BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER fan, I just couldn't get into it. However I do know people that watched the show religiously, and think that writer JOSS WHEDON is something of a genius.
So, most everyone I know was anxiously awaiting SERENITY, Whedon's big screen debut. I was busy the week that it came out, and couldn't make the group outing to see it. So, last night, driving home from my parents place, I decided on a whim to do 2 things... purchase a plunger, and finally go see SERENITY. I got my ticket, and walked into the small auditorium, which was 2 thirds... FULL
Fans of science fiction and fantasy are a special breed. They are, if anything, devoted to whichever writer/director they fancy. I got my seat, and tried to get comfortable. Then I listened to the conversations around me. I'm pretty sure I got enough of the backstory and Bios of all the characters in the movie that way. I gather that the major characters were from a short-lived television show, which put me at a disadvantage right away, since I had not seen this TV show.
The movie started, and there I sat. I stared at the screen, and tried to get absorbed into the story, which appeared to be about a crew of a ship named SERENITY.. whos crew was protecting their doctor and his traumatized sister from the alliance (whatever that is.. I think it's an offshoot of the Empire from Star Wars.) These "Rebels" are trying to find jobs, while the Alliance is looking for this traumatized girl. That's what I gathered, anyway.
I did notice a few things:
1) I saw a coffee maker in Serenity's dining room/kitchen that is an F.A. Porsche Design coffee maker made by Bosch
2) The first scene in the movie looks like a single camera move that moves through various locations in the ship. The whole "shot" must have lasted at least 4 minutes. This in fact had to have been 2 shots, since I think I saw a quick transition when someone was walking down some stairs, and the camera turned to show someone following him. I don't know for sure.
I just couldn't get into the movie. Everyone around me was laughing, but then again they already had a connection in some way to the characters via the TV show. I sat there, and I felt like I was missing listening to a lot of in jokes, and wasn't a part of it. After 70 minutes, I couldn't connect with the movie, and finally did something I haven't done in quite a while. I went to get some popcorn, and never went back in to the theatre. I walked past the popcorn stand, and straight to my car, and drove home.
Did I waste my money? Not really. In my mind, I went to see something that I wasn't sure I was my cup of tea, discovered it wasn't, and decided to leave. If I felt any connection to the movie, or sympathy towards the characters, I would have at least stayed to see the outcome.
Last night, I felt like I was invited to a party where I knew no one. Everyone else was enjoying the party, but I decided it was prudent that I leave, because I just wasn't having a good time. No harm, no foul.
Have you ever walked out of a movie? If so which one, and why?
1 comment:
I have walked out of one or two films. One was a naughty French period drama which was supposed to contain lurid sex but in fact, was dull as ditchwater. Another was a Mimi Driver movie - she was a Sephardic Jewess who went to be a nanny on an island and had an affair with her boss. Again - dull as ditchwater. It is of note that I cannot recall the names of either of these two films. And then, I walked out of The Constant Gardener because I was seasick from sitting in the third row and watching that hand-held camera photography technique.
Post a Comment