was all within character and it never took 
away from the drama and suspense of the film.
Nathan Fillion kicks ass! He reminded me of a harder edged ndiana Jones 
in this movie, if that makes any sense. He takes a licking and keeps on 
ticking! Much humor and angst was provided by one Mal Reynolds. I think 
Fillion is going to get a lot of film offers after SERENITY is released.
Summer Glau really shined in this movie. She could be frail and scared 
and also stone cold and deadly. She balanced both well. And River vs. 
the Reavers . . . *wow*
The plot wasn't anything mind blowing, but FIREFLY was never about plot: 
it was about characters. And each and every character has at least one 
moment to shine in this film. No one was left out in the cold. They all 
had their place and served their purpose well. I especially liked Jayne 
and Kaylee in this movie. I especially wish that there was more Kaylee!
This movie isn't built around action, but it has plenty of it. The 
fights were quick and dirty. The chases fast and furious. Everyone takes 
a bit of a beating in this film, which made the stakes seem all the 
higher. A couple of times during the film I turned to my buddy and 
wondered aloud if anyone was going to make it out of this movie alive!
The antagonist assassin guy was cool and calculating. He and Mal were 
like two sides of the same coin. Except Mal has a conscience whereas the 
assassion guy doesn't. "I don't murder children." "I do." Yikes. What I 
really liked about him was that, even if you didn't agree with his 
actions, you could understand his perspective on things and see why he 
was doing the terrible things he was doing. This wasn't a black hat. It 
was a black hat with shades of gray, which I liked.
The visuals for the most part were up to snuff. I noticed a couple of 
off kilter shots towards the end, but I figure it'll be fixed come 
release time. There wasn't much of a music score, so I can't comment on 
that.
BTW, did I mention the REAVERS?!
WEAK POINTS
I thought Simon should have been a little more prominent than he was, 
considering his relationship to River and Mal. I don't know if there are 
any extra scenes lying around that can beef his presence up a little 
(especially in the middle section), but maybe something can be 
reinserted. Also, I think the tether between him and Kaylee needs 
tightening a little. It's a bit oose and I can see where someone who 
isn't familiar with their history can get a little confused.
Speaking of history, there was a little history rewriting in this movie. 
Not a big deal, it didn't take away from my enjoyment of the movie, but 
purists may scratch their heads. I think Whedon pushed a little hard for 
a happy ending. There's a gag at the end, while funny, that should 
probably be cut so the film ends on more of a dramatic note. Also, the 
gathering at the end to lay some fallen soldiers to rest could have been 
a bit more prominent. It was there, it served its purpose, but it didn't 
really carry the weight it should have. The loss of life should be more 
than acknowledged. It should be felt.
The plot concerning Miranda, while not bad, didn't exactly wow me 
either. It was interesting, and probably would have made for some good 
TV, but as a big reveal in a movie . . . not so much.
Maybe the fact that we didn't really see any effects of the incident 
afterwards plays a part in my feeling on this. We're told some stuff, 
bla bla bla, but we're not shown. It doesn't feel like victory. It's 
more like a small win. Maybe it is. I don't know. It just didn't seem 
like much of a climax.
Don't let my last sentence fool you: the climax of this film is pretty 
thrilling and suspenseful. It's just that the importance and the effect 
of the Miranda plot didn't really hit home. It could be a case of 
diminished expectations regarding River's story, but it seemed odd to me 
that the primary reason the Alliance was after her was because of a 
piece of info she had locked in her brain. The fact that she was 
lobotomized and turned into living weapon seemed to have no bearing. I 
hope this can maybe be addressed before the final release. It's not 
enough to sink the movie, but it's a bit of a headscratcher.
Finally, the editing seems a little loose, especially in parts of the 
middle. Actually, the first act seems a little too tight; there's not 
much breathing room. I wouldn't mind a couple of minutes of getting our 
feet wet in the first act to help keep the different environments and 
people straight.
CONCLUSION
Okay, so I have a wacky definition of "short and sweet," but I tried. 
Overall, I would give this film an A-. The weak points I listed above 
are questions and concerns I had coming out of the movie, but none of it 
is enough to sink the movie for me.
If some of those concerns are addressed I'm sure this very good film 
could become a great treat. I have no clue how this is going to play to 
the uninitiated. I had a blast because of my knowledge of this universe 
and the people in it. I don't know if much of the humor and drama would 
work without knowing a little history beforehand. I hope I'm wrong. I 
want this movie to be a success. I really enjoyed it and any fans of 
FIREFLY should. Let's just hope the rest of the country agrees!