--- title: "Serenity is a Big Damn Roller Coaster" date: 2005-10-16T01:35:46-04:00 url: https://blog.lmorchard.com/2005/10/16/serenity-is-a-big-damn-roller-coaster/ author: Les Orchard tags: [scifi, entertainment, whedon, movies, serenity] --- # Serenity is a Big Damn Roller Coaster I've just finally seen [Serenity][ser]. So, if you're concerned about spoilers, bugger off now—if you cared about spoilers, you should've already seen the big damn movie. Some quick, fully spoiled thoughts: * I'm fairly certain it was the best science fiction movie I've seen in about 10-15 years. I'm only just about to turn 30 this month, so I'm not old by any stretch—but I've watched a lot of sci-fi in my time. Probably too much sci-fi. In any case, this was the first movie I've seen in at least a decade that had me wanting to walk out, go straight to get another ticket, and watch it over again. Like I remember doing a few times with roller coasters when I was little. * Many classic snips of Whedonesque dialog. If they aren't coming out now via geeks with recorders in theaters, they'll be out in soundboards by December when the DVD arrives. * "Dozens of planets, hundreds of moons"? Well, I guess a single solar system alleviates the need for any sort of faster-than-light travel loopholes—but damn, that makes our solar system look *sparse*. * River as a psychic, having mentally scooped up state secrets from visiting politicians gave a very nice and sensible motivation to everyone after her. * I missed the men with blue gloves. They were *creepy*. The operative seemed like part 2 of the last one they'd left drifting in space, only maybe more finely honed. He was rather fearsome, but didn't give me the willies. * The operative's total psychological conversion to *the mission* as a "believer" was a great concept, though. I could imagine some future tech being used to tickle the "God spot" or something in a Pavlovian/Skinnerian approach to bind a person to an objective. I *am* surprised that the truth managed to snap him out of it, though. Religious zealots seem very rarely turned by the facts. It was a good admission at the end though, having failed the mission, when he said "there's nothing left to see". * When the Shepherd died, I wasn't *too* choked up. I mean, he was a good character, had a crapload of mysteries worth exploring, but he was ultimately an outsider and a passenger on the ship—maybe *because* of all those mysteries. And, of course, in the movie as independent from the series, the Shepherd wasn't given much story to become a central concern. But, he got his dying scene and a fairly closure-rich exit. * The landing on Miranda and the subsequent explanation of the Reavers struck me as a bit of classic Star Trek *done right*—done *better*. And, having demystified the Reavers—from victims of *spaaaaace madness* down to better living through government chemistry—did nothing to make them any less scary. * Does anyone out there remember when they used to play 3-D movies on TV? They'd have a signal at a certain point, when you were meant to don the glasses. When that spike nailed Wash and he died without a few minutes' scene of melodramatic, coughing last words—that was the signal for, "In this next fight? They're all fair game. *Start worrying*." He was just *gone*, like people really go when they're not characters in a story enjoying the benefits of *deus ex machina*. It's a very rare story where the author's gutsy enough to do permanent damage to the fictional universe itself in order to raise the stakes. I'm sad and pissed, but this was a hell of a lot better than [wrecking the Enterprise][enter]. Hell, they did wreck the ship, but Serenity already got rebuilt by the end of the movie. There will be no Wash 1701B. [ser]: http://www.serenitymovie.com/ [enter]: http://decafbad.com/blog/2005/09/26/let-there-be-no-serenity-1701b

Archived Comments