Serenity

  Spoiler alert! I discuss important plot details, if you haven’t seen this decade old movie based on a failed TV show and don’t want to know what happens then go watch it before you read my review. The movie is good, you’ll enjoy it.
  Outlaw Mal Reynolds and his crew of intergalactic bandits pick up a new passenger, a psychic named River Tam. River is being hunted by an operative of the Alliance, the chief government of the galaxy. Can Mal protect River and his crew while exposing the hidden crimes of the Alliance?
  While I’ve never seen the TV series that preceded it, for some reason I ended up watching Serenity in theaters during its release in 2005. I enjoyed the movie at the time, and years later I bought the DVD on a whim. Watching it recently, I was initially puzzled why I owned this movie, but by the time the film was over I was reminded why I liked it.
  Firefly is a cult TV show, and while I don’t fully understand all of the appeal, as a fan of weird things and sci-fi in general it’s hard not to like it at least a little. A sci-fi Western where all of the characters curse in Chinese? Sure, why not. I find it kind of strange that this movie even exists given that the show was cancelled during its first season due to poor ratings. I know Twin Peaks had a movie after it was cancelled, but that series was initially popular and had a lot of buzz around it, it also had a second season. I’m assuming Serenity was made due to the then growing power of creator Joss Whedon, who wrote and directed it. Whedon’s influence has only continued to gain momentum, as he has transformed from a TV writer to a director of huge blockbusters. If the man had just created Buffy the Vampire Slayer that would be enough to make him a geek legend, but giving nerds a live action Avengers movie ensures that his name will live on in internet chat rooms and comic conventions forever. He also wrote The Cabin in the Woods, which is a fucking awesome horror movie. Joss Whedon is the man.
  Like I said before, while I was watching the beginning of this movie I was wondering why I had purchased it given that I had never seen the TV show. The short answer is the story and the characters. The heroes in Serenity are a little more fleshed out then your average sci-fi characters, and Whedon is known for infusing his dialogue with wit and charm. Some of the protagonists are killed off, and the movie is good at making these deaths feel genuinely sad. A lot of movies slaughter cardboard characters left and right and nobody gives a damn, but seeing some of the people in Serenity get the axe was moving. I don’t think this is an easy thing to accomplish, but Whedon does it here and the movie is more compelling for that reason.
  The ideas in this are also something I found interesting. The movie explores the theme of control, and the pressures to conform to a society that manipulates individuals to no end. Anyone with adult responsibilities can probably relate to what the movie is talking about, I know I’m frequently stressed out by a system that often seems inhuman. Mal and the crew of Serenity oppose the overwhelming control of the Alliance, they are individualists trying to make their own way in a universe torn apart by power struggles. Later on in the film the good guys discover a planet where something killed the population in the midst of their daily routines, with the few that survived becoming the violently insane, space cannibals known as Reavers. It was the Alliance that caused all of this misery, they were trying to chemically control the population with a calming gas, with disastrous results. Control is not always a good thing, the movie is arguing, and too much control can be harmful.
  Characters and story aside, I thought Serenity had a good protagonist and villain. Nathan Fillion plays a square jawed anti-hero to good effect, he isn’t amazing but you like him enough and I found his back story intriguing as he is essentially a Confederate soldier living in the aftermath of a war his side lost. Chiwetel Ejiofor is frightening as the Operative because of the calm, collected way he murders innocent people. He is an idealist who thinks that the end justifies the means. At one point this villain admits to Mal that he knows he is a monster, and that he will not have a place in the world he is trying to create.
  One thing that is worth noting about Serenity is that while the movie does contain a climactic battle between the hero and villain, the hero does not kill the villain. After Mal beats up the Operative he forces him to watch video evidence proving that the Alliance wiped out that planet I mentioned earlier. After seeing this the Operative changes his position, and agrees with Mal. In 99% of these things the hero and villain can’t agree on anything, and one of them uses violence to take out the other. To see a movie where the bad guy actually learns the error of his ways was refreshing, and it felt natural to the story. Kudos to Joss for achieving this without it feeling forced in any way.
  If the Reavers are insane cannibals then how are they able to pilot and maintain space ships? And why don’t they wipe each other out? I understand this movie is a Western and the Reavers are the stand in for indians/Native Americans, but if you think about it they’re basically savage astronauts, which doesn’t really make any sense.  
  I don’t think you need to be a fan of the Firefly TV show to enjoy Serenity, the movie explains enough of the lore to give newcomers an idea of what’s going on. I’m sure fans of the show will get more out of this film, but I would recommend Serenity to anyone who likes good science fiction.
 

Starship Troopers: Invasion

  An Arachnid Queen has commandeered a Federation starship headed for Earth and it is up to the brave soldiers of the Mobile Infantry to stop her.
  Like most people, my introduction to the Starship Troopers universe began with the 1997 live action movie directed by Paul Verhoeven. While not as good as his film Robocop, Verhoeven’s take on the influential sci-fi novel, complete with humorous jabs at a fascist society, was a lot of fun and successful enough to produce a series of direct to video sequels. Invasion is the third sequel, and is a CG cartoon movie that is basically a video game cutscene but without the game part. If what I just wrote didn’t scare you away, then you might like Invasion.
  As much fun as the original ST movie was, the biggest problem I had with it was how it completely removed the powered armor mech suits that were in Heinlein’s novel. Starship Troopers is an influential book that helped inspire mecha anime like Mobile Suit Gundam, Robotech and countless other mech based properties from Japan and elsewhere, so an adaptation that lacked one of the chief elements was a bit frustrating to fans of the source material. I mention this because Invasion is based more on the Starship Troopers film franchise then it is the original book, which means that the power armor again gets mostly omitted. Towards the climax of this movie power armor does show up, but for the rest of the run time it’s standard gunplay, which was slightly disappointing for me. I still had fun watching the action in Invasion, don’t get me wrong, I’ll take a war between a bunch of Master Chief look a likes and an army of giant insects any day of the week, I just think robot suits would’ve made the proceedings considerably more enjoyable.
  The film mixes in a group of new troopers among the previously established ones such as Johnny Rico (who is now a general) and his starship pilot, love interest Carmen Ibanez. Carl Jenkins, the psychic played by Neil Patrick Harris in the original, also shows up, but is portrayed as more of a villain this time, at least in the sense that it was his psychic experiments that led to the crisis the troopers are facing. The newer characters are pretty forgettable and mostly serve to give the film an enjoyable body count ala a Friday the 13th film or any horror movie you can think of. By the time the movie is over, most of these new recruits are dead, and that was just fine with me and probably anyone who bothers to watch this.
  Actor Caspar Van Dien and screenwriter Edward Neumeier from the first Starship Troopers movie are listed as producers on this, but as Van Dien doesn’t voice Johnny Rico and I doubt Neumeier had much to do with Invasion’s script their involvement seems like a meaningless gesture designed to attract fans of the Verhoeven film. Other then this, there is no creative talent from the original movie involved in the making of this film, so if you were hoping to hear Neil Patrick Harris or Denise Richards in this then you are out of luck.
  In terms of expanding the lore Invasion adds almost nothing, the most interesting thing in the movie for me was seeing Carl Jenkins use his psychic powers to control some of the bugs, using a few of the Queen’s own drones against her, this was neat but it terms of story innovation this was Invasion’s only contribution, making the rest of the film a somewhat pointless excuse to see sci-fi guys shoot big bugs.
  If you like some of the CG animated features coming from Japan, like the Appleseed movies or Halo: Legends, then you might possibly be interested in Invasion, but this movie was really made for fans of the original film/novel. If you’ve never read the novel, or didn’t care for the 1997 movie, then I wouldn’t bother watching this. Even for die hard Starship Troopers fans the most I can give this is a mild recommendation, Invasion is fine but you might be better off checking out the first CG cartoon based on Heinlein’s book, the TV show Roughnecks: Starship Troopers Chronicles.

Watchmen

  A team of disbanded superheroes known as the Watchmen are being picked off one by one, as the murders continue it’s up to the hero Rorschach to discover who is behind the slayings. But can Rorschach solve the mystery before World War 3 breaks out?
  In my review of X-Men: Days of Future Past I said that I used to be huge into comic books, so it will not be surprising to anyone paying attention that I was a big fan of the Watchmen graphic novel, which is considered by many to be the best superhero yarn ever put to paper. I actually didn’t read Watchmen until I was in my early 20s, but it was quite a treat. My room-mate bought it for my birthday, he also gave me The Dark Knight Returns on that same birthday, essentially giving me the two most critically acclaimed superhero comics ever. Thanks room-mate. :)
  Some people think that Watchmen is unfilmable, a story so epic and hard to adapt that one would be better off not even trying. Alan Moore, the author of the comic, said that a Watchmen movie was a bad idea because he designed his stories to be comic books, and that they wouldn’t translate to the big screen. This movie sparked a lot of debate when it came out, some people loved it, lots of people hated it with a passion. I am one of the former. I’ve seen the film three or four times now, and for the purpose of this review I popped in my director’s cut DVD and sat through all 3 hours and 6 minutes. I still enjoy this movie, and I think it actually holds up quite well to this day.
  Anyone who’s read the trade paperback and seen the movie know that it changes one big part of the climax, but other then that it is a slavish reproduction of the graphic novel, too faithful some would say. I understand that comic books and movies are different, and that changes are a part of the adaptation process, but I am also of the opinion that the closer a movie is to the spirit of the source material the more likely it is to be good. If you’re going to make a movie loosely based on Watchmen then why even call it Watchmen in the first place? People love this story and these characters, and if any comic to film adaptation deserves an obsession with detail it is this one.    
  My favorite film critic, Roger Ebert, gave Watchmen a four star review when it came out. While I don’t think I would give it that high of a rating, I believe Ebert wasn’t far off. Love it or hate it, you have to admit that the movie sure is something. Even if you think Snyder failed at making a good movie out of the comic, you have to respect him for giving it one hell of a try. Watching it again last night, I was continually impressed by how visually striking the movie is, it really is a feast for the eyes, the kind of movie one can have muted and still be engrossed in.
  When Watchmen came out in 2009, I remember a conversation I had with a fellow comic fan who hadn’t yet seen it. He asked me if the movie lived up to the comic, and I told him that I wasn’t sure. I said that the best person to judge if Watchmen was a great movie would be someone who hadn’t read the graphic novel, and I still think that’s true today, but in the years that have followed, I must admit I have grown a fondness and admiration for this movie, it is a massive undertaking, one that I think achieves most of its goals. You want a Watchmen movie? You’ve got one, thanks to Zack Snyder and some especially brave executives at Warner Brothers. A big budget, R rated superhero movie? What were they thinking?
  While I did see it in theaters it was some time before I bought it on home video and watched it again, so I can’t say for sure all of what was added in the director’s cut. The movie is probably more violent, and I’m pretty sure that love scene in Nite Owl’s aircraft is a little longer and more intense on the DVD, other then that I’m not sure what more is included. If you know what the changes are and wouldn’t mind leaving a comment, I would appreciate it.
  Flawed or not, Snyder’s movie is a high quality cinematic experience that successfully carries over most of the charm of the comic. I think this movie is worth not only seeing once, but multiple times. I love the violence, the dark nature, the over the top elements, the courage required to tackle such a unique story, and the love it exhibits for the source material with an almost tender attention to detail. It may not be perfect, but it does justice to the graphic novel, and at the end of the day that is all that is required.