Browncoats: Independence War (2015) Online

I'm rating this an 8 since it is a fan film and needs to be rated against other fan films and not corporate films, which I expect more from.

It has a good story with several subplots for character development. That works well.

Wow, the live fire scenes were straight out of Hollywood! Most were shot at night which added to the drama of the battle. So many guns, it was awesome. Loved it. The special effects were excellent, also straight out of Hollywood. For a fan film, very unexpected.

The acting, for a fan film, was pretty good, some better than others. There is one minor character that I think really shined above the main cast.

The cinematography was excellent. Considering the low budget of fan films, it was well lit, well shot and believable. As well as entertaining. Kudos to the director.

Now for a couple of critiques: 1. Fan films should not be feature length. That causes directors to put awesome scenes into the movie that really do not add to the movie. As some actors claim, their best scenes end up on the cutting room floor. 2. I liked the fire fights, but the Alliance soldiers suffer from the same ability as Stormtroopers. There are a few times where the Browncoats would have easily been hit, and weren't. Either hit them or have them in cover that makes sense that they weren't hit. 3. Some of the battle scenes could have been tightened up a bit. They are there to tell a story, not to showcase lots of lead going down range.

A couple of highlights: 1. The armored vehicles. For a fan film, where did you get those? Awesome! 2. The bad guy in the trench coat. I liked him. But when he pulled down the binoculars and showed that he was wearing a patch, I almost expected a joke there. 3. Great continuity. I suspect this was shot over a long period of time, but I saw no inconsistencies in costuming, make-up or actors. Good job.

Browncoats: Redemption came first and was a good try. Independence War was better, much better. All in all, a good movie that carries on the Firefly legacy.

Update-v1: I have looked at all the low ratings and I figure it is one of two things. Either they are idiots, or they are jealous of the work that this crew put in. There is no way that this movie rates anything below a 5. And should be an 8 or above.

Update-v2: I read several of the 1 star reviews. In spite of having different names, it's the same person. It's the same writing style, they just pulled up a thesaurus and replaced derogatory words with something similar. If the person were a true critic, they would have offered advice outside of attacks. It's one jealous failed person attacking others when they cannot perform themselves.

I thoroughly enjoyed this film!

As I asked in the subject, why can't all fan films be like this? It had heart, drama, scope, and most importantly, kept in line with canon.

When this hit SVCC, I was awestruck by the level of quality in film production - from the sound design and music, to the cinematography, costumes, and live fire weapons. Also, the acting was superior to most low-budget films and fan-films that I have had to watch over the years, as a festival screener. It felt like a real movie, right out of Hollywood, like something with a budget in the millions. -Turns out the whole thing was shot for under $30K. Wow! It sure doesn't look or feel like - like I said, it looks like a million dollar picture.

If you love Firefly, watch this movie and rejoice! There are real/competent filmmakers out there making fan films.

My thanks to TWF Productions for this putting this out there.

This film really is the prequel to the series. The story captivates the audience and draws them into the tragic end of not only the soldiers, but the citizens of Serenity Valley. By expanding the verse of Joss Whefon's beloved Firefly, Francis Hamada has brought new depth and characters that will live in infamy.

Having watched this mess at the SVCC, pretty much everyone hated it. Universally. The only ones who liked it were the people in it. Somebody wrote they shot this film for $30,000 but it looks more like 30 cents. The acting is horrible, the script is horrible, the director is horrible, the producer is horrible, the editing is horrible and the so-called cinematography is horrible. Yeah, that sums it up. Do yourself a favor and don't waste a second of your life on this garbage.

I enjoyed this film, which is a good adaptation of the war before the Firefly TV show. Being one of the Kickstarter backers, I'm not disappointed. I'm glad I got to go to the very 1st premiere of the movie.

One of my favorite scenes is where Tully is running while being shot at and couple soldiers bet to see if he makes it. The special effect was great and loved the humor especially with the cans of beans.

If you get a chance to watch this movie I recommend it.

I can't believe I wasted 98 minutes of my life watching this abysmal train wreck of a movie. Fan made or not, it is terrible.Francis Hamada claims he's made films before but he could have fooled me with how badly he made this one. The whole movie looks like he got a bunch of his buddies who are weekend world war 2 reenactors.Then he has his friends run around in their army surplus costumes and blow things up. It was more of a student made world war 2 movie than a Firefly fan film. Nothing about this film made sense. Nothing! He has a bad guy who is using binoculars and then it turns out he's got an eye patch!! Shouldn't the one eyed bad guy be using a telescope instead of binoculars? Hello? People with two eyes use binoculars! Even in Pirate movies you see the pirates use telescopes, not binoculars! I wrote this review because I saw Hamada or a troll write a review about how "great" this movie is. It isn't!!! I'm no troll and I will tell you the truth which Francis Hamada isn't capable of. Browncoats: Independence War is hands down the worst fan film made in the history of fan films. If you want to see a good fan film, please watch any of the Star Trek Renegades, Star Trek Continues or anything else where the fans and the filmmakers take pride in making a product everyone can enjoy.

Here is a film so pitiful, it doesn't rise to the level of badness. It is hopelessly incompetent... I am not certain that anyone involved has ever seen a movie, or knows what one is. Many fan films, like the Star Trek Continues series is extremely well made. They actually used the money they received to build sets, hire professional actors (many from Star Trek) put their resources into visual effects and turn out a product everyone is proud to have been a part of. In this case, Mr. Hamada evidently used the money from Kick Starter and Go Fund Me for anything he wanted except his movie. It is a sad state of affairs for everyone involved but at least the public won't make the same mistake again. An amazingly pathetic film from an amazingly pathetic man.

Going to see Browncoats at a convention is like attending a Satanic ritual at St. Peter's Basilica. It's there for all the wrong reasons and you feel damned for seeing it. I saw the film at convention and there weren't any lines and I can see why. Only 20 people were in attendance for this crapfest. After viewing a few minutes of it, 19 of us walked out in pure revulsion. The 20th person stayed and that was Francis Hamada who remained to watch his loathsome film. Only one word can describe this film and its ABOMINATION.

Judging by the dialogue in this "movie", Francis Hamada has never read a book, had an idea, carried on an interesting conversation or even thought about anything. The movie and characters that Hamada wrote thinks they are clever, which is embarrassingly bad. I liken it to an uncle who won't stop with the corny jokes at the family reunion which is about as vomit inducing as Mr. Hamada's movie.

Most directors are smart enough to remove their name from such an odious film as Browncoats. Instead, Mr. Hamada revels in his own excrement of a movie like a pig does in mud. How can he claim credit so many times when he obviously foiled in his own attempts to make this ineffective and ineffectual fruitless and futile fan film. If Mr. Hamada was smart and he obviously isn't, he would have labeled this an Alan Smithee film. Oh well, at least the world knows he's a loser and will never bankroll another stinking turd like this again.

There is nothing to like about this film at all. Wait a sec, it isn't even a film. It was shot on low grade home video equipment with a bunch of no talent actors who worked with a no talent director, writer and producer. This film is supposed to be about Firefly but there is nothing about it that ties back to the original series. Total waste of time and money. Even if you get the chance to see it for free, don't waste your time on this manure of a movie.

Some of the worst films of all time like Plan 9 from Outer Space, Battlefield Earth, Gigli, Troll, The Room and countless others pale in comparison to the MONUMENTAL FAILURE that Browncoats is. In case you haven't the seen the film, which is good, let me tell you where the film fails. It fails from the editing, the cinematography, the writing (God that script is SO BAD), the production values are flaccid, the costumes are super par, the acting horrendous and the directing is meandering, meaningless and maladroit. If they teach a class in how not to make a movie, this film should be mandatory. My rating for this heinous and frightfully shameful film? Zero stars for a zero director with zero talent for a zero production.

Browncoats is a travesty to the memory of Firefly. Fan films have been made before but I've never seen one so badly written, produced, shot, acted, edited and directed. For being a Firefly fan film, I don't remember anything from Firefly looking like a World War II movie. Where did that happen in the show? If you are going to do a fan film, it has to be like the source material you are paying homage to. This movie is an insult to anyone watching it and the fans who mistakenly paid for it. Do yourself a favor and watch something more interesting like a test pattern.

I don't have anyone but myself to blame for sending this idiot money to make this terrible film. This bumbling incompetent told everyone for years he would premiere his film at the San Diego ComicCon. He kept posting about a grand premiere with Hollywood elite at the first showing at Hall H at the San Diego Comic-Con. Where did he actually have his premiere? About 20 miles away from the San Diego Comic-Con at a Scottish Rites Center where barely 10 people at a time showed up. To add insult to injury, the film had gaps, it wasn't complete and everybody, including me, was upset. Hey Hamada, if you claim "world premiere" at the San Diego Comic-Con it HAS TO BE HELD at the ACTUAL San Diego Comic-Con!!! Not 20 miles away in a Scottish Rites Center that has NOTHING to do with the San Diego Comic-Con. Francis Hamada is skilled liar who stole all our money to make a repugnant film where he didn't use any of our money but merely lined his pockets with our hard-earned cash. When Mr. Hamada FINALLY finished his film it was an absolute DISGRACE. It would have been better off as a short but I'm sure even that would have been terrible. Francis Hamada is a scam artist and I pray to God his p.o.s. movie he made puts a nail into the coffin of Hamada's already non-existent career. Too bad he did it at the expense of Firefly fans.