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112 of 122 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Well, at least it paved the way for the TV series, October 19, 2003
Joss Whedon was so upset with the way things were going on the set of the movie, for which he wrote the screenplay but over which he exercised no artistic control, that he walked off the set. Indeed, this is a very hard movie to watch today after the TV series. I did, in fact, moderately enjoy the movie when it first came out. I actually appreciated and enjoyed the absurd tension contained in the title, an airhead bimbo cheerleader called upon to be her generation's vampire slayer. But viewed today, the movie isn't terribly successful, and is in fact made much worse by the genius of the television series. It isn't just a question of Sarah Michelle Gellar being more appealing in the title role than Kristy Swanson (though SMG's much smaller stature increases the paradox of a tiny girl beating up large, supernaturally strong vampires) or the movie missing all the familiar characters of the show; the movie is almost completely devoid of its own style, look, and feel. Although the TV series started off on a tiny budget, it instantly had a compelling look and visual style that the movie completely lacks. Furthermore, on TV they managed a coolness and hipness that the movie never comes close to. Unfortunately, the series has pretty much reduced the movie to a curio.Many talk of the movie falling short of Joss Whedon's vision in writing the original script. Actually, overall the plot isn't too terribly different. Buffy doesn't burn down the gym at the end in the movie as Whedon wrote, but while there are many stylistic differences, many of the main plot elements were retained. I find the main difference between the movie and the series to be in the "how" they tell the story rather than the "what" in the story. Cleverness and intelligence permeates the TV show; the movie is nearly entirely devoid of those qualities. Take the death of vampires. In the movie, they get staked and simply fall down. In the TV series, they explode, which is not merely a spectacular special effect used to great purpose, but, as Joss Whedon mentions on the DVD commentary, leaves less clean up as there are not bodies. Also, in the movie, there isn't anywhere near the emotional depth that one finds in the series. Another part of the problem with the movie is the casting. Kristy Swanson isn't bad except when compared to Gellar, but Donald Sutherland is just dreadful. He plays his part as if he were a cartoon character, with a degree of camp that subtracts considerably from his humanity. In fact, the performances are almost uniformly awful. Not just Sutherland, but Rutger Hauer (someone I have loved in many other movies, especially in his Dutch films) and Paul Reubens create one almost unwatchable scene after another. David Arquette is at his worst here as well. In fact, the vampires are both poorly conceived and horribly executed, in contrast to the TV series. Many have noted the number of performers in supporting roles who later became well known, such as Ben Affleck, Natasha Gregson Wagner, and Hillary Swank (not to mention Stephen Root, who memorably played Milton the stapler guy in OFFICE SPACE) On top of all this, the thing that set the TV show apart from most other forms of popular entertainment was the degree to which it allowed for deep interaction among the various character, something made virtually impossible by the short format of a film (and something that in the long run should prove to be television's innate superiority over film, if it can ever overcome the resistance of television network execs to produce art rather than vehicles for selling airtime for commercials--my fear is that BUFFY could be an exception rather than a harbinger of things to come). In short, while not an awful movie, the movie version of BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER is not the masterpiece the television series is.
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28 of 33 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
In the beginning, there was Buffy the camp comedy classic, May 13, 2001
Pity poor Buffy (Kristy Swanson). She just wants to enjoy her life as a cheerleader/Valley girl when some scruffy old guy (Donald Sutherland) shows up and tells her she is "the Chosen One." You cannot believe how being a Vampire Slayer puts a crimp in a young girl's lifestyle. But when vampires (Rutger Hauer & Paul Reubens) are snacking on your classmates, what's a girl to do but grab some stakes and get down to some serious slaying. Fortunately, there is a cute guy (Luke Perry) as a bonus. For fans of the hit television series "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," the original movie is certainly a mixed bag. The strengths of the film come from Joss Whedon's script, which takes the ...idea of the blonde bimbo being chased by the monster and reverses it so that she end's up kicking the monster's butt. The weaknesses of the film come from director Fran Rubel Kuzui, who plays the whole thing for camp, personified by Paul Reubens over the top turn as "Lefty" and his agonizingly long death scene. But if you listen past the deliver to the actual lines, you can clearly find the foundation for the Buffy character on television. Donald Sutherland lends a certain amount of weight to the proceedings as Buffy's Watcher, but Rutger Hauer's considerable presence is lost in his campy Vampire King. What looks the most out of place is the fighting style of Kristy Swanson as Buffy, which combines martial arts with gymnastics and cheerleading, which, again, fits more into the camp style of the film. Ultimately the direction overwhelms the promise of the script and we are left with basically a one-joke film that does not get too far off the ground. But if you compare this to the pilot for the television series, you certainly get a better feel for how Joss Whedon refined his vision of the Slayer.
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12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Campy Horror At Its Best, June 3, 2001
As many know, Buffy the Vampire Slayer is now a cult hit tv show. This is what started it all. Joss Whedon wrote the script for the movie, but always envisioned it as a tv series. And although his script was tinkered with, for the movie, I think the movie turned out good. Of course, it's campy and cheesy. But that's what makes it good. Kristy Swanson stars as Buffy, she who must rid the world of the forces of darkness. She is guided by Merrick, her watcher, played by Donald Sutherland and a friend, Pike, played by Luke Perry. There are also appearances by the then up & coming David Arquette and Hilary Swank. When Buffy finds out her destiny as the Slayer, she must help Merrick slay a very powerful vampire, played by Rutger Hauer. Of course, chaos ensues, but Buffy saves the day in a final showdown worthy of all the one-liners shot out by Rutger and Kristy. Although the hit show created by Joss is superbly better, the movie still holds it own and will go down as a cult classic.
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