Damn Dirty Browncoats

Last night I was fortunate enough to attend one of 20 Serenity preview screenings across the country. Kudos to Evan for the heads-up and Kyle for getting tix before they sold out. It never fails to amaze me that Norfolk registers on the map for these kind of events. When the Pixies toured last Fall, they came to Norfolk too (thank Frank) and, once again, we served as an overflow venue for people whose hometown concerts had sold out. Talking in line last night, some had driven from as far as New Jersey!



The movie was awesome. It's a tribute to the production qualities on the axed Firefly TV show that this movie felt like an extended episode. The story made sense in its own right, according to a newbie in our group, and also paid off at least half a dozen questions left hanging from the TV show.

I'd assumed that there would be an element of re-telling here... how Simon and River Tam came to be aboard Serenity, for example. But the movie starts with Simon rescuing River from the government's invasive experiments then jumps forward to a few months after the events of the TV show, filling in the missing information through dialogue. This gave a good action hook at the beginning of the film and was a classy way to compliment, not contradict, everything we'd seen previously. Both movie and TV show can be considered "canonical".

But the evening wasn't without its downside. I didn't mind that this was an unfinished cut of the movie, with titles, music and (most noticably) grading still to be completed. The digital effects work looked complete, contrary to rumour. What bothered me most was the other people in the auditorium...

Joss gave an introductory speech to the fans (who call themselves "Browncoats") thanking them for their love and support, saying the movie wouldn't even have been made if it weren't for their dedication, etc. I'm tempted to call him "Brownnose" and chastise him for making those around me take the whole experience a little too religiously.

I can count on my fingers the number of times I've made a young lady scream with pleasure continuously for two hours but unfortunately I can't take any credit for the woman to my left, who shrieked and hollered at every little reference from the TV Show That Was. As a fan, you think she'd know that if you do a public impression of a wildebeest then you're likely to miss much of Joss' trademark fast-paced dialogue. Maybe she goes to every preview screening, to make sure everyone has a reason to go back and see the finished cut undisturbed in September?

And the row behind was full of smart-ass geeks. Yes, I know... I'm a smart-ass geek too and so are many of my friends. But that doesn't mean I wanna sit next to us at the movies. That was an eye-opener!