Film Commentary -- Serenity

[mhalachai]

Ah, Joss Whedon. A man who makes shows about supernatural girls kicking bad-guy ass and people dying from being impaled on sticks.

K, so I saw Serenity yesterday. It was very good, worth waiting for. The story was good, playing a good mix of humour and action. The characterization was good, even if they could only touch on some characters. I couldn't comment on it last night, however. I needed to digest what happened, as the events in the movie hit me a bit hard.

The first thought I had, in the opening sequence with the escape of River and Simon, was completely wrong. I was up and down convinced that Simon was a government plant, and the Academy had let River out into the Real World to have Simon continue her training while doping her up on drugs. I was 100-per-cent convinced.

Then the escape, and the Operative. I was really glad I was wrong about Simon.

Which brings us to the Operative. He was a difficult character to get a handle on, because he was a villain who wasn't all evil. His actions were evil, and he knew it, but he had this vision, a belief, for a better world. Is that evil? The unquestioning belief in a vision, no matter how twisted, for the future?

I'll skip ahead. I think the Operative's decision at the end to not kill Serenity's crew, was completely in line with the character development we had seen throughout the film. His job was not to kill River and Simon. His job was to stop the message about Miranda from getting out. He failed. The moment the broadcast started, his job was finished. There was no need for further action. To have killed the Tams would have been to succumb to emotion.

Also, knowing the Operative's mission made the actions of the Blue Hands in "Ariel" makes much more sense. Killing anyone who spoke with River, on the off chance she told them about Miranda.

It's fun to watch Nathan Fillion getting beaten up on screen.

Regarding Inara. I think that her character wasn't as fully explained as it needed to be. We were not told she was a Companion or what that meant, and for those who have not seen the DVDs, I think a missing point about her.

The end scene with Simon and Kaylee getting it on was put in there to have Sean Maher take his shirt off. I'm not complaining. Hey, and did you know that there were about 20 separate takes of the final make-out seen between Simon and Kaylee in the engine room, with take #20 being the one used in the final cut? I didn't.

K, onto the big thing. Wash getting impaled. I think that it was necessary, in a way, to have someone in the crew killed off. Book's death was sort of like having Obi Wan die on Star Wars. The wise father-figure dies and it's a message, etc. But having someone as integral to the crew, Wash, get killed (and please don't kill me for this), drove the point home. This is a story about fighting impossible odds, not because you think you might live. You know you won't. You're fighting in spite of the fact that you will die alone, in the dark, with no one to mourn you.

At the very end, when Mal goes to pilot the ship and says "So you're going to be my co-pilot?" I thought for a microsecond that he was talking to Wash's ghost, but no. Mal doesn't talk to ghosts.

Quotes:
Zoe saying that a hero is someone who gets other people killed.
Wash: "Can we start with the part where Jayne gets knocked out by a 90 pound girl? Because that's *never* getting old."
Mal: "While I'm gone, Zoe is in command. Now, if I'm not back in an hour, I want you to take this ship, take off... and you come and you rescue me!"
River: "Please, make me a stone." (I've got a lovely fic idea from this, by the way)

Now, questions: If that's how Simon got River out of the Academy, then why was she in a box?
Are we ever going to learn about Book's past?
Why do I love Jayne Cobb so very much?
Can I see it again, please?

And if I see any more Wash "I'm a leaf in the wind" icons, I'm going to scream.

Comments

[silver-venus42.livejournal.com]

I agree. My summer movies would have to be Serenity and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory.

Ditto on The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe! So many good previews but that one was my favorite! I'm so glad they are making a movie. Did you ever see the one the BBC (or someone) made? It was so horrible... I have to go re-read all the books now! Mucho exited!

[mhalachaiswords.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I saw that BBC series. So. Bad.

LWW is a brilliant book, even reading it again as an adult. CS Lewis is just a great writer. I'm so excited about this movie.