serenity and my sister:

[wisdomeagle]

Dinnertime conversation was about whether to take my little sister with me to see Serenity.

For those of you who have seen it:


[oh, and um, I know 12-year-olds are different. I'm asking for ballpark answers, really.]
[Poll #564083]

You can elaborate in the comments if you wish, but sans spoilers, please. :)

Comments

*per usual, refrains from poll-taking*

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

My stance on Serenity is that while those who have not seen Firefly will understand it, it resonates much more strongly if you have seen the series and I rather suspect that those who haven't seen the series won't be particular fans of the movie -- though I've seen reviews by people who didn't see or didn't particularly like the series who were big fans of the movie.

Serenity is a lot darker and gritter than Firefly. (I've heard it's closer to Joss's original vision for the 'verse, though I don't have a citation to back that up.) I'm no good at gauging age-appropriateness of anything, but my instinct given the dark and gritty is to say no to bring your twelve-year-old sis.

I think it's more violent and less sexual than BtVS S4.

[sage-theory.livejournal.com]

Having not seen Serenity, I'd say go see it first all by yourself so you can enjoy it sans sister who will probably be asking "who's that" and "why are they doing this?" (much as my mom did during the previews) and then once you've gauged it for yourself, knowing your sister's individual tolerances for sex/violence, take her.

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

To the first question, I would say yes. I'm still wondering how one plot point will go for those who haven't seen the show, but the rest is done quite well.

In terms of suitability: there are some ribald lines at times, more blatant dialogue, less blatant visuals than s4 BtVS. Violence-wise a lot of the worst is heard/reacted to, not seen. Which doesn't necessarily make it less disturbing.

It apparently has an M rating in Australia (according to my ticket) - which is I think equivalent to R: anyone under 15 must be accompanied by an adult (parent/guardian?)

[hermionesviolin.livejournal.com]

It has a PG-13 here in the states. (Parental guidance suggested but not required for those under 13.)

[sangerin.livejournal.com]

I'm actually surprised it's already got a rating here - they usually don't seem to get around to ratings until about two weeks before release. They were still showing "This trailer has been rated for advertising purposes, check back for the movies rating closer to the date" ads for Revenge of the Sith two days before it opened.

Although that could just be laziness on the part of the advertising staff...

[justhuman.livejournal.com]

I think it got a 15 rating in the UK and a PG-13 in the states. The movie has a sexual comment or two, but nothing too graphic -- much less sexual than Buffy S4.

It does have a movie level of violence -- much more than Buffy S4. I'd say that if she's bothered by violent scenes, she should probably skip, but otherwise, she's good to go.

[47-trek-47.livejournal.com]

It is very, intensely violent, at least in the version I saw. I would not be surprised if they cut back on the violence a bit in the final cut. Still, I say again, it is intense. If she's sensitive, I really wouldn't recommend it. It had *me* cowering in my seat, and I'm usually pretty immune to movie violence. Of course, part of that was my emotional connection to the characters, I know, but still, there was a lot of fighting/shooting/screaming/bleeding/stabbing going on. As for sexuality... I'd say not an issue. If I recall correctly, it was mostly coy jokes that would go right over a kid's head unless they already understood the reference.

[settiai]

Would my 12-year-old sister (who's never seen Firefly) be able to understand Serenity?

For the most part, I think so. Like sangerin said, there's one plot point that might not have as much impact on someone who hasn't seen the series, but -- other than that -- she should have no problem picking up on what's going on.

Would Serenity be appropriate content-wise (violence/sexuality) for my twelve-year old sister?

It really depends on how mature she is. Most of the sexual content is very vague, and I know that -- when I was twelve -- it would have gone right over my head without a second thought.

The violence is another story, though. There are several instances of extremely intense violence, that -- while they wouldn't have bothered me at her age -- would have bothered most normal other people.

[callmesandy.livejournal.com]

More violent and less sexual.

[rhi-silverflame.livejournal.com]

I'd never seen Firefly, and I was fine with the movie -- they do a good job of recapping for the newbies without dragging down the film.

As for the sexual/violent content . . . it's actually not more sexually explicit than BtVS S4 at all, but the violence factor is definitely a lot higher.