Serenity [Widescreen]

i hope this is not the final cover art for the DVD

haha, i was gonna say that the cover looks pretty cool...

I like it too. It's very colorful and photoshopish.

think they will double dip this one?

holy moses, they are so going to double dip this. this dvd was such a rush job since the movie didnt do well.

i never thought i would say this, but i hope they double dip, i would love to see an extended "Browncoat" edition

and my only problem with the cover art is that i think it could be better...i don't not like this one, but it not what i was hopeing for

Believe it or not, there is already an online petition for Universal to change the cover art! As I'm typing this now, there has been 1554 signatures. If you are unhappy and would like to sign the petition, go to:

http://new.petitiononline.com/SerenDVD/petition.html

Personally, I'm fine with the cover art. It's kind of original. Then again, I haven't seen the movie which I'm not sure will make a difference.

-roger

The only part I dislike is the glam-rock-heroine-addicted-Cosmo-cover-girl look River's got going on. Oterwise it looks fine, if busy. Hell, the movie's all that really matters, anyway.

I think a double-dip is all but assured, but I'm still buying the DVD, maybe even two copies. We must convince Universal to make a sequel.

I hardly think a "Double Dip" is assured on this title. As much as I may have loved it, it bombed at the box office. It's DVD sales will be the only way to bring about a sequel, let alone a Double Dip.

i say... they will promote the hell out of this title on tv and internet, in hopes to sell a lot to make up for the box office. And as for a double dip, it wont be anytime soon, but it just seems like this is one of those titles that will get it. maybe attached with a soundtrack, i think that would be great, if movies started doing that.

I don't know, I bought the soundtrack and was fairly dissapointed. None of the tracks are extraordinarily thematic, they are pretty short, and none really grabbed me as memorable. They're good in the film, but not on their own.

maybe not this movie, but i think that soundtracks included with dvds in general would be kick-ass.

I greatly enjoyed this movie. Of course, I greatly enjoyed the show.

This all-out futuristic western pulls few punches to the point that while predictability may not be completely thrown out the window, the movie will still keep you guessing up to the taut climax.

Good movie. Worth a special edition.

Sean (...Serenity VSOP, please...)

Justin,

Great review! Question - do I need to watch the FireFly series before I watch this movie?

--Ranjan

Does the Dvd come with a chapter insert? (I hate when it's not included:@)

Ranjan,

I went a little crazy on the background, and while I don't think it's absolutely necessary that you see Firefly, I think it adds a lot to your enjoyment of the film. A lot of the payoffs of the movie are enriched by the show. The film's fun by itself, though, in the same way the second Star Wars was; it felt like a part of something better.

The background information was great!

I'm a Joss Whedon fan (Angel & Buffy, both movie and tv show) but I never got the chance to follow Firefly so it's good to have some way of finding out the basics without being totally spoiled.

Great job!

You americans boosted this movie up to an 8 on imdb, and when I finished watching it, I really asked myself why??

First of all:
This movie has such bad acting, that my first intention was to let my dvd player spit it out after 20 mins. I was lookin at this baldwin guy, and he was coughing al kind of words out of his mouth, without adding anything to the story or the movie itself. I was really annoyed by this guy, "shut up for crying out loud!". The actors were a bunch of goofs.

Second:
In the review I read some things about how amazing the surround was. Pff that one made me laugh and shit my pants at the same time! I heard it on a Dynaudio set, and the surround was just pathetic. The rear channels were doing almost NOTHING while this could have done the movie "some" good.

The bass was way to overblown that my REL subwoofer was thinking he could leave the room...Uh uh, not gonna happen! Bass should be felt, not "seen"!

Third:
The special effects were...well...not bad, but many things were looking so incredibly fake and had bad CGI. The only thing that really "caught" my eye was the scene with the enormous battleships. Till that point, nothing really made sense or even grabbed me. It was just one of those popcorn flicks you tend to look out too but never really amazes you when you eventually see it.

Overall:
This movie has been boosted to a level it can't handle. The audio sucks, the dialogues are real shitty, the actors were beating me with stupiditty and the video was just avarage. If you haven't seen this one yet, just rent it and watch it, cause this is not a movie worthy adding to your collection.

Audio: 6
Video: 7
Movie: 4

Mitch84,
Did you join DVDTown just to blast this movie? Are you on some kind of quest?

Perhaps you can enlighten those of us of questionable taste as to films you consider gems...

Sean (...or nuggets of other sorts as you so rudely overuse in your brief lambasting...)

Mitch, welcome to DVD Town, or at least welcome to the Reader Comments section of DVD Town. Certainly, not everyone is going to agree on the merits of every film, and we are always glad to hear contrasting points of view, even if they are as rather harsh as yours.

When I saw "Serenity" in a theater, I was of two minds about it myself. While I liked the story idea and the range and family of characters, I couldn't help feeling as though I were watching an episode of a television show. And this was without ever having seen the TV series on which it was based. You're right, though, Mitch, the film is probably over-hyped, but that may not make it as bad as you indicate. I'm not sure why you think the hype is coming only from Americans, however. Is your reaction because it's based on an American television series?

John

John,
Thanks for bringing us back to civility as usual. I went off a little there, not in defense of the movie, but in response to the crass language that's outside the norm here at DVDTown.

That being said, I watched this one on my system last night, and the sound was quite good. Lively from all around. I expected to get blown away by the bass after Mitch84's comments, but found nothing of the sort.

Great sound on my end, so one of our systems must be out of calibration.

Though some of my affinity might stem from liking the series, overall I think it's Whedon's style of dialogue and no-holds-barred characterization that brings this one home for me. Perhaps I'm more invested in the characters due to my prior familiarity with them, but for me Whedon certainly knew when to pull the rug out from under me. By the end, I might have had an inkling of who was going to win, but I couldn't tell you who would see tomorrow.

One of the criticisms I've heard a few times regarding Serenity has been that it "felt like a TV show." While I understand this statement, watching it again last night with this specific criticism in mind, I just didn't see it. I felt the expanse of space and the cramped quarters of the ship.

I wonder if the lines between TV and film have been blurred so much with shows like Alias, Lost, 24, and the like being shot in such a cinematic style. Maybe the verbal sparring of someone like Whedon who has thus far been relegated to the confines of television hasn't yet become mainstay cinema. Perhaps we're losing that line, which could very well be a good thing. That could mean that films might possibly take on a more epic scale of storytelling which would be a vast improvement over much of what we are seeing now.

I echo many others comments I've read referring to the notion that this movie harkens back to the feel of Star Wars. Not in content or tone, certainly, but, for me, in the feeling of family I get from this crew. They don't always get along. Great, I don't mind that a bit, but they are there for each other through thick and thin, down to the very last moment. I'm invested in these characters and care about what happens to them.

I like this one. It's got some good repeat value for me.

Sean (...of course, I like a lot of junk, so maybe I can't tell the difference...)

My two cents ... I picked up Serenity based on the good things I had heard about it, though nothing specific. I was initially going to pass it by thinking it was just another of the endless science fiction films that weren't really science fiction, just space ships, things blowing up and prosthetics.

I watched the film never having seen the series, knowing nothing about the series. I think this actually makes for an interesting way to see it. It certainly makes the opening totally different. I've since watched half of the series and the film again. I liked the movie even more the second time.

As for it playing like a TV show ... I would agree with this but I would ask, why is this a bad thing? I think by "TV" we mean a more traditional and, to some degree, accessible narrative. It's certainly functional. While i wouldn't want every film to be this way, I quite enjoyed the "TV" feel because it was done so well. (I would feel differently if it were done badly.)

The thing I like most about Serenity, however (and the series Firefly), is that it understands and articulates so well the western. It has more in common with Pale Rider and The Outlaw Josey Wales than it does with Star Wars, Star Trek or Alien.

As for complaints about the acting ... Good heavens, don't you know the difference between drama and a soap opera/space opera? As with comedies, there are scenes written specifically for a "take," a kind of wink to the audience that this is a joke. (Another element I love about the movie and series is the humour.) This isn't suppose to be The Hours. It's cowboys in space for heaven's sake.

Anyway ... I love the series and I love the film. Watching both, I'm totally involved and what more can you ask for?