Serenity opens in the UK today.
The Times casts its eye over the movie and mentions the magic word "franchise". Whilst The Guardian says "Whedon is a movie-making force to be reckoned with". And the The Mirror resorts to using traditional cliches with "fantastic non-stop action adventure" (spoilers in the reviews btw).
If anyone knows of any other UK reviews, please do post the link to them in this thread. Hopefully we can have a fantastic non-stop action thread here *ahem*.
October 07 2005
This thread has been closed for new comments.
You need to log in to be able to post comments.
About membership.
Lord_Magneto | October 07, 01:43 CET
Simon | October 07, 01:45 CET
holycow | October 07, 01:47 CET
Kiddo | October 07, 01:50 CET
Simon | October 07, 01:53 CET
beans | October 07, 01:53 CET
Another fellow dutchman huh? How's it going in my old stomping grounds? You guys did have Firefly on TV there right? But late at night only? Any vibe going on there or is the public at large clueless about the movie?
Btw these reviews are positive and that's great, but some of these guys are really tossing out elements that are supposed to be surprises in the movie. Sheesh...
Say Simon, is it opening in Ireland too so you can have a peek at last? (Or did you see it already? Don't actually know, sorry)
EdDantes | October 07, 01:59 CET
Simon | October 07, 02:02 CET
WhedonTrivia | October 07, 02:45 CET
Going again on Saturday now.
Mehitabel | October 07, 03:07 CET
zz9 | October 07, 03:14 CET
Fence | October 07, 03:16 CET
Kiddo | October 07, 03:43 CET
"After a bloated summer of mainly damp squibs, Serenity is a breath of fresh air. At last, an exciting emotionally packed story with fleshed-out characters and relationships you actually care about."
miranda | October 07, 04:44 CET
Simon | October 07, 04:55 CET
Serenity is a slickly written and entertaining romp that bears all of the hallmarks of an old-fashioned Star Trek episode (albeit with more snappy dialogue).
The plot is simplistic, hung on a series of energetic set pieces, which are let down by a lack of imagination and crude computer generated special effects.
Characterisation in the feature film is scant to say the least, relying on an appreciation of the television series to understand the relationships between the crew members.
However, even newcomers to the Firefly universe will find something to keep them engaged for the two hours."
(Deep breath people and exhale. Serenity Now).
Different question, does anybody know if the review in 'This is London' equates to the main review in the Evening Standard? Because if it is, oh my, he really isn't liking the movie. (I am not going to post it a) you just get upset b)that bloody site is just going to get traffic otherwise).
Really really happy about Time Out as many people (including me) use this to plan their weekend, but if the Standard comes out negatively, this wouldn't be particularly good news. London being so big and all. (Stop moaning, I just posted 2 reviews from up North and personally I am never sure if there is actual life outside the M25 :) )
miranda | October 07, 05:11 CET
[ edited by electricspacegirl on 2005-10-07 12:38 ]
electricspacegirl | October 07, 05:37 CET
auferstehen | October 07, 06:09 CET
DArtagnan | October 07, 06:13 CET
Curiously, the C4 website has a much better review:
"A likeable and rousing adventure that revitalises the bloated Hollywood science-fiction film. Great stuff, if you don't mind Whedon's idiosyncratic dialogue."
[ edited by Grounded on 2005-10-07 13:24 ]
Grounded | October 07, 06:19 CET
Simon | October 07, 06:20 CET
DArtagnan | October 07, 06:22 CET
Based on a short-lived American TV series called Firefly, it's about a group of space-pirates led by Mal (Nathan Fillion), a figure obviously inspired by Harrison Ford's Han Solo.
Writer-director Joss Whedon tries hard, if inconsistently, to find a suitably piratical language for his characters, and throws in a few neat one-liners. His plot, unfortunately, is nothing to teleport home about, and his characters lack originality.
The most memorable performance, incidentally, is given by our very own Chiwetel Ejiofor, and he's even better in Kinky Boots.
The overall impression is of an updated Blake's 7, with a bigger budget, better effects and a lot more fighting. I wasn't knocked out, but Serenity may find an appreciative cult audience among those in their 20s and 30s.
Accompanied by a tiny picture of Gina Torres with the hi-larious line "Yarr! Don't mess with Gina Torres".
Not a good review at all, I don't know much about newspaper sales but I hope the Mail isn't one of the top ones. I really can't understand how the reviewer can bash the plot and dialogue, they're excellent, and the characters unoriginal?!
Anyway, I'll be there for viewing number 3 this evening.
Ghost Spike | October 07, 07:10 CET
MySerenity | October 07, 07:13 CET
Huh? Which film did this reviewer see?
*starts Serenity now chant*.....
The Do That Girl | October 07, 07:13 CET
The comparison to 'Blakes 7' is bizarre (if you had ever seen it you would understand) and the reference to '20 and 30's' is just plain patronizing.
The Do That Girl | October 07, 07:19 CET
However in this case where I'm actually completely invested in the box office I just wish we'd gotten a decent review.
Anyone know if The Sun or the Daily Star have reviewed Serenity yet, because sad to say the're the most popular papers and if we can get their readers onboard we'll definitely be onto a winner?
Paul_Rocks | October 07, 07:36 CET
They are a tough sell.
Here are their ratings for several films (sorry about the formatting);
..................................Times..................Guardian
Serenity........................***........................***
Oliver Twist.................****........................***
Nightwatch...................***............................*
Pride and Prejudice......***.............................?
Kinky Boots..................***...........................**
technovamp | October 07, 07:40 CET
I don't think a poor review in this particular newspaper is going to make a huge difference to the box office potential of 'Serenity' in its opening weekend. I would imagine that 'Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit' will bulldozer everything in its path. 'Pride & Prejudice' might still have enough legs left to cause some damage and undoubtedly 'Night Watch' will compete for some of the potential 'Serenity' audience. I'm talking about cinemagoers who plan to go to see one film this weekend and haven't yet made their minds up which one it will be.
My guess is that 'Serenity' will come in at two or three in the box office list with a gross somewhere between £500,000 and £700,000.
alien lanes | October 07, 07:48 CET
EdDantes: The hype here is pretty much non existant. There's been a press screening, and most of us dutch browncoats have been advertising it on a couple of websites and the likes. Biggest problem at the moment is that UIP Netherlands hasn't gotten any promotional material yet.
We've got a list of stores (comic book, sci-fi, and the likes) which we've phoned or where we dropped by asking for permission to put up posters and stuff, but they still haven't arrived. A couple of us also write for student publications where we can review the movie. Last we heard, movie theatres weren't wild about playing Serenity, because they're not sure if people'd come to see it, but we've been calling the theatres asking if they'll play Serenity, to get them to notice the movie as potentially succesfull.
At least UIP Netherlands has been helpfull. The webmaster of uip.nl is a big fan of the show himself, which helps. They made the fan-run browncoats.nl the official dutch website for the movie (I'm a moderator at the forum), organised a pre-screening for our forummembers, and we got a red carpet premiere in Amsterdam with Nathan and Summer. Sadly, the major media didn't pick up on it (the only report on tv was on a tabloid show where they interviewed a dutch celebrity on the red carpet and mentioned in passing that it was at the Serenity premiere - and we had a couple of reports in minor publications).
We're doing our best at the forum to promote Serenity, but with the changing release date (it's hopped around quite a few times - a couple months back we were even premiering before the USA on the 29th) and the fact that the timing of the release isn't perfect, things aren't looking too well at the moment.
But we're still hopefull, and we're definately not giving up. I've already planned the first couple of times I'm gonna see the movie on it's release. And once we get the promotional material, we'll be able to promote the movie at several shops and local genre conventions and the like. The biggest question remains if it'll be promoted enough in movietheatres (the trailer's not yet running since the release is still a bit of and there's no promotional material to put up yet), on tv and at busstops and the like....
And that concludes my update on Serenity in The Netherlands ;-)
[ edited by GVH on 2005-10-07 14:55 ]
GVH | October 07, 07:52 CET
See here.
technovamp | October 07, 08:04 CET
alien lanes | October 07, 08:10 CET
I went and saw it yesterday, making the trek into Glasgow to see the 12:40 preview screening. Given that it was a Thursday, in the middle of the day before general release, it was surprisingly busy. About 40-50 people, and as someone who goes to see 2 films a week or so I can say that this was one of the busiest films I've ever gone to.
The audience laughed out loud five or six times, which again is pretty remarkable. I've gone to a lot of well-liked comedies that haven't had that kind of response from audiences in this country.
Oh, and I loved it.
Gonnas | October 07, 08:16 CET
"Like Buffy, this futuristic flic deliveres a tasty mix of full on action and wise cracking gags that paper over it's low budget flaws and guarantee satisfaction. You may not know why you're laughing, but trust me you will."
(Oliver Twist got most of the page.)
The Evening Standard doesn't mention it at all. Nothing! Even in the "Top Ten New Movies" list! Though if they were going to slate it it may be a good thing.
[ edited by zz9 on 2005-10-07 15:22 ]
zz9 | October 07, 08:17 CET
"Serenity is basically good Star Trek"
but
"Most of it's a blast, though, and sci-fi addicts suffering Star Wars withdrawal symptoms need look no further for a vivifying shot in the arm."
Simon | October 07, 09:34 CET
(Edited for pesky punctuation problems)
[ edited by lone fashionable wolf on 2005-10-07 17:16 ]
lone fashionable wolf | October 07, 10:14 CET
Anyhow, surprisingly the review actually made me smile, it makes Serenity sound like “Lock, Stock and two smoking Barrels” which considering the audience the Star is aimed at, is a very good thing. Plus it is complimentary about the fans.
“If you didn’t see the original series, a) join the club and b) relax: the film works as a stand-alone tale (and a very good advert for a certain DVD box set, of course). Captain Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) fought for the losing side in the galactic civil war. Now he and the ragtag crew of his slightly knackered ship Serenity, are forced to survive via dodgy transportation jobs and assorted crimes.
However, one of the crew, a troubled teenager called River (played by a suitably adorable, very lithe hippyesque actress named Summer Glau), is more than she first appears. And the Universal Alliance – the vaguely sinister, all powerful galactic government – have sent their top operative (the ubiquitous Chiwetel Ejiofor, also in Kinky Boots and Four Brothers at the mo) to get her back.
Cue the aforementioned cracking action, whiz-bang effects and quirky, quotable dialogue, including at least two of the best lines you’ll hear in the cinema this year. Serenity is funny, exhilarating, good-looking, well made and hugely, HUGELY enjoyable.”
miranda | October 07, 10:47 CET
Paul_Rocks | October 07, 11:12 CET
Lioness | October 07, 11:22 CET
I was also excited about the review in the Irish Times today (see Fence's comment above), in which Donald Clarke suggests that George Lucas should be nailed to a chair and forced to watch Serenity over and over.
cleverlittleslayer | October 07, 11:46 CET
The Irish News gave it 6/10 but was also very negative, saying it was clichéd and basically moronic.
I'm kind of disappointed, but I know that most of the reviews are postitive and it is a great film.
Razor | October 07, 13:20 CET