Just to clarify, I haven't even looked at the "Save Wash" campaign after reading the various comments about it. I don't really need the headache that comes from dealing with that level of craxy.
I also never once thought about contracts or personal falling outs or any other meta stuff.
My reactions were, and continue to be, to the story and characters themselves. While I hate to lose Wash and Book, and it hurts, my main gripe continues to be the presentation. We're not given a chance to breathe. Wash's death is sudden and random and immediately on the heels of Serenity getting seriously shredded (and props to Joss and Tim for this even hurting. My reactions to the various versions of the Enterprise blowing up have always been more "Woah" than "Ow".) then we spend the next 20 minutes getting punched in the gut again and again without a chance to take it all in. Apparently this worked for some people. For me it just caused an emotional disconnect and pulled me out of the story.
It also caused me to be rather angry once I finally had time to take a breath and let it sink in, which was about 10 minutes after the movie ended. Both for the death itself and the fact I had been unable to "experience" the rest of the movie because of it. Obviously, I'm no longer angry, but I do still disagree with how it was handled.
If Wash's death is neccessary, and Joss obviously believes it is, the audience either needs a moment to grieve or it needs to get pushed back into the siege part so it becomes part of that scene rather than hanging over it.
Once again, I'm in agreement with Kalshane. I hate that Wash dies, but hell, I've been following Joss Whedon shows for way too long to not understand that sooner or later, all my favorite characters will be murdered. What I thought was a mistake was the way it was handled in the movie, with the full-throttle rush to the end with barely a moment set aside to mourn. And the extenuating circumstances of the show's cancellation and then the victory of the movie being made and released at all just add to the emotional gut-punch of it all, in a way that I, personally, found really hard to watch.
I just got back.
I don't have too many words right now, but I know that the pain I'm feeling is pain I like.
I'll be reading and maybe commenting eventually.
He killed Wash. AIEEEEE!
There was a loud, grieving "Noooooo!" cried out during the movie.
I thought the movie was excellent, but am also feeling the gut punch of Wash's death. I don't feel betrayed by it, though. That's storytelling. Folks don't survive the Pequod either. The movie was grainier than I expected, and there wasn't really much of any score at all, and some of the transitions were abrupt. All stuff that'll be cleaned up between now and then.
It was a little funny ticking off Joss' movie moments - he's a lot more obvious than Tarantino, that's for fuckin' sure. Blade Runner? check. Night of the Living Dead/Fort Apache/Assault on Precinct 13? Check.
Summer Glau was the most compelling cinematic fighter (female division) I think I've seen since Michelle Yeoh was young. And lordy, did she get a power shot.
I almost don't want Nilly to watch; don't want to think about her grieving over Wash. Though I don't know if she can be more traumatized than Kate and Kalshane seem to be.
Hec is much like me. Only more loquacious.
This is the quote the RQG has decided goes with Hec and Betsy's posts:
I don't give a good gorram about relevant, Wash. Or objective. And I ain't so afraid of losing something that I ain't gonna try to have it. You and I would make one beautiful baby. And I want to meet that child one day. Period.
I liked the movie, but I am glad I was spoiled, because then I didn't actually have to watch Wash die.
I also want to see how much difference the finishing touches make in the final movie that comes out in September.
