It's probably fairly well known, but, for those who don't know this 9:34 Summer Glau (River) did *all* of her own stunts in this scene, and the flip was done without a harness or wires. She's a former gymnast/dancer, and they asked her what she could do and added it all in. The scene of her on the roof above Jayne was also her actually on the ceiling without a harness, etc. I met her at a London Comic con. She's so awesome! And *tiny*! XD
She trained as a classical ballet dancer for years, so it is no surprise. I love seeing her put those old skills to use as it creates unique moves most characters/actors can't do.
Still gives me chills to this day. Just the sheer brutality seemingly out of nowhere. Flips on a dime to being, just....scary. "Secrets are not my concern......keeping them, is"
The Operative was a recurring villain in a d&d campaign I played once.. I was the only one who was familiar with firefly/serenity, so when he appeared I freaked out.
I saw the movie first, I loved it. Then I watched the special features and learned it was based on a t.v. show called “Firefly.” I thought too myself: “a whole t.v. show with these characters and setting? Hell yeah I’m gonna watch that!” The rest is history. You can’t take the sky from me!
Same! I watched the movie just out of a love for sci-fi, but had never heard of the show. Then I watched the series, fell in love, had my heart broken, and have been carrying that torch ever since.
The only TV I really watched regularly at the time the show was airing was football games, and I saw a few ads during commercial breaks. I thought the show looked interesting but the only time I remembered the show while it was on, it would get preempted by a baseball game instead. Then the show was cancelled after less than a full season and my only experience of it had been a few snippets of a few scenes in maybe three commercials. I thought the series had been cancelled for legitimate reasons and didn't give it much thought beyond that. Fast forward a few years and I hear that a movie is being made based on this series, and I'm thinking, "I always wanted to check that out." Streaming services at that time weren't what we have now, and I didn't want to put down money for the boxed set on dvd of a show that I knew next to nothing about. The movie came out and I saw it with my sister and brother-in-law, and on the way home from the theater I bought the DVDs. We binged the series over the next week.
There's a story about a reunion where they were signing autographs. Someone brought Wash a picture. He signed "I'm a leaf on the wind" and his signature. The girl started crying! "That's what you said when you died!"
I watched the movie before I ever watched the show, and it was still great. The series makes it deeper and more three-dimensional, of course, but the movie stands alone just fine. (As it was intended to.) So glad you put this on RUclips.
As I'm sure your patrons have told you, _Serenity_ holds up perfectly well as a stand-alone film. Whedon wrote the script in a way that previous knowledge of the series wouldn't be needed to follow and enjoy the film. I've shown _Serenity_ to friends who had never seen or heard of _Firefly,_ and in fact were not even fans of Science Fiction, and they had no trouble following the plot and enjoyed it very much.
We all feel you, girl! Serenity is a great film and tied up some loose ends, but it still doesn't make up for the series going away so soon. My way of making peace with things is watching the TV shows and movies the various actors have gone on to do since. Still, I miss Firefly!
Its never the end, the brown coats will never die. The legacy of this series is and always shall be more than even the creators imagined, does that seem fair to you :)
Now that you've seen how amazing both Lena Heady and Summer Glau are you have to check out The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Lena plays Sarah and Summer plays a terminator
Joss Whedon would not otherwise have killed Wash, but he expected to make at least two sequels to this. Alan Tudyk had another commitment and wouldn't be available. Wash's death explained his absence in the next movies that weren't made.
@@coachmikesfilmroom3111 Are you sure that a cure wouldn't have been found? Or maybe that plotline wouldn't have been used after Hoban Washburn's death. Unless Morena Baccarin wanted out.
He says this, but pretty much everyone knew by the time of filming they probably weren't getting anymore. He still killed Wash for shock value anyway because that's what he likes to do.
Joss Whedon explained in an interview that having Wash killed "bought" him so much . . . he had Zoe, Kayleigh and Simon with fatal wounds, Mal winning the unwinnnable fight because of a "moved nerve cluster" and River... and none of it was cheesy and 'Hollywood'. Book's passing was the inciting factor, but Wash's abrupt death was so unsettling that the audience could believe anything was possible up to and including a viking funeral of the whole crew even in the moment of their victory.
I love how you're wrap up was just pure rage at the series being cancelled. Beautiful. We all feel that pain too. So now that you've finished the Firefly/Serenity, you should watch Con Man. It's Alan Tudyk's (Wash) show that is really just a twisted version of his acting experiences. He plays an actor, who formerly played the ship's pilot on a cult classic sci-fi show. Nathan Fillion (Mal) plays an actor who played the ship's captain on that very same show. Sound familiar? The rest of the Firefly cast makes cameos on the show too. Definitely some fun nods to the Firefly fans.
A movie based on my absolute favorite TV series ever and I really loved this movie. Some scenes that stand out to me are Mal's reaction to Shepherd Book's death; Wash dying, which was heartbreaking and a punch to the gut; River single-handedly taking down the Reavers and Inara saying "I don't know" to Mal and then smiling when he says "Good Answer." My absolute favorite scene, though, is River and Mal at the end, when he makes his little speech about love keeping a boat in the air. That was a beautiful little scene and a beautiful way to the end the movie.
There are a series of comics that fill in some of the time between the show and the movie, some of the comics answer some questions that were left unresolved by the movie (Book's backstory, do Inara and Mal get together etc.) as well. One spoiler that I will mention from the comics that either makes the ending of this movie happier or sadder depending on your perspective is: Zoe was pregnant with Wash's daughter at the end of the movie.
part of why Firefly was so good was because Nathan was a true captain to the cast on set in real life, and the whole cast got along in real life. A remake would require such a cast, that meshes so well, and is fully invested in the material and their characters.
The reason Inara left... Inara is dying. She has an incurable disease, and not much time left to live. She's planning to see the 'verse before she goes, and end things on her own terms before the disease takes her quality of life (thus the little syringe "kit" you see in this episode). This is the reason she left House Madrassa, baffling her peers. She was on track to become head mistress of the school, but suddenly and inexplicably packed her things and signed on with the crew of the somewhat shabby little transport 'Serenity'. She didn't want her friends, relatives or peers to watch her become sick and eventually pass away. She didn't want people mourning her, or trying to convince her to fight the disease while she wasted away. She wanted to go on her own terms. As you see, the only things that she didn't count on was falling for Mal... or becoming part of a loving family with the crew of Serenity. That is why she eventually decides to leave... for all the same reasons she left House Madrassa. The moment she realizes that she actually loves Mal, and that he loves her... she knows he will suffer when she dies (as will the crew). She thinks it will be easier on everyone if she just leaves. Her coming back in this film was sort of bittersweet. She wants to stay with Mal, but her fate still looms over her every day.
Show writer and executive producer Tim Minear claimed that the syringe contained something else. According to him, Whedon had these plans: _"She had this magic syringe. She would take this drug. And if she were, for instance, raped, the rapist would die a horrible death. The story was that she gets kidnapped by Reavers and when Mal finally got to the ship to save her from the Reavers, he gets on the Reaver ship and all the Reavers are dead. Which would suggest a kind of really bad assault. At the end of the episode, he comes in after she’s been horribly brutalized, and he comes in and he gets down on his knee, and he takes her hand. And he treats her like a lady. And that’s the kind of stuff that we wanted to do. It was very dark. And this was actually the first story that Joss pitched to me when he asked me to come work on the show. He said, ‘These are the kind of stories we’re going to do.’ "_
This was also confirmed during one of the comic con panels. Can't fermenter which ones but Morena asked Joss if she could tell Inara's secret and Joss said yes. The entire crew panel was shocked as they didn't know.
Duaffy might be the most glass half full reactor I've ever seen watch Firefly. Throughout the show and now the movie she talks about the seasons that 'should have been made'. Those of us that saw the show cancelled at the time and petitioned for this movie were just grateful that it got made, and even happier that the film was great!! Duaffy should appreciate that a show that got cancelled for low viewership was made into a movie just because the fans and creator fought for it to happen. We weren't owed this. They sold the rights to a different studio, spent millions, rebuilt sets, reunited the cast and promoted it!! And guess what? The film still failed at the box office! Serenity is for the fans. This is unprecedented and we got a satisfying ending.
I was getting ready to ruffle my feathers and tell you how wrong you were, calling Serenity a box office flop, but no, thats pretty accurate. For whatever God forsaken reason, it only pulled in $40.4 Million, with a budget to make it at $39 Million. This movie didnt deserve to break even, it deserved to soar. At least its still flying in the reactor space, and gaining new viewership.
Your wrap up commentary was well said. This definitely could have been an epic series. I think the TV show community said it best "6 seasons and a movie". That's a perfect length.
When I compare later seasons of Buffy to the first season then think about Firefly in the same way it makes me so sad about what might have been. Especially when we reached Firefly the Musical episode in season 6.
@@dneill8493 the season 6 musical episode would have been phenomenal. I've heard Nathan fillion sing "I'm Rusty" in the venture brothers.so I could only imagine...
@@louiscypher9558 The duets with Wash and Zoe, Mal and Inara, Kaylee's doing a Katy Perry style song, Shephard's rap number, and that heavy metal piece with Simon were going to be fantastic but it would have been Jane's opera performance that would have stolen the show. Plus have all the evil villains in the show singing a "We are the World" style song. Would have been titled "I'll put however much feeling into it I gorram well want to"
There's comic books and novels that fills in a lot of the unanswered questions as well as some post-Serenity stories. Completely worth it to read it all.
Take heart, Dear One ❤️ In the _canonical_ graphic novel continuation, Mal & Inara _do_ get together & commit to each other. Also, it's revealed that, during this movie, Zoë is actually pregnant; she gives birth to Wash's daughter, Emma. _Also_ also, Jewel & Sean, who play Kaylee & Simon respectively, came up with their "ending" for their characters; together they decided that Simon & Kaylee had at least two kids together, running around on the boat, one of which would be a girl who'd be mechanically-inclined, like her mother. 🥰❤️
The show Firefly came out in 2002-2003, it was in 2005 when the movie Serenity came out. Mal says 8 months had gone by since the start of the show to the movie when the time was roughly 3 years, changes were made like the Kaylee actress having lost weight and was afraid she was going to be replaced. It's now 18 years since the movie, yeah, even the most ardent Browncoats believe that if the story is to continue it needs to be rebooted.
Makes me sad every reactor skips my favorite dialogue of the movie. "Love. You can learn all the math in the 'Verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her a home." Still great video, as always.
So true. It's such a great scene where we see the deep bond between Mal and River. I don't know how you edit around it, it's central to the entire story. Also, the scene on Miranda where River is overcome and pukes. It's the moment where her burden has been lifted, and the layers of psychosis fall away. Just her saying " I'm ok" is packed with such release of tension. Those are two of my favorite scenes in series and movie. Without them, it's easy for some to dismiss River as an annoying character put in as a plot device. I believe Mal and River are linchpins to the entire story.
A word about serendipity in Serenity. The scene with Jayne and Kaylee cleaning up the cargo area when Jayne kicks that fallen part into the disposal hatch was an accident. They'd done a bunch of takes (in which Adam Baldwin didn't drop the part), but when the part fell, Adam just kicked it and kept going. The fact that it fell so perfectly in the hole might have been a good deal of why they chose this take.
Jayne has grown a lot, but you have to pay attention to realize it. Jayne's not one for pretty words. He's a man of action. His actions speak for him. Back in Out of Gas, he didn't tell Mal how much he cared about him, but he prepped a suit for him for when the oxygen ran out. In this movie, he made sure everyone was buckled in before strapping himself in, and got tossed about because of it. But he put all the others first.
A coworker/friend was a fan before I (thought I'd) introduced him to it, but we had another mutual coworker/friend, a young porter I'd loaned the series to (one DVD at a time: I am not a fool). We all got together at my place to watch Serenity. During the leaf on the wind scene us older dudes weren't watching the movie, but our young friend. He jumped. I mean, he took air. Firefly and Serenity are the absolute best at manipulating the viewers' emotions. I loved watching your reactions, your shock, your joy, your fears and your tears. Despite all the "unpredictable" twists you did really well. You figured out the source of the Reavers faster than I have ever seen, and I haven't seen anyone figure out "the enemy of my enemy" scene as they approach Mr. Universe's world. You're the first I've seen. One of the reasons I enjoy watching your reaction videos is because you're so sharp. You see very clearly.
As for Shepherd, the books tell you his background, the movies and show don't go into it much. He was a spy, and took over someones identity in the Alliance. He rose high in their ranks to Captain or something and retired after he led an Alliance fleet into a planned ambush, but the Alliance didn't know he did it on purpose. So that is some of his background, he was a high ranking spy in the Alliance forces for a long time.
"I am, of course, wearing full body armor. I am NOT a moron!" - That line always makes me chuckle. Reactors always keep saying, "you should have gone for the head". But they fail to notice that Mal does a "hip shot"! (both with Inara & near the end of the movie.) Instead of the standard; draw, point, aim, shoot method. Basically, he points his gun forwards IMMEDIATELY after the barrel clears the holster and shoots "from the hip". (Allowing him to shoot just a LITTLE bit faster than his opponent.) Which doesn't much allow for "precision firing". Granted, he DID shoot the Operative's gun out of his hand at the end, but I always viewed THAT as "the POWER of 'Belief!" at work.
Just before you get to 22:21 there is a shot (not here in your cut) of a shuttle crashed into the wall. Painted on the side of that shuttle is, "C57D". It appears in another shot of that scene also. It is an homage to the GREAT science fiction film, "Forbidden Planet". All modern space films and TV show, such as Star Trek and the others owe much to that film. It is amazing. And it was shot in 1956!!! A yet it appears as though it were shot last week. That's how good the effects and the story are.
I was one of those few that saw this movie coming to a theater and had to watch it but I didn't realize there was a TV series leading up to it. So I ended up seeing the movie first and then the rest of the series afterward. Although there have been comics and books that have been in the Firefly world we all missed that there wasn't more to this on the screen.
I believe Shepard does get his backstory explained in a separate graphic novel, but it is only a small bit of what was planned for the characters. Everyone was supposed to have a secret. Another commenter highlighted Inara's planned secret, but there was supposed to be more depth for everyone.
My headcanon was that Shepherd was a decommissioned operative who still had friends in a faction of government fighting the totalitarian Alliance. It explains his knowledge, his medical treatment on an Alliance warship, and much, much more. I didn't like the canonical explanation. I don't like that anymore than I liked the opening scene where Simon is the one that rescues River. It totally demeans the canon from the pilot with Simon's and River's first meeting on Firefly after being separated -- though i understand the change in the circumstances (to make TBDM stand alone for a bigger audience).
Recommend watching Agents of Shield. Joss Whedon came up with the idea with his brother Jed and sister in law Maurissa. Jed and Maurissa were showrunners for the 7 seasons. It is after the events of The Avengers in the MCU (which Joss directed). It starts slightly slow as they couldn’t do something until The Winter Soldier came out in theatres. It would be in my top 5 shows alongside Buffy and Firefly
In memory of firefly. A friend did watch serenity first and he had rated it at 6/10. Good but nothing special. I told him. go watch tv-show firefly and then rewatch serenity. "but I've already seen serenity. I don't need to". Took a few months of convincing, but he did see serenity again. He changed his rating to 8/10. Serenity works on its own. Let's keep hoping and dreaming of a reunion and a new show. We need it.
When I was 16 I died and was brought back to life.. and went to hospital for 3 months.. this movie came on the tv this was 2007 and it taught me to want to fight for my life… now I need to watch fire fly
"Tell me, Captain...How were you able to go on, after you lost everything that you believed in?" "If you're still standing there when this ship lifts, you never will find out."
Sociopaths that want to "Make a Better World" need to be put down. Especially if they tell you it's about "Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity", while Excluding anyone with a Diverse Opinion.
Awesome reaction. The Miranda storyline was supposed to by at the end of season two. Wash and Book wouldn't of died. The series was supposed to be 5-6 seasons.
@@jeffthompson9622 Define respecting the source material? The third trilogy was a rehash and a mess with all the different directors trying to do their thing, but there was nothing that violated the source material. And despite the problems still ended up successful films financially. Solo wasn't great but wasn't bad either. The series have been fantastic with only some entitled whiners having a problem with Boba because he had a change of heart from his old ways. Sadly people don't realize Lucas despite no ownership is an advisor for the shows.
@@cliveklg7739 My original comment wasn't about a specific project. In Their animated and CGI Jungle Book movies Kaa wanted to mesmerize and eat Mowgli. In Kipling's works he was a friend and defender. Disney's gave Tarzan's family name, Clayton, to the villain. Some of their changes to author's works might be excused for making them more child friendly, like rewriting The Little Mermaid's ending. However, even that is debatable. The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi led to my skipping The Rise Of Skywalker. I had been a fan since seeing Star Wars in its initial release. Choices made in the MCU recently under Disney's ownership have seriously harmed that franchise. I hope that Disney hasn't killed cinematic Star Trek.
My favorite movie, Ever ! ! If you are interested, there are comics and books that continue the story(Zoe and Emma) and explore certain backstory elements from the show.(Shepherd Book's past, for one)
hi yes and imagine jayne's character's arc - he and shepherd were getting to be buddies - i could see him leading the rebellion one day - he is already the hero of canton
There are comics which continue Firefly and someone the character's stories if you can find them. There is also an RPG: Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd's Firefly Role-Playing Game.
It's funny; I can go weeks w/o a thought of this channel popping into my head for even a second... then I see one of these videos and my heart forgets how to beat...
You should react to the short tv series...a webseries I think it was...like 13 episodes in season 1 and 12 in season 2. All like 10 minutes episodes. It stars Alan Tudyk who played Wash on Firefly...and ALL the firefly cast make appearances. I think you'd love the show! Here's a short description of what the show is about; "Wray Nerely is a struggling actor who starred as a spaceship pilot on Spectrum, a cult classic science fiction series. He navigates the odd people and incidents he encounters along the way while learning to love the fans he has."
Serenity is a great movie. Star Wars meets The Transporter. I met Jewel Staite (Kaylee) in 2006 and again in 2017. I got Summer Glau's autograph in 2015.
I have to admit I'm less disappointed about what might have been with Firefly than grateful for at least what we have. How often is a series canceled after less than half a season, resurrected and then released on video and finally made into a terrific movie. I'm really grateful to the folks who believed in the series even after cancellation and helped get the movie done. It could have a complete loss.
I think you should follow this up by watching Blake’s 7. To me, it feels like a blueprint for what we could have gotten if the movie had led to a revived series. Also, there are follow up comics, though I haven’t read any of them yet.
Summer, especially in this role, is an amazing actress - that bit at the end where they broke through the wall behind her, and she llos back at them, you know she could still take them all out if they hadn't been called off.
The same way historical Berzerkers could function as a society. In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word berserk (meaning "furiously violent or out of control").
@@milescoburn1845 i know very well. what a beserker was. but you can`t compare them at all to reavers. they are completely crazy. a berserker is a regular dude, until he is going to fight, and a lot of the berserker story is a fairy tale. they say, they take magic mushrooms to get in trance to fight, but this would be stupid as hell, if you try to fight this way. it`s more like they are very skilled and strong warriors, but ordinary humans, just like everyone else.
i have to say, you are the most beautyful, smartest, charismatic and funniest reactor i have ever seen... i would support you if i could but i hope that comment makes your day 👍
32:02 I have to say, I bought the movie on DVD when it first came out. I had never seen the show though. I LOVED THE MOVIE!!!! I went out and bought the series on DVD after watching the movie and have been a massive fan ever since. I will say, yes the movie makes more sense if you have seen the show BUT it is not necessary to have seen the show first. This movie is by and far one of my two favorite movies of all time.
The show Dark Matter is worth watching if you liked Firefly. It has a similar feel, great characters and a good story. It lasted 3 seasons. Their ship, the Raza, is one of the best in scifi and the android is badass.
I've always thought Sheppard Book's backstory was similar to the antagonist in this movie. And that this guy would eventually become some other crew's Sheppard Book.
Duaffy - now that you've cried for Wash.... NOW you're a Browncoat. Welcome, sister... ( Firefly theme song plays....). What makes it sadder is, Joss admitted after this that Zoe was pregnant when Wash died. God, I wish this show had gotten even just a second season!
River's fight scene toward the end seems directly modeled after the big fight scene in another Josh Whedon production, the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode, "Anne." Both have that striking pose at the end.
A series return? No. A second movie? Probably, no.. Joss Whedon needs to put in a lot of effort to fix his problems in Hollywood. Not many directors have fallen so far and so hard in Hollywood.
Shiny… I’ve been looking forward to this one 🙏❤️🙏 my theory is the alliance accidentally created the revers but intentionally created river and others like her to kill and cover up what they did
Yeah, watching the movie before the series in comparison with after, is like watching another whole movie, they hit you right in the feels. thanks for the reaction of Firefly it was great to rewatch it with you And recomment to now watch eitherTed Lasso, Luther or See.
It's ironic that I did actually watch this movie before I saw a single episode of the show (initially I didn't even know there WAS a show) and I still enjoyed it immensely. But I definitely agree that as good as this movie was, it suffers from comparing it to the series that it essentially wrapped up and what could have been from the remainder of the series this film ended up having to abridge. I really enjoy all of Firefly, but honestly "Serenity" is the part I like the most because I feel like it distilled the best elements of the show into a smaller, more compact package...the stress of trying to fit two or three seasons of a show into two hours seemed to really bring out the best in Joss Whedon's writing. It's just unfortunate he never got the chance to take his time and really grow more naturally what had to be accelerated in the making of this movie.
It's probably fairly well known, but, for those who don't know this 9:34 Summer Glau (River) did *all* of her own stunts in this scene, and the flip was done without a harness or wires. She's a former gymnast/dancer, and they asked her what she could do and added it all in. The scene of her on the roof above Jayne was also her actually on the ceiling without a harness, etc. I met her at a London Comic con. She's so awesome! And *tiny*! XD
She trained as a classical ballet dancer for years, so it is no surprise. I love seeing her put those old skills to use as it creates unique moves most characters/actors can't do.
It's also the only time we see Jayne bested in a fight in the entire canon.
@@thethingsisee13 It’s how her acting career started as a ballerina in Angel
@@CorwinAlexander literally ball-busted by a little girl, laughs
The coolest bit in the fight is where she kicks a guy in the head. Backwards. Around a pole.
Holy C#@P! 😮
"How do Reavers clean their spears? They run them through the Wash." - Nathan Fillion
Still too soon
@@CorwinAlexander It's ALWAYS gonna be too soon... :-(
@@paulfeist that's the joke
Ouch... Dude..
TOO...SOON.
The Operative is one of my favorite villains ever. In his introduction scene where he makes the doctor fall on his sword really clinched it for me.
Still gives me chills to this day. Just the sheer brutality seemingly out of nowhere. Flips on a dime to being, just....scary. "Secrets are not my concern......keeping them, is"
The Operative was a recurring villain in a d&d campaign I played once.. I was the only one who was familiar with firefly/serenity, so when he appeared I freaked out.
I saw the movie first, I loved it. Then I watched the special features and learned it was based on a t.v. show called “Firefly.” I thought too myself: “a whole t.v. show with these characters and setting? Hell yeah I’m gonna watch that!” The rest is history. You can’t take the sky from me!
Same! I watched the movie just out of a love for sci-fi, but had never heard of the show. Then I watched the series, fell in love, had my heart broken, and have been carrying that torch ever since.
Eric... RajinCagin?
The only TV I really watched regularly at the time the show was airing was football games, and I saw a few ads during commercial breaks. I thought the show looked interesting but the only time I remembered the show while it was on, it would get preempted by a baseball game instead. Then the show was cancelled after less than a full season and my only experience of it had been a few snippets of a few scenes in maybe three commercials. I thought the series had been cancelled for legitimate reasons and didn't give it much thought beyond that.
Fast forward a few years and I hear that a movie is being made based on this series, and I'm thinking, "I always wanted to check that out." Streaming services at that time weren't what we have now, and I didn't want to put down money for the boxed set on dvd of a show that I knew next to nothing about.
The movie came out and I saw it with my sister and brother-in-law, and on the way home from the theater I bought the DVDs. We binged the series over the next week.
hi same i dont even watch tv so saw the movie first
There's a story about a reunion where they were signing autographs. Someone brought Wash a picture. He signed "I'm a leaf on the wind" and his signature. The girl started crying! "That's what you said when you died!"
It's well worth looking up the outtakes for this film:
"Did you see us fight?"
"...No."
"TRAAAAAAP!"
That is one of my favorite outtakes!
“We need a hood ornament”
@@cheynedogg yep. That was a fantastic outtake with Nathan removing all stress from the others in a tough set of scenes.
I watched the movie before I ever watched the show, and it was still great. The series makes it deeper and more three-dimensional, of course, but the movie stands alone just fine. (As it was intended to.)
So glad you put this on RUclips.
As I'm sure your patrons have told you, _Serenity_ holds up perfectly well as a stand-alone film. Whedon wrote the script in a way that previous knowledge of the series wouldn't be needed to follow and enjoy the film. I've shown _Serenity_ to friends who had never seen or heard of _Firefly,_ and in fact were not even fans of Science Fiction, and they had no trouble following the plot and enjoyed it very much.
We all feel you, girl! Serenity is a great film and tied up some loose ends, but it still doesn't make up for the series going away so soon. My way of making peace with things is watching the TV shows and movies the various actors have gone on to do since. Still, I miss Firefly!
Its never the end, the brown coats will never die. The legacy of this series is and always shall be more than even the creators imagined, does that seem fair to you :)
Now that you've seen how amazing both Lena Heady and Summer Glau are you have to check out The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Lena plays Sarah and Summer plays a terminator
Such an underrated show.
Another show that had great potential but was cancelled
I call shotgun!
I call 9MM!
@@Schatje79 But sadly a similar fate to Firefly.
@@Schatje79 under-rated for a reason. The show was a failure.
Joss Whedon would not otherwise have killed Wash, but he expected to make at least two sequels to this. Alan Tudyk had another commitment and wouldn't be available. Wash's death explained his absence in the next movies that weren't made.
true, but he would have killed Inara.
@@coachmikesfilmroom3111 Are you sure that a cure wouldn't have been found? Or maybe that plotline wouldn't have been used after Hoban Washburn's death. Unless Morena Baccarin wanted out.
@@jeffthompson9622 well we're talking about Joss Whedon. So.. she dead!!!! Lol. He always goes for the gut punch
He says this, but pretty much everyone knew by the time of filming they probably weren't getting anymore. He still killed Wash for shock value anyway because that's what he likes to do.
Joss Whedon explained in an interview that having Wash killed "bought" him so much . . . he had Zoe, Kayleigh and Simon with fatal wounds, Mal winning the unwinnnable fight because of a "moved nerve cluster" and River... and none of it was cheesy and 'Hollywood'. Book's passing was the inciting factor, but Wash's abrupt death was so unsettling that the audience could believe anything was possible up to and including a viking funeral of the whole crew even in the moment of their victory.
I love how you're wrap up was just pure rage at the series being cancelled. Beautiful. We all feel that pain too.
So now that you've finished the Firefly/Serenity, you should watch Con Man. It's Alan Tudyk's (Wash) show that is really just a twisted version of his acting experiences. He plays an actor, who formerly played the ship's pilot on a cult classic sci-fi show. Nathan Fillion (Mal) plays an actor who played the ship's captain on that very same show. Sound familiar? The rest of the Firefly cast makes cameos on the show too. Definitely some fun nods to the Firefly fans.
A movie based on my absolute favorite TV series ever and I really loved this movie. Some scenes that stand out to me are Mal's reaction to Shepherd Book's death; Wash dying, which was heartbreaking and a punch to the gut; River single-handedly taking down the Reavers and Inara saying "I don't know" to Mal and then smiling when he says "Good Answer." My absolute favorite scene, though, is River and Mal at the end, when he makes his little speech about love keeping a boat in the air. That was a beautiful little scene and a beautiful way to the end the movie.
There are a series of comics that fill in some of the time between the show and the movie, some of the comics answer some questions that were left unresolved by the movie (Book's backstory, do Inara and Mal get together etc.) as well.
One spoiler that I will mention from the comics that either makes the ending of this movie happier or sadder depending on your perspective is:
Zoe was pregnant with Wash's daughter at the end of the movie.
part of why Firefly was so good was because Nathan was a true captain to the cast on set in real life, and the whole cast got along in real life. A remake would require such a cast, that meshes so well, and is fully invested in the material and their characters.
...And "Dumpster Fires Inc." Hollyweird can't mesh, invests unwisely, and thinks Sarcasm is character.
The reason Inara left... Inara is dying. She has an incurable disease, and not much time left to live. She's planning to see the 'verse before she goes, and end things on her own terms before the disease takes her quality of life (thus the little syringe "kit" you see in this episode).
This is the reason she left House Madrassa, baffling her peers. She was on track to become head mistress of the school, but suddenly and inexplicably packed her things and signed on with the crew of the somewhat shabby little transport 'Serenity'. She didn't want her friends, relatives or peers to watch her become sick and eventually pass away. She didn't want people mourning her, or trying to convince her to fight the disease while she wasted away. She wanted to go on her own terms.
As you see, the only things that she didn't count on was falling for Mal... or becoming part of a loving family with the crew of Serenity. That is why she eventually decides to leave... for all the same reasons she left House Madrassa. The moment she realizes that she actually loves Mal, and that he loves her... she knows he will suffer when she dies (as will the crew). She thinks it will be easier on everyone if she just leaves.
Her coming back in this film was sort of bittersweet. She wants to stay with Mal, but her fate still looms over her every day.
Source?
@@thereturningshadow the comic books.
Show writer and executive producer Tim Minear claimed that the syringe contained something else. According to him, Whedon had these plans:
_"She had this magic syringe. She would take this drug. And if she were, for instance, raped, the rapist would die a horrible death. The story was that she gets kidnapped by Reavers and when Mal finally got to the ship to save her from the Reavers, he gets on the Reaver ship and all the Reavers are dead. Which would suggest a kind of really bad assault. At the end of the episode, he comes in after she’s been horribly brutalized, and he comes in and he gets down on his knee, and he takes her hand. And he treats her like a lady. And that’s the kind of stuff that we wanted to do. It was very dark. And this was actually the first story that Joss pitched to me when he asked me to come work on the show. He said, ‘These are the kind of stories we’re going to do.’ "_
@@Lannisen Written by Whedon or just by someone else that made up the story like they did with the Star Wars comics?
This was also confirmed during one of the comic con panels. Can't fermenter which ones but Morena asked Joss if she could tell Inara's secret and Joss said yes. The entire crew panel was shocked as they didn't know.
Duaffy might be the most glass half full reactor I've ever seen watch Firefly. Throughout the show and now the movie she talks about the seasons that 'should have been made'. Those of us that saw the show cancelled at the time and petitioned for this movie were just grateful that it got made, and even happier that the film was great!! Duaffy should appreciate that a show that got cancelled for low viewership was made into a movie just because the fans and creator fought for it to happen. We weren't owed this. They sold the rights to a different studio, spent millions, rebuilt sets, reunited the cast and promoted it!! And guess what? The film still failed at the box office! Serenity is for the fans. This is unprecedented and we got a satisfying ending.
I was getting ready to ruffle my feathers and tell you how wrong you were, calling Serenity a box office flop, but no, thats pretty accurate. For whatever God forsaken reason, it only pulled in $40.4 Million, with a budget to make it at $39 Million. This movie didnt deserve to break even, it deserved to soar. At least its still flying in the reactor space, and gaining new viewership.
@@kaojinnit's a leaf on the wind...
@@viwererschoice4454 Goddamn right! /salute
Your wrap up commentary was well said. This definitely could have been an epic series. I think the TV show community said it best "6 seasons and a movie". That's a perfect length.
When I compare later seasons of Buffy to the first season then think about Firefly in the same way it makes me so sad about what might have been. Especially when we reached Firefly the Musical episode in season 6.
@@dneill8493 the season 6 musical episode would have been phenomenal. I've heard Nathan fillion sing "I'm Rusty" in the venture brothers.so I could only imagine...
@@louiscypher9558 The duets with Wash and Zoe, Mal and Inara, Kaylee's doing a Katy Perry style song, Shephard's rap number, and that heavy metal piece with Simon were going to be fantastic but it would have been Jane's opera performance that would have stolen the show.
Plus have all the evil villains in the show singing a "We are the World" style song.
Would have been titled "I'll put however much feeling into it I gorram well want to"
@@dneill8493 " nothing in the verse can stop us".
@@louiscypher9558 So you heard Mal and Inara's duet then. 🤣
Yes, this was a great reaction to a great movie and a great 1st season of a TV show!
I also wish there were more seasons.
There's comic books and novels that fills in a lot of the unanswered questions as well as some post-Serenity stories. Completely worth it to read it all.
There's also the River Tam Sessions, starring Summer Glau reprising her role.
Thank you Duaffy, for the marvelous journey! Stay shiny!
Take heart, Dear One ❤️
In the _canonical_ graphic novel continuation, Mal & Inara _do_ get together & commit to each other. Also, it's revealed that, during this movie, Zoë is actually pregnant; she gives birth to Wash's daughter, Emma. _Also_ also, Jewel & Sean, who play Kaylee & Simon respectively, came up with their "ending" for their characters; together they decided that Simon & Kaylee had at least two kids together, running around on the boat, one of which would be a girl who'd be mechanically-inclined, like her mother. 🥰❤️
Duaffy,
Your reaction to Wash dying is exactly what I expected.
The show Firefly came out in 2002-2003, it was in 2005 when the movie Serenity came out. Mal says 8 months had gone by since the start of the show to the movie when the time was roughly 3 years, changes were made like the Kaylee actress having lost weight and was afraid she was going to be replaced. It's now 18 years since the movie, yeah, even the most ardent Browncoats believe that if the story is to continue it needs to be rebooted.
Makes me sad every reactor skips my favorite dialogue of the movie.
"Love. You can learn all the math in the 'Verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love, she'll shake you off just as sure as the turning of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she oughta fall down, tells you she's hurtin' 'fore she keens. Makes her a home."
Still great video, as always.
So true. It's such a great scene where we see the deep bond between Mal and River. I don't know how you edit around it, it's central to the entire story. Also, the scene on Miranda where River is overcome and pukes. It's the moment where her burden has been lifted, and the layers of psychosis fall away. Just her saying " I'm ok" is packed with such release of tension. Those are two of my favorite scenes in series and movie. Without them, it's easy for some to dismiss River as an annoying character put in as a plot device. I believe Mal and River are linchpins to the entire story.
Really enjoyed watching you fall in love with the series that we all wish didn't get cut so short.
Great reaction. It's not over. There are Firefly/Serenity comics books, role-playing games, and novels out there. Enjoy.
A word about serendipity in Serenity. The scene with Jayne and Kaylee cleaning up the cargo area when Jayne kicks that fallen part into the disposal hatch was an accident. They'd done a bunch of takes (in which Adam Baldwin didn't drop the part), but when the part fell, Adam just kicked it and kept going. The fact that it fell so perfectly in the hole might have been a good deal of why they chose this take.
Jayne has grown a lot, but you have to pay attention to realize it. Jayne's not one for pretty words. He's a man of action. His actions speak for him. Back in Out of Gas, he didn't tell Mal how much he cared about him, but he prepped a suit for him for when the oxygen ran out. In this movie, he made sure everyone was buckled in before strapping himself in, and got tossed about because of it. But he put all the others first.
Jayne is a great character and glibly misunderstood and dismissed in these times.
A coworker/friend was a fan before I (thought I'd) introduced him to it, but we had another mutual coworker/friend, a young porter I'd loaned the series to (one DVD at a time: I am not a fool). We all got together at my place to watch Serenity. During the leaf on the wind scene us older dudes weren't watching the movie, but our young friend. He jumped. I mean, he took air.
Firefly and Serenity are the absolute best at manipulating the viewers' emotions. I loved watching your reactions, your shock, your joy, your fears and your tears. Despite all the "unpredictable" twists you did really well. You figured out the source of the Reavers faster than I have ever seen, and I haven't seen anyone figure out "the enemy of my enemy" scene as they approach Mr. Universe's world. You're the first I've seen. One of the reasons I enjoy watching your reaction videos is because you're so sharp. You see very clearly.
As for Shepherd, the books tell you his background, the movies and show don't go into it much. He was a spy, and took over someones identity in the Alliance. He rose high in their ranks to Captain or something and retired after he led an Alliance fleet into a planned ambush, but the Alliance didn't know he did it on purpose. So that is some of his background, he was a high ranking spy in the Alliance forces for a long time.
The incomprehensible noise at 29:29 is *chef's kiss*
The movie makes you feel what Joss felt when they cancelled the show on him.
It rips your heart out.
I sometimes think that was the point.
"I am a leaf on the wind" - still get a tear in my eye. Enjoyed your review - subscribed!
13 hours of bliss...and a lifetime of withdrawal. I'm so pleased to see a new fellow browncoat join our team.
My favorite scene was when River said "My turn"
"I am, of course, wearing full body armor. I am NOT a moron!" - That line always makes me chuckle.
Reactors always keep saying, "you should have gone for the head". But they fail to notice that Mal does a "hip shot"! (both with Inara & near the end of the movie.) Instead of the standard; draw, point, aim, shoot method.
Basically, he points his gun forwards IMMEDIATELY after the barrel clears the holster and shoots "from the hip". (Allowing him to shoot just a LITTLE bit faster than his opponent.) Which doesn't much allow for "precision firing".
Granted, he DID shoot the Operative's gun out of his hand at the end, but I always viewed THAT as "the POWER of 'Belief!" at work.
I saw this in theaters without having ever seen the tv show, it instantly became my favorite movie.
Just before you get to 22:21 there is a shot (not here in your cut) of a shuttle crashed into the wall. Painted on the side of that shuttle is, "C57D". It appears in another shot of that scene also. It is an homage to the GREAT science fiction film, "Forbidden Planet". All modern space films and TV show, such as Star Trek and the others owe much to that film. It is amazing. And it was shot in 1956!!! A yet it appears as though it were shot last week. That's how good the effects and the story are.
I was one of those few that saw this movie coming to a theater and had to watch it but I didn't realize there was a TV series leading up to it. So I ended up seeing the movie first and then the rest of the series afterward. Although there have been comics and books that have been in the Firefly world we all missed that there wasn't more to this on the screen.
I saw it in the theater with my dad who never watched the series. He understood well enough to enjoy it.
I believe Shepard does get his backstory explained in a separate graphic novel, but it is only a small bit of what was planned for the characters. Everyone was supposed to have a secret. Another commenter highlighted Inara's planned secret, but there was supposed to be more depth for everyone.
My headcanon was that Shepherd was a decommissioned operative who still had friends in a faction of government fighting the totalitarian Alliance. It explains his knowledge, his medical treatment on an Alliance warship, and much, much more. I didn't like the canonical explanation. I don't like that anymore than I liked the opening scene where Simon is the one that rescues River. It totally demeans the canon from the pilot with Simon's and River's first meeting on Firefly after being separated -- though i understand the change in the circumstances (to make TBDM stand alone for a bigger audience).
Recommend watching Agents of Shield.
Joss Whedon came up with the idea with his brother Jed and sister in law Maurissa. Jed and Maurissa were showrunners for the 7 seasons.
It is after the events of The Avengers in the MCU (which Joss directed).
It starts slightly slow as they couldn’t do something until The Winter Soldier came out in theatres.
It would be in my top 5 shows alongside Buffy and Firefly
YES! i was wondering when this would come!!! Thanks for doing it! -SuperMacho!
Imagine a remake series that picks up from the last episode but prior to the movie with all the crew members alive and well.
Disney owns FIREFLY now, and the last news I heard was that they want to go a full reboot: updated ship and totally new cast.
"your dear and fluffy Lord" might be my favorite line in the movie.
In memory of firefly.
A friend did watch serenity first and he had rated it at 6/10. Good but nothing special.
I told him. go watch tv-show firefly and then rewatch serenity. "but I've already seen serenity. I don't need to". Took a few months of convincing, but he did see serenity again. He changed his rating to 8/10.
Serenity works on its own.
Let's keep hoping and dreaming of a reunion and a new show. We need it.
When I was 16 I died and was brought back to life.. and went to hospital for 3 months.. this movie came on the tv this was 2007 and it taught me to want to fight for my life… now I need to watch fire fly
Every side is good and evil. Just like in every real life war.
"Tell me, Captain...How were you able to go on, after you lost everything that you believed in?"
"If you're still standing there when this ship lifts, you never will find out."
Sociopaths that want to "Make a Better World" need to be put down.
Especially if they tell you it's about "Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity", while Excluding anyone with a Diverse Opinion.
20:01 "If somebody had to die, it had to be Jayne..." Haha, harsh, but even the Shepherd Book said he'd likely outlive them all.
Awesome reaction. The Miranda storyline was supposed to by at the end of season two. Wash and Book wouldn't of died. The series was supposed to be 5-6 seasons.
I would like to have more Firefly content, but Disney doesn't have a track record of respecting their source material.
Two words. Rogue One. ;)
@@lawrencejones1517 I liked Rogue One, but not the third trilogy.
@@lawrencejones1517 that’s one movie out of many...one out of five isn’t good
@@jeffthompson9622 Define respecting the source material? The third trilogy was a rehash and a mess with all the different directors trying to do their thing, but there was nothing that violated the source material. And despite the problems still ended up successful films financially. Solo wasn't great but wasn't bad either. The series have been fantastic with only some entitled whiners having a problem with Boba because he had a change of heart from his old ways. Sadly people don't realize Lucas despite no ownership is an advisor for the shows.
@@cliveklg7739 My original comment wasn't about a specific project. In Their animated and CGI Jungle Book movies Kaa wanted to mesmerize and eat Mowgli. In Kipling's works he was a friend and defender. Disney's gave Tarzan's family name, Clayton, to the villain. Some of their changes to author's works might be excused for making them more child friendly, like rewriting The Little Mermaid's ending. However, even that is debatable. The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi led to my skipping The Rise Of Skywalker. I had been a fan since seeing Star Wars in its initial release. Choices made in the MCU recently under Disney's ownership have seriously harmed that franchise. I hope that Disney hasn't killed cinematic Star Trek.
My favorite movie, Ever ! ! If you are interested, there are comics and books that continue the story(Zoe and Emma) and explore certain backstory elements from the show.(Shepherd Book's past, for one)
If they ever do a reboot or whatever with this show, they better do it right. I love this show. This show diserved so much better.
hi yes and imagine jayne's character's arc - he and shepherd were getting to be buddies - i could see him leading the rebellion one day - he is already the hero of canton
There are comics which continue Firefly and someone the character's stories if you can find them. There is also an RPG: Margaret Weis Productions, Ltd's Firefly Role-Playing Game.
It's funny; I can go weeks w/o a thought of this channel popping into my head for even a second... then I see one of these videos and my heart forgets how to beat...
Thanks for sharing this reaction, Duaffy.
Great reaction, Duaffy. Glad you enjoyed it. Thanks for sharing.
21:08 "Why would you turn it off?"
Probably because of the blood-curdling screams over the radio.
I was actually shown this before seeing the series and loved it. Then I saw the series and loved the movie even more.
You should react to the short tv series...a webseries I think it was...like 13 episodes in season 1 and 12 in season 2. All like 10 minutes episodes.
It stars Alan Tudyk who played Wash on Firefly...and ALL the firefly cast make appearances. I think you'd love the show!
Here's a short description of what the show is about;
"Wray Nerely is a struggling actor who starred as a spaceship pilot on Spectrum, a cult classic science fiction series. He navigates the odd people and incidents he encounters along the way while learning to love the fans he has."
Serenity is a great movie. Star Wars meets The Transporter. I met Jewel Staite (Kaylee) in 2006 and again in 2017. I got Summer Glau's autograph in 2015.
Omg that noise you made when Book said “No, I don’t” lol 😂
I have to admit I'm less disappointed about what might have been with Firefly than grateful for at least what we have. How often is a series canceled after less than half a season, resurrected and then released on video and finally made into a terrific movie. I'm really grateful to the folks who believed in the series even after cancellation and helped get the movie done. It could have a complete loss.
I think you should follow this up by watching Blake’s 7. To me, it feels like a blueprint for what we could have gotten if the movie had led to a revived series. Also, there are follow up comics, though I haven’t read any of them yet.
Summer, especially in this role, is an amazing actress - that bit at the end where they broke through the wall behind her, and she llos back at them, you know she could still take them all out if they hadn't been called off.
my problem with this,
if the reavers are so insane, how on earth are they able to flight and maintain a spaceship???
The same way historical Berzerkers could function as a society. In the Old Norse written corpus, berserker were those who were said to have fought in a trance-like fury, a characteristic which later gave rise to the modern English word berserk (meaning "furiously violent or out of control").
Poorly. 😄
@@milescoburn1845 i know very well. what a beserker was. but you can`t compare them at all to reavers. they are completely crazy. a berserker is a regular dude, until he is going to fight, and a lot of the berserker story is a fairy tale. they say, they take magic mushrooms to get in trance to fight, but this would be stupid as hell, if you try to fight this way. it`s more like they are very skilled and strong warriors, but ordinary humans, just like everyone else.
Best question I have heard to date. " How come they don't eat each other? ". Your deep! Great Reaction!!!!
Duaffny I have never loved you more. You and this movie are perfection.
A series revival will never happen. Us Browncoats have been holding our breath for 20 years but for nothing.
Now you have become a Browncoat. We have a shared joy but we also carry a very complex hurt.
i have to say, you are the most beautyful, smartest, charismatic and funniest reactor i have ever seen... i would support you if i could but i hope that comment makes your day 👍
The first "NO!" right after it happens brings me back to 2005.
32:02 I have to say, I bought the movie on DVD when it first came out. I had never seen the show though. I LOVED THE MOVIE!!!! I went out and bought the series on DVD after watching the movie and have been a massive fan ever since. I will say, yes the movie makes more sense if you have seen the show BUT it is not necessary to have seen the show first. This movie is by and far one of my two favorite movies of all time.
The single two-second shot of the doors opening and River standing triumphant is one of the best shot in all of movies.
The show Dark Matter is worth watching if you liked Firefly. It has a similar feel, great characters and a good story. It lasted 3 seasons. Their ship, the Raza, is one of the best in scifi and the android is badass.
I saw this in Dallas at a midnight showing and everyone still lost it when Wash died, even though we all knew it was coming.
I've always thought Sheppard Book's backstory was similar to the antagonist in this movie. And that this guy would eventually become some other crew's Sheppard Book.
If they had made Serenity a "heist" movie, like Ariel or Trash, they'd still be making these.
the intro walk trough the ship filmed as a no cut (which had 1 hidden cut) was so amazing
The best post movie speech I've seen. You are hard core Brown Coat.
marina
was in stargate sg1, the visitors , and of course the classic deadpools
You really are a true browncoat, so happy to have you by our side.
I saw the movie before I even knew there was a series. Great job!
Duaffy - now that you've cried for Wash.... NOW you're a Browncoat. Welcome, sister... ( Firefly theme song plays....).
What makes it sadder is, Joss admitted after this that Zoe was pregnant when Wash died.
God, I wish this show had gotten even just a second season!
There's been talk that Disney will bring Firefly back, although it's unclear if it would be a complete reboot, or a continuation/sequel.
That third act is just brutal. Great film.
River's fight scene toward the end seems directly modeled after the big fight scene in another Josh Whedon production, the "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" episode, "Anne." Both have that striking pose at the end.
A series return? No. A second movie? Probably, no.. Joss Whedon needs to put in a lot of effort to fix his problems in Hollywood. Not many directors have fallen so far and so hard in Hollywood.
That's what the casting couch does to you.
Totally agree. I love this movie also. I have both on DVD ... movie and series ❤
I want more Serenity Firefly too 👍👍
Shiny… I’ve been looking forward to this one 🙏❤️🙏 my theory is the alliance accidentally created the revers but intentionally created river and others like her to kill and cover up what they did
I agree with everything you said about the movie and the show.
12:37 - Cutest moment in any Duaffy video ever. :)
The good news is that Firefly will most likely be back. The bad news is that it will be Disney bringing it back.
Yeah, watching the movie before the series in comparison with after, is like watching another whole movie, they hit you right in the feels.
thanks for the reaction of Firefly it was great to rewatch it with you
And recomment to now watch eitherTed Lasso, Luther or See.
I already watched the first season of Ted Lasso and for the moment it's only available on Patreon :)
It's ironic that I did actually watch this movie before I saw a single episode of the show (initially I didn't even know there WAS a show) and I still enjoyed it immensely. But I definitely agree that as good as this movie was, it suffers from comparing it to the series that it essentially wrapped up and what could have been from the remainder of the series this film ended up having to abridge.
I really enjoy all of Firefly, but honestly "Serenity" is the part I like the most because I feel like it distilled the best elements of the show into a smaller, more compact package...the stress of trying to fit two or three seasons of a show into two hours seemed to really bring out the best in Joss Whedon's writing.
It's just unfortunate he never got the chance to take his time and really grow more naturally what had to be accelerated in the making of this movie.
Wash passing is the hardest part for me easily best character