Looping the Hen

Big Screen Television (Includes Serenity Spoilers, beware)

I'm almost glad my Friday shows (the two Stargates and Battlestar Galactica (the best show on TV)) had their season finales the last two week because it gave me a chance to go see Serenity in the theatre opening night. I was interested for several reasons. First, I have been recently watching the show on the Sci-Fi channel and enjoying it a good deal. Second, I was curious if the Blogosphere's overwhelmingly positive reaction to the movie after their early viewings would generate enough buzz to turn people out.

The movie was as good as the buzz, however at least at my location (Carmike Cinema in Madison (Nashville) Tennessee), the theatre was only about a third full for the 7pm showing, generally the best time slot here. Science Fiction movies tend to do poorly here, with the only heavy showing I have attended in the last year being for Batman Begins. (which for my dollar, was the best flick of the summer; I should also note that I skipped Mr. Lucas' frenetic finale) I can almost always get to the theatre after the previews start and still get a prime seat in the back row where I like to watch from.

The acting was equivalent to the series, which is to say generally good, and I got just enough of my favorite character (Kaylee). The movie may have been a little violent for some of the younger folks in the crowd, however anything racy tended to be lightly played and went unnoticed by the several under 10-year olds sitting next to me. (The worst offender being Kaylee's laughline: 'Been more'n a year since I had anything twixt my nethers didn't run on batteries! ')

The visuals were as fine as anything I could have expected, with the flight through the Alliance fleet in the set-piece finale leaving me bobbing and weaving slightly as Serenity dodged through the melee. The Reaver fleet scene surrounding Miranda was another spectacular visual; I could feel the claustrophobia as they tried to reach the planet, which I must say is pretty good for a space scene.

Overall, the story felt complete, a lack thereof which is to me often my largest complaint with otherwise good movies. I was a little surprised by the number of deaths among the crew of Serenity, as I had been harboring a faint hope that the Sci-Fi Channel would rescue the show as it did Stargate SG-1 from USA Network. Considering it's recent success at the theatre, on video, and on Sci-Fi, maybe it still is a faint possibility.