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).

Somebody has started a campaign to change something that she didn't like in the movie.

Right. Because this was so effective in bringing Tara back for S7 of Buffy.

Part of me says "Hell yes" to that, but part of me says it's Joss' story and he can do what he wants with it. But I still think it has no actual value in said story as it stands.

Also, I think this

I also agree with the "tension" in the climax being too much.

may have been the reason for Wash's death. As someone (I think it was Jen) said, one death is almost expected; two is a shock and everyone's fair (or foul) game at that point.

Right. Because this was so effective in bringing Tara back for S7 of Buffy.

But Tara's death, while random and pointless at least served a purpose in the story. Her death hurt, but I didn't feel betrayed.

Okay, I think I need to step back and take some deep breaths here because I'm getting way too worked up over a fictional character.

(ETA context)

Heh. I was about to post the link to the campaign to change the element of the movie. THIS LINK IS 100% SPOIL-Y. Okay? You have been warned. [link]

God DAMN, I hate whiny fans who want the actual show/movie/story changed because they don't like what happened. Grow up. Make your own damn movie.