Well I had a good night Thursday. I went to Austin. Found gas for $2.01 a gallon. Discovered Jack-in-the-Box has a new Blueberries and Cream shake; it was pretty tasty.
Let's see. What else did I do?
Oh yeah. I got to see Serenity, the BEST FREAKIN' MOVIE OF THE YEAR!
Book and Mal were at our screening, which was special (some of you know what I'm talking about). Nathan Fillion and Ron Glass spoke briefly before the screening (I believe Ron said it was his first time to see the film in a close-to-finished form) and then did an hour-long Q-and-A afterwards, then signed autographs. Very cool. Plus Universal had a film crew there filming people waiting in line before the screening as well as Nathan and Ron and others who spoke before and after.
As for the film itself (without giving anything away): I felt going into the movie the same way I did prior to the first LotR movie. I was excited, and I was very hopeful that it would be good. But part of me also was afraid; I was praying that it wouldn't suck. And the film exceeded my expectations -- and I had pretty high expectations. I laughed, I cried, I didn't want it to end.
In general terms, it was similar to the X-Files Movie -- they stayed with their strong suits (acting, character development and interaction, dialogue, surprises, action) and improved on their weaknesses (special effects). Not that the special effects for Firefly weren't good for a TV show, but in a movie with a larger budget you can do more. And Joss does more.
There is a bit of history lesson at the first of the movie that explains a little of the backstory for the setting, which is good for fans and newbies alike. Some things I had always suspected but were never explained for sure in the series were laid out at the start, so I was glad for that.
People asked about can the story go on from the end of the movie. Yes, and no. I don't see it ever going back to TV. But they could make more movies, either continuing from where everything is now, or set during an earlier time. Nathan and Ron even addressed that during the Q-and-A, and said there were several options that had already been discussed as far as how to proceed with another movie.
One disappointment I had (and I don't really think this is a spoiler) was that the theme song wasn't used. During the Q-and-A I asked about it, and if it would be in the final version of the movie, and Nathan said no. I hope he was kidding (he did that alot -- he's a very funny guy; he should do standup). For anyone who was at the screening Joss attended (I think Ron and Nathan said it was Las Vegas), did he address this? I really think they should use the theme song, even if just over the closing credits.
