Browncoats: Redemption

And because I understand how difficult it is to assemble a movie from a disparate collection of Film Clips, Music, SoundFX and Special Effects. Not to mention Costumes, lighting etc. And because I really don't like rating TV Shows and Films lower than 10, in all honesty, I could not give this a 10. But I give it a 5 for just trying.

I like that this film shows another group of Space Truckers from the Firefly Universe, and stuff that happens after "Miranda" was uncovered - But it is still a Fan Film. So far the best Fan Film to date has been the fantastic "Of Gods and Men" for the Star Trek Universe. But that film had one advantage over this one: It was conceived and directed by Tim "Tuvok" Russ, and it afforded an opportunity for Trek actors and actresses to one again stand on the Bridge of Enterprises from Various Mirrors Universes.

This film does not lack in Costumes, whoever did this did a swell job if recreating the Starship Troopers Armor that was used in Firefly. This is another thing that the makers of this had no access to: Huge warehouses of Props from Universal/20th Century Fox/Paramount/etc. So they had to do with what they could scrounge up. Also, a regular show has a stable of Actors they can draw from. Now, the actors used for this, did as well as they could, but it was still wooden. The Sound Editing was not done well, so things like Dialogue is not very effective.

I could have lived with all of this, but one thing really stood out: In Firefly the series and the Movie Sequel "Serenity", you would have noticed if you are a fan, that when Kaylee talks about Engine parts, she never uses direct terms related to any Electronic or Engineering tech that exists today. Joss made sure that all of the names of parts did not come from a Radio Shack Catalog. So, in this, there is one scene where the non-Wash pilot activates some kind of Voice Recognition for the ship, and in response the Ship says something about it's "Diodes". That word was never used in Firefly, ever, nor the name of any other electronic component.

Now, I watched various parts of this, cos it was painful to watch it in sittings of longer than 5 minutes each time. With better Directing and Acting skills, the semi-passable lines could have been delivered believably. But the writer created an opening scene which had crew of this ship in a bar, and eventually a fight breaks out, like it used to happen all the time in Firefly. I just didn't buy it, it's not logical that another crew of another ship would act just like the crew of Firefly, even if they were Brown-coats. So I flipped forward, and I did not see any other interesting scenes

So, maybe I'll go back and watch it from start to finish, as much as I love Firefly, the things which endeared that show to me did not exist here. If I view it again and find differently, I'll amend this review and change the rating.

As a hardcore Whedonite (Firefly being my favorite of the bunch), I long for a season 2 (or a sequel to Serenity) with the best of them. I cannot, however, condone the awful chop-job they made of my favorite verse. I am convinced that Fox allowed it just so that people would stop asking for a season 2.

Here's a couple of protips: 1: Adding a few Chinese phrases doesn't make your trash sound like Firefly. Neither does shooting scenes in insufficient light make it LOOK like Firefly. 2: If you plan to USE Chinese phrases, the actors should be able to say those phrases in a way that (regardless of accuracy) at least SOUND like they are comfortable; the Chinese is supposed to be a natural part of their culture. The cast of Firefly managed it regardless of how difficult it was for them. 3: If you are going to use WESTERN phrases, the actors should be able to say those phrases in a way that (regardless of accuracy) at least SOUND like they are comfortable. (see above for the rest; I guess now I know why actual actors get paid so much.) 4: When you screw up a scene, don't just keep going and correct yourself, reminding yourself audibly what your line *should* have been. Cut, and start the scene over. This is not a play, regardless of what the set pieces seem to imply; you don't have to go with your first take. 5: Don't force references to Firefly. Yes, beagles have smallish droppings. Yes, it was funny when Mal said it. No, it is not funny when you say it. Because you're awful at this. Just awful. 6: At least attempt to *modify* the clothes you're wearing into costumes. It doesn't take much effort, and it can go a long way. 7: There's a reason for boom mics. 8: This is the important bit. You must pay close attention to this particular bit, because it is the most vital direction that any reviewer will give you. Here it is: don't screw around with Joss Whedon's stuff. It's too good to live up to. Your attempt at a tribute, no matter how lovingly intended, will be a nausea-inducing insult to everyone who loves Whedon's work enough to watch yours.

In conclusion, I feel as though I've just staggered into a room full of unattractive people masturbating all over something that I love, and I'll be scarred by it for years to come.

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 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...

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.