I’m not as enthralled with the Halo games as a lot of gamers are. They’re perfectly fine games, but not so much so that they deserve the accolades that they seem to get from a lot of people. So, I had planned to pass on Halo 3: ODST. I’ve played plenty of Halo, and didn’t really see the need for more Halo 3. I know you’re playing as a different character and that’s supposed to mean different dynamics, but when I’m hiding behind a car waiting for my stamina to come back, I can’t help having a sense of déjà vu. I mean, is it really that different from hiding behind a rock waiting for my shields to come back?

So, I hadn’t planned to buy Halo 3: ODST. Until I heard that Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, and Adam Baldwin had done voices for the show. Since I’m highly unlikely to ever actually get a Firefly game, this might be as good as it gets. Until Bungie wants to make a prequel game about the war of Independence game, anyway. (Sure, we’d already know the outcome, but that’s the point of Halo: Reach, too, isn’t it?)

Full Disclosure: I am a big fan of Joss Whedon’s work. I loved both Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel. I liked Fray, and I really enjoyed Astonishing X-Men. Firefly remains, to this day, one of my favorite television shows ever. As anyone who has read this site in the last two weeks or so knows, I had very, very high hopes for this movie (so much so that I purchased tickets for three separate showings on opening day). I was worried that I might be disappointed.

I wasn’t.

After the opening sequence (which is entertaining, even for someone familiar with the universe, and should provide sufficient backstory to newcomers), we’re introduced to the crew of Serenity. The first fifteen minutes or so of that kind of threw me off, because this really isn’t Firefly. It’s the same universe, the same crew, and the movie is a worthy addition to the show’s mythos, but it’s not the show. The characters personalities seem to be cranked up a notch or three, and the timing of the story is considerably different than what you’d have in a television show. All of that is to be expected, but if you’ve spent the last week watching Firefly, the transition is jarring.

It’s obvious that this story is being told in a world that’s much bigger than what we’re shown, and it’s not justhe non-fans who will get that feeling. There are a few characters treated in exactly the same way Inara and Book are. Fanty and Mingo, for example, or Mr. Universe. Their relationships with the crew aren’t fully explained, but the relationships are explained enough to understand the movie without any confusion. Like I said in an earlier post, I love this sort of thing, but I understand that other people don’t, so consider yourself forewarned.

Those minor caveats aside (and one or two minor changes I would’ve made — see the extended entry), this was a truly spectacular movie. The universe in which it exists is large and complex, but the story flows logically from what we know of the characters and the situation they find themselves in. Struggling to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, the crew suddenly finds themselves with a task much more important than survival, and seeing how they deal with that is quite a ride. I’m giving this one 9.5 out of 10.

A few more points (and some spoilers) below. Don’t read on unless you’ve seen the movie.

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I mean it!

More …

As some of the blogger previews end, we’re seeing the reviews start to roll in, and I’m dividing them into two main categories: Firefly fans and non-fans (or unknown, if the review doesn’t indicate and I don’t know by reading other entries of the blog).

Firefly Fans

Jon of Misplaced Keys liked it:

This story, called Firefly in the beginning, and now continued as the aptly titled Serenity, has its ups and downs, bends and turns, dips and veers. Not just the movie that played on the screen tonight, the story of the failed series, resurrected by the fans, picked up by another studio that gave it back to Whedon to complete the story. This movie fulfills the vision, and sets the stage for the step after. The taste, for this fan, is bitter-sweet, like the last bite of a bowl of chocolate ice cream, it is delicious and I’m a bit sad that it is over.

The action is intense, the story intriguing, love (requited and unrequited) lost and found. Belief. Faith. Loyalty. Wrath. Good. Evil. Whether you’ve never seen one bit of the Series That Was, if any of those themes strike a chord, than see this movie. You won’t be dismayed.

I’ll be seeing this movie again, on Friday.

The BlogFather liked it as well (and he has links to more reviews).

Combs Spouts Off says:

Tonight, I saw Serenity. No spoilers, no long plot summary, just my strongest possible recommendation: Go see this film. Don’t wait for the DVD. Don’t skip it because you’re not into sci-fi or special effects.

If you’re into engaging, quirky, human characters, go see this film. If you’re into clever, funny, intelligent dialog, go see this film. If you’re into heroism and nobility from the unlikeliest cast of characters, go see this film. If you’re into an intense, action-packed, visually stunning experience, go see this film. If you’re into a powerful libertarian message, go see this film.

Vodkapundit Stephen Green, a huge Star Wars fan, enjoyed it and compared the villain favorably to Empire Strikes Back-era Vader:

I haven’t seen a character-driven action picture this much fun since the last Indiana Jones movie, or maybe since the first Die Hard. Only instead of one or two heroes to cheer for, you get nine. And Chiwetel Ejiofor’s “Operative” character is the best bad guy since Darth Vader. And I don’t mean the whiny, petulent Vader from “Revenge of the Sith.” I’m talking about “Empire Strikes Back” full bad-ass mode. And with just a touch of “Jedi” for good measure.

Booklore, whose opinion on the “Big Dumb Movies” is similar to mine (I actually enjoyed The Core), has this to say:

Before I begin, I would like to say that there is a difference between a fun movie and a good movie. Fun is Armaggeddon, what I like to refer to as a “big, dumb movie.” I like big dumb movies; to give you a rather appalling example, I knew I’d have a good time watching Van Helsing when we entered, late, and they were doing a shot-for-shot cover of the storming of Frankenstein’s lab. Sometimes you just enjoy the schlock.

Serenity is not just a fun movie.

Non-fans

mrlawson, of Weather Underground didn’t like the movie, though there’s not much information about why (except that he can’t remember the cast members’ names).

On the other hand, Dan Karipides of the Internet Freedom Trail also hadn’t seen Firefly, but he seems to have enjoyed it well enough:

Overall I enjoyed the movie. Judging from the reactions of the rabid fans in the audience, it will be a huge hit with people intimately familiar with Firefly. Compared to the wealth of horrible sci-fi and action movies out there, Serenity is heads above its competition. While it won’t be winning any major awards, it is sure to please fans of the sci-fi genre.

Dan also explains why a blog devoted to political issues would have a movie review:

It was definitely an interesting experience. I arrived a half-hour early to find a long line of people waiting to see the free screening. I was able to bypass the line, as my name was on the press list–along with I’m assuming more traditional Austin media members. It seemed surreal that I would be on a press list just because I maintained a blog. But they guy with the clipboard had a list with my name on it and into the theater I went, up to a reserved section.

I’ve not seen many other comments from non-fans, but due to the nature of the blogger-preview, it’s unlikely that many non-fan bloggers went (several bloggers had non-fans in their party, though, and the reaction appears to have been generally favorable).

I may add more reviews later, but if I don’t get around to it, you can probably find them by hitting the links in the above reviews.

Does anyone know where (or whether) I can buy international movie posters? Every site I’ve found offers this one, the American poster, but none of them offer this one or this one.

Why do we get the hideously ugly one?

Oh, I’d like the “vintage” one here (It’s a ways down through the interview), too, but I suspect it’s not real.

[Update: I figured out where to buy the small version of the first international one -- eBay. Now, I just need full sized versions. And frames.]

[Update II: Found one of the big ones. Can't afford to bid on it, though. Crap.]

Okay, I didn’t actually include Malcolm Reynolds in my “Heroes for Bush” Blogburst entry, but I did say that it seemed likely and that someone else would cover it.

It seems like I may’ve been right, according to this interview with Joss Whedon:

Q. And [the government-sponsored assassin] The Operative has an honorable point of view — in his way.

A. Oh, he totally does. Mal is somebody that I knew, as I created him, I would not get along with. I don’t think we have the same politics. But that’s sort of the point. I mean, if the movie’s about anything, it’s about the right to be wrong. It’s about the messiness of people. And if you try to eradicate that, you eradicate them.

Oddly, I think that Mal is exactly the kind of guy I’d get along with and respect immensely. It’s a good thing that I don’t have to like Whedon’s politics to like his work, isn’t it?

( þ Banana Oil! )