Browncoats: Redemption

This is set within the same universe as Joss Whedon's "Firefly" TV series and subsequent film, "Serenity". Like the show and film, we follow the characters of an independent cargo ship who are just taking what jobs they can, both legal and not-so, just to get through each day.

This is a decent first time effort from all involved. The cast are relaxed and there are no "clunkers" amongst them. If anything, the dialogue, being in the particular style that Whedon and his writers wrote for his characters, gave me a new appreciation of how difficult it was for the professionals to recite naturally. There is a well thought out reveal for one character and the direction is confident.

Yes, this is a fan film and that's how it should be viewed, but at the same time, it doesn't come over as a "vanity" production, yet has enough nods to the fandom. If you have enjoyed the source material, then give this a try for no other reason than to appreciate the passion of the production team and cast.

This movie was... interesting. For all non-Firefly fans out there, let me define "interesting"; Oh God, oh God, we're all going to die... This feeling of going to die does not come from the intense action, nor the amazing acting... it's just this general feeling of wanting to curl up in a dark hole...

That's not to say I don't applaud the Browncoats. It was a well intentioned movie that was poorly executed. The writing tried too hard to BE Firefly, which was probably the worst mistake they could have made - there were no unique characters and much of the slang is forced. Also, the audio was terrible at best most of the time...

I understand that this is a fan film and that it shouldn't be expected to blow us away, but I was honestly embarrassed and nauseous from this movie.

I give them a 10 for effort, but a -4 for execution...

Browncoasts: Redemption had a great idea behind it - to follow another crew in the Firefly 'verse years after the events of Serenity. Kind of like Firefly: the Next Generation.

Unfortunately, even for a fan film, this movie left much to be desired. As a fan film, one can forgive that the cinematography, audio, editing, and to some degree the acting fell short. The big nail in this movie's coffin was the script.

Creating a movie like this with nothing but volunteers and fan effort is a HUGE undertaking, and I'm sure an ungodly amount of time, effort, and love went into this. However, that makes me question even more what in the sweet hell the creators were thinking when they decided to put all of this effort into making a movie out of this horrible, horrible script. Most of the movie is spent in exposition; we get far, far more information than we needed about the characters and many other aspects of the story. Worse yet, most of that exposition is delivered by people telling stories sitting around at a table or in a hanger. SHOW US, DON'T TELL US!

I love the Browncoats fan group. They are fantastic and generous people, and I hate to make anyone feel bad. I just wish that the story they chose to tell had been selected and edited a bit more carefully.

This was a clever story set in the 'verse that many of us Browncoats have come to know and love. While the movie had plot and technical flaws, it wasn't cheesy or unwatchable. And believe me when I say I can't watch bad acting. The script was written so as not to stretch the volunteer actors too far. And when they did get hammy the director was clever enough to have them refer to their bad scene as their character acting out of character. So the bad acting is made to work.

One of the problems with a fan movie like this is that the fans want to revel in the atmosphere of the source material. Where the original film, Serenity, and TV series, Firefly, only occasionally highlighted the culture, like companions and crew-as-family scenes, this movie is awash in both. There are companions everywhere and every scene with the crew is some kind of bonding or family support. This is what the fans loved about the series and in this film they overdo it.

The directing was effective. Almost every scene was done with a framed wide shot. A couple of lines needed close-ups so we could see the actor's expression to make the shot work. But every scene was in focus and the pacing was good. And a couple of scenes were downright high quality. The voice-over scene where the captain explains her motivations was excellent, for example.

The casting was excellent. The actors all appear to be cut from the same cloth as the characters they portray. The only mistake was casting the captain as a female tough guy. It just doesn't work. It's the same mistake they made in Cutthroat Island with Geena Davis. Without being too crude let's just say no one thinks that Heide Montag would be great in a street fight because of her overly developed upper body. We're asked to believe that here. (Just to be clear, there's no indication of plastic surgery on any of the cast.)

The special effects were well done. The pacing was good. The acting was acceptable, especially for volunteers. The story was an interesting addition to the Firefly 'verse. All in all a good and commendable effort. And especially worthwhile as a means to donate to some excellent charities.

I have to agree with others that the film left me.. well.. just left me.. Of course a fan film isn't going to match JW work.. hell JW will have a tough time matching his work in Firefly.. Firefly was a unique mix of cast, crew, plot, acting, personalities and etc that will probably never be matched.. anyway I digress.. The film was good considering they had no budget.. no real sets and scenes and no real actors.. the acting was forced and not believable in my opinion..so I split my vote.. and 5 is average for me..It would take a few 100K to make a good 40 minute movie.. these guys made a fair movie on 0.00$ basically.. Firefly fans are the best fans in the 'verse.. and you want to agree with me.. or else you might damage my calm... Still Flying..