I'm a fan of the original Firefly series, and had high hopes for Serenity based on the reviews. Sadly, it was not nearly as good as I expected.
What rubbed me the wrong way? * Waaaaay too much emphasis on combat, starting with the opening scene. The fun of Firefly was always in the decisiveness and determination of Mal and crew in the face of a hostile universe. The movie reduced that spirit to a series of action movie clichés -- the worst of which being the revelation that River is not just a troubled psychic, but is also Jr. Kickboxing Champion of the galaxy. By the time the "climactic" battles rolled around, I was thoroughly bored with the fighting. River single-handedly slaughtering a horde of Reavers was just silly. Mal against the assassin was marginally better, but still clichéd and unbelievable.
* Actions were too hyped-up and extreme. I understand that the characters have to be punched up a bit to make the leap from TV to a movie, but it was taken too far. Mal threatening to kill his crew if they don't help him travel through Reaver territory? River kicking her brother in throat because she thought he might "deactivate" her? Please. And Wash's death was just ridiculous (and unnecessary). Even the special effects were overdone -- they would have been better off just burning half the FX budget for this film in a big bonfire.
* Plot holes galore. It's easy to overlook plot holes if a movie is good enough, but in this case the holes threatened to unravel the whole ball of yarn. The Alliance knows that Mal will seek shelter with Book or at other safe-havens, so they wipe them all out... but they don't stick around to greet Serenity when it arrives! How stupid is that? No, really. The Reavers all live in a small clump of ships in the middle of nowhere, but Mal can't detour Serenity a few kilometers around them in order to get from A to B? Space is a big place, folks, but the makers of this movie don't want you to think about that.
* Half the plot elements that weren't full of holes were just incomprehensible. Can anyone tell me what exactly killed Wash? It seems to be the remains of a Reaver ship, but there's no way to tell. Or is it an Alliance ship? I had trouble caring. When Mal brings the entire Reaver fleet to Mr. Universe's planet, is he doing it on purpose? Did he expect to find the Alliance waiting for him? The answer to such key questions seems to both yes and no. Much of the movie was in such a frenetic hurry to move forward that it couldn't be bothered to make sense.
* Simplistic. After the failure of Firefly, the movie was obviously dumbed-down for mass consumption. The revelations about River, the Reavers, Miranda, etc. were all disappointingly straightforward. The interesting relationship between Kaylee and the Doctor was reduced to a series of sex jokes. The only character who held up well through the entire movie was Jayne (since he still works well in a straightforward shoot-em-up like this). The build-up of the secret of "Miranda" was matched in lameness only by the too-easy revelation of the same secret about 15 minutes later.
I really wanted to like this movie, but I walked out feeling that I had watched something that was 1 part Firefly mixed with at least 2 parts conventional Hollywood movie.
What rubbed me the wrong way? * Waaaaay too much emphasis on combat, starting with the opening scene. The fun of Firefly was always in the decisiveness and determination of Mal and crew in the face of a hostile universe. The movie reduced that spirit to a series of action movie clichés -- the worst of which being the revelation that River is not just a troubled psychic, but is also Jr. Kickboxing Champion of the galaxy. By the time the "climactic" battles rolled around, I was thoroughly bored with the fighting. River single-handedly slaughtering a horde of Reavers was just silly. Mal against the assassin was marginally better, but still clichéd and unbelievable.
* Actions were too hyped-up and extreme. I understand that the characters have to be punched up a bit to make the leap from TV to a movie, but it was taken too far. Mal threatening to kill his crew if they don't help him travel through Reaver territory? River kicking her brother in throat because she thought he might "deactivate" her? Please. And Wash's death was just ridiculous (and unnecessary). Even the special effects were overdone -- they would have been better off just burning half the FX budget for this film in a big bonfire.
* Plot holes galore. It's easy to overlook plot holes if a movie is good enough, but in this case the holes threatened to unravel the whole ball of yarn. The Alliance knows that Mal will seek shelter with Book or at other safe-havens, so they wipe them all out... but they don't stick around to greet Serenity when it arrives! How stupid is that? No, really. The Reavers all live in a small clump of ships in the middle of nowhere, but Mal can't detour Serenity a few kilometers around them in order to get from A to B? Space is a big place, folks, but the makers of this movie don't want you to think about that.
* Half the plot elements that weren't full of holes were just incomprehensible. Can anyone tell me what exactly killed Wash? It seems to be the remains of a Reaver ship, but there's no way to tell. Or is it an Alliance ship? I had trouble caring. When Mal brings the entire Reaver fleet to Mr. Universe's planet, is he doing it on purpose? Did he expect to find the Alliance waiting for him? The answer to such key questions seems to both yes and no. Much of the movie was in such a frenetic hurry to move forward that it couldn't be bothered to make sense.
* Simplistic. After the failure of Firefly, the movie was obviously dumbed-down for mass consumption. The revelations about River, the Reavers, Miranda, etc. were all disappointingly straightforward. The interesting relationship between Kaylee and the Doctor was reduced to a series of sex jokes. The only character who held up well through the entire movie was Jayne (since he still works well in a straightforward shoot-em-up like this). The build-up of the secret of "Miranda" was matched in lameness only by the too-easy revelation of the same secret about 15 minutes later.
I really wanted to like this movie, but I walked out feeling that I had watched something that was 1 part Firefly mixed with at least 2 parts conventional Hollywood movie.