even most of the pressing questions about River aren't really answered; we know part of why she was so crazy, but we still don't know for sure why the Alliance chose her or what they were doing to her

I thought we did know - she was being turned into a telepath who could also kick-ass in combat. Apparantly she was to be controlled à la The Manchurian Candidate .

And from the series we know they chose her because she was a genius - maybe being a genius makes you a better ass-kicking telepath.

I'm not sure I needed to white-font any of that....

Ok, I'm simultaneously amused and squicked that Simon knows River's safe word. That's not going to quiet the hodgeberry crowd down any, is it?

Now I know what to say if someone ever tries to feed me too many hodgeberries....

I thought we did know

Well, I mean, we didn't really learn anything new about her backstory (pre-Alliance) or her abilities from the movie. We already pretty much knew she was being trained to be an assassin of some sort, and that she had psychic abilities. But did she possess psychic abilities before the Alliance took her? What exactly did they do to her to turn her into a psychic assassin? What kind of Evil Plan was she going to be used for?

Kate, thank you so much for clarifying my plot points--I was seriously rattled by the end of the night and I knew I'd be confusing some things. (Also? *Wicked* good to see you last night!)

They went to a lot of different planets and my one gripe with the movie is that it's really, really hard to keep track of where they are and why.

But did she possess psychic abilities before the Alliance took her?

I've always assumed not.

What exactly did they do to her to turn her into a psychic assassin?

Science-y stuff. They probably added some phlebotom (sp?).

What kind of Evil Plan was she going to be used for?

I'm sure a huge government (or a shadowy secret gov't/corporate organization, not necessarily acting in the government's best interests) would have lots of uses for a psychic assassin.

Oh, and wasn't it established during the series that Mal wasn't particularly good at piloting Serenity? Cuz I loved the scene where River pilots the ship - she takes to it like a fish to water. Which is cool, as they don't have to add another crew member to replace Wash.

Jen, it was awesome to see you too!

There was definite potential for confusion regarding which planet they were on. When they landed on Book's planet the second time and everyone was dead, I was sure at first they they were still on the planet where they'd found Inara. I also found it difficult to follow some of the conversations that meandered all over the ship in the beginning, especially because the film in that section was still grainy and dark, and I couldn't always tell who was speaking. Hopefully that will be easier to follow in the final version, otherwise new viewers will be even more lost than I was.

I am Kate P. in this. I agree that Wash's death was totally random and pointless and contributed nothing at all to the story. Last night I was a little upset, but the more I think about it, the more pissed off I'm getting about it. Which means I really need to stop because at the rate I'm going I fear I'm going to work myself up into hating the movie, which I really don't want to do.

I also agree with the "tension" in the climax being too much. I mean Serenity crashes (and really crashes in a pieces flying off in every direction way), then Wash dies, then Zoe gets cut, then Jayne gets shot, then Kaylee gets shot, then Simon gets shot, then Mal gets impaled and then River gets buried under a swarm of Reavers. It was just way too much in way too short a span. It actually caused part of my brain to shut down and I actually ceased caring what was going to happen next. This is not a good thing.

As for Book's death it was upsetting, but I have an easier time coming to grips with it.

Still, overall it feels unneccessarily cruel. Though it could be because Wash and Book are two of my three favorite characters on the show. Losing them is like if we had lost Giles and Xander in Chosen, for me.

Sumi posted this in the main thread (she wants to stay unspoiled, so I figured it wouldn't get over here any time soon otherwise):

And also, over on LJ? Somebody has started a campaign to change something that she didn't like in the movie.

Three guesses what this is, and I bet the first two don't count (haven't gone to LJ myself).