Serenity named top sci-fi movie

[YankeyMCC]

(snip)
Space thriller Serenity has beaten Star Wars to the title of best sci-fi movie in an SFX magazine poll of 3,000 fans.

The futuristic release from 2005 was based on the short-lived TV series Firefly. Both were the work of Buffy the Vampire Slayer creator Joss Whedon.

Star Wars - which Whedon has conceded had "an enormous influence" on Serenity - came second in the survey.

Blade Runner was third, followed by Planet of the Apes, The Matrix, Alien and Forbidden Planet.
(snip)

(snip)
1. Serenity
2. Star Wars (pictured)
3. Blade Runner
4. Planet of the Apes
5. The Matrix
6. Alien
7. Forbidden Planet
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. The Terminator
10. Back to the Future
Source: SFX magazine
(snip)

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/6517155.stm

Ok Serenity was excellent but top SF movie ever over Star Wars and Forbidden Planet?? I have to disagree with that.

[AllegroRondo]

1. Booo!

better than Blade Runner?
better than Star Wars?

and what the heck is Back to the Future doing in there?

[TechBear_Seattle]

2. The series as a whole was unique

That is why it developed such a hard-core fan base despite its very short run.

I was going to write a lot of stuff comparing Star Wars to Lord of the Rings, but I think I can summarize thus: Star Wars is the benchmark against which all other science fiction is compared, and has become so much of an influence that it has become a cliche of the genre.

Firefly and Serenity are quite different and violate many of the requirements set by Star Wars. There are no aliens, no faster than light travel, no heroes or villans with mystic powers or technical magic, no epic story or mythic journey or triumph over the evil empire. Instead, we have ordinary humans trying to make a living while dealing with ornery people, worn out tech and a government/economic system that frowns on independence. It combines three distinct, wildly different sensibilities -- space opera, spaghetti western and Chinese culture -- into a well crafted, unified whole.

The Star Wars universe offers a galaxy-wide scope, great visuals and an idealistic, black and white world where good is good and evil is evil. The Serenity universe offers a smaller scope, great writing and a human world with lots of color. I don't see any contest here; I think SFX made the correct call.

[YankeyMCC]

3. I don't disagree with your assesment

for the most part but doesn't that measure of what Star Wars is make it the standard and therefore deserving of the number 1 spot? It is as you say the bench mark.

Perhaps if you want a more human scale themed movie to be number one Forbidden Planet would be the better choice. It too has aspects that make it a benchmark for the genre but with a more human scale story - in fact a very classic story.

Again, I don't mean to take anything away from Serenity/Firefly - I'm a huge fan and Serenity probably deserves placement in the list somewhere fairly high up but it doesn't create a new measure, a new benchmark so I think the films that have come before that have set those benchmarks, broken that ground should be higher ranked.

Of course all this ranking is a bit silly - it just depends on what you want there are classics and then there are great works that have built on classic themes so in a sense you might rate those higher as they can be seen a culmination of effort.

[NewHampshireDem]

4. What a strange list ...

It is definately sci-fi-action heavy and sci-fi-story short. Where's 'ET'? 'Metropolis'? 'Brazil'?

Here's the list on IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/chart/scifi

At least 'Equilibrium' isn't on either list. :P

[Richard D]

5. I have to say . . .

. . . I just watched Serenity because of this list, and I just don't why it's on the top, or even on the list. I don't get back to the Future either. Nice movies, entertaining, but great? Amazing? Best in their class? Not for me. I can think of at least a half dozen other movies, Children of Men, V for Vendetta, Solyaris, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Brazil, Metropolis, and a few more if I think about it that are, IMNVHO, way better movies with a very long lasting impact on culture and movie making.

[Orrex]

6. I found Serenity to be pretty entertaining

But honestly there was nothing ground-breaking or unconventional about IMO. I never watched Firefly, so perhaps I just wasn't into it, but that's part of the problem--to top this list, the film should stand as a great work independent of the series, and it doesn't. At least, not as an iconic figurehead of the genre.

Sure, it was fun to watch, but it was fun in the way that a solid two-hour episode of any sci-fi series is fun. It simply didn't advance the artform in the way that 2001, Bladerunner, or Star Wars did.

[Bridget Burke]

8. "Firefly" is part of the Serenity "package".....

It was a ground-breaking & excellent series that Fox misused & canceled far too soon. The fans are still bitter & want to let people know what they missed.

I can see your point. I can also see the fans' point. (Well, I am one.)

[Orrex]

9. It's a tricky slope

I think we need to isolate this particular list to the films themselves, or else we risk blowing the discussion up into the size of the universe.

We could, for instance, include the success of merchandizing as one criterion, in which case Star Wars and Star Trek would leap to the front of the pack. Heck, even if we allow a tv series to latch onto the film's importance, Star Trek still has to occupy a prime spot on the list.

I should restate that I have nothing against Serenity or Firefly, but I simply never watched the show on tv, so that whole chunk of the phenomenon is lost on me. Not meant as a rip on the show's/movie's fans.

Now, if I wanted to ridicule a sci-fi tv series, I'd go on and on about Babylon-5.

:P

[PVnRT]

12. Oh no you DIN'T

Now, if I wanted to ridicule a sci-fi tv series, I'd go on and on about Babylon-5.

I challenge you to an internets geekboy fight.

[Orrex]

13. LOL! Actually, I don't have anything against it per se

I just never got into it. I didn't really like the casting, and I was always bothered by the quality of the CGI.

But that's about it for me, complaint-wise.

[Richard D]

10. I've been watching Firefly . . .

. . . and I'm quite enjoying it. Seems like a bit of a cross between gilligans island, Wild Wild West, and Kung Fu. Perhaps a fan can enlighten me as to the Chinese aspects in it though. Lots of Asian art, Mandarin language, Asian food, but very few actual Asians.

[Richard D]

11. Nevermind

Found the wiki articles on Firefly.

[Deja Q]

7. Star Wars was toddler fodder. "Blake's 7" is a far more accurate souce for his inspiration.

Indeed, "Serenity" has no less than FIVE "homages" to specific "Blake's 7" episodes.

Yes, Star Wars and Blake's 7 came out around the same time, but as with Firefly, Blake's 7 was a bit more adult and intelligent than the candy floss known as Star Wars.

[AnnieBW]

14. Shiny!

It was a great movie, but I think that Blade Runner was better.

[Deja Q]

15. Has Whedon ever claimed "Blake's 7" as being an influence?

I hope so. The movie 'Serenity' has scenes taken directly from certain B7 episodes; some of which were innovated/augmented/slightly-altered, but the source material speaks for itself. :)

[TygrBright]

16. It would be really interesting to hear his answer to that question!

I finally found a source for B7 DVDs in US format. The quality is not overwhelming, but it works. As I tell my esposo, "Since the Beeb relied entirely on styrofoam, miniatures, and a few old-fashioned opticals for FX anyway, why are we worried about how well we can see the details?"

Whedon has grasped an essential truth about SF that the Beeb has known since 'way back when, with "Prisoner" and "Dr. Who" in the sixties:

Science fiction is about PEOPLE.

It's not about gadgets, it's not about monsters, it's not about aliens with tire-track faces, it's not about anomie and coolitude. It's about people, and the choices they make, the dilemmas they face, and how they resolve (or don't resolve) them in the face of change and challenge.

Whedon gets it, like Terry Nation got it. What makes a series work is the people and how they interact and what they do when challenged by the aliens, gadgets, etc.

Yes, you get to imagine your own universe (that's what makes it fun,) but no matter how cool that universe might be, if it isn't filled with recognizable (and lovable and hatable) *people* doing things that resonate for us in our universe, it's just artistic self-gratification.

dogmatically,
Bright

[gatorboy]

17. Serenity over Close Encounters?

Over Aliens?
Over The Thing?
Over Robocop?
C'mon. Even Starship Troopers was better.


Now I likes Serenity just as much as the next guy. But really, it was just an extended episode of Firefly. No. 1 Sci Fi movie? Evah? Pfffft...