Well, /that/ was fun. Saw the 3pm screening of Joss Whedon’s Serenity today with seven others. What can I say? The movie was great. Tons of fun, breathless action sequences, high drama and plenty of zippy dialogue to boot. Something for everyone.
Part of me almost wishes it hadn’t seen Firefly, so I could get to know the characters again for the first time. Watching Serenity was like relaxing with old friends. If that’s possible while things are exploding around you. That’s not to say there aren’t surprises for the experienced Firefly fan. There are. But I couldn’t help but wonder what other people thought. On the way home from the movie today, Yawen volunteered some of that: “The movie sucked you in, into the characters.” Now, she’s going to go watch the Firefly DVDs I loaned her three weeks ago 🙂 And the critics seem to like it too: currently the tomatometer is sitting at “78% Fresh” after 103 reviews over at Rotten Tomatoes.
A quick note on attendance: For a mid-afternoon matinee I was surprised to count about 50 people by the time the trailers had finished. I was completely expecting to share the theatre with 10, maybe 15 others. Everyone was respectful (just as I’d read) — no-one talking on cell-phones, no-one kicking my chair, no-one having their own conversations. The movie was the centerpiece of everyone’s attention. What a pleasant change of pace. Almost restores my faith in movie-theatre-going.
On with the pics!
L to R: Mark, Kemp, Melissa, Cam.
L to R: Yawen, Louis, Nkosi, me.
Joe up to no good.
After lunch we headed next door to the movie theater. Here’s what Serenity is up against.
The competition. L to R: The Constant Gardener, Flightplan, [Serenity], A History of Violence, Into the Blue, Corpse Bride, An Unfinished Life, The Greatest Game Ever Played, Just Like Heaven, Oliver Twist
Joss Whedon to Firefly fans on Serenity: “Instead of the Alliance we’ll be fighting viewer apathy, fear of something new, the urge to wait for DVD, and Jessica Alba in a bikini. (Although I have it on good authority that she spends 90% of the film in a huge wooly parka. Make sure that gets out.) “
Comments
4 responses to “Serenity – Opening Day”
wow… do I EVER wish I’d gone with people who knew Firefly cuz all I’ve wanted to do for the past 24 hours is talk about the movie and the characters ( who feel like friends ) and stuff. My friends who came with me liked the movie despite having never seen the tv show. I just wish I had more people to talk about it with. Everyone go see this show!!!! ( and then call me to talk about what you thought! )
; )
Here’s a collection of reactions from fans who just came from the film — warning, contains spoilers — Have you found Serenity?
Looks like the tomatometer has gone up! 🙂
Heeeeeeee!
On the topic of what Firefly virgins think of Serenity: have a listen to this quick audio review (RealPlayer required).
Wheee… this stuff just makes me giddy. Incidentally the webpage is wrong, both reviewers gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars.