Overall Rating
  Awesome: 56.93%
Worth A Look: 21.35%
Average: 11.24%
Pretty Bad: 4.49%
Total Crap: 5.99%
15 reviews, 177 user ratings
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| Serenity |
by Erik Childress
"Knocking Down Trekkies Another Notch"
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The Fox network never really knew what they had with Joss Whedon’s Firefly (just as they didn’t with Wonderfalls, Undeclared or Andy Richter Controls the Universe.) Buried on a Friday night slot, when even the most rabid of TV watchers like myself are off doing other things (like seeing movies), Fox even jettisoned the two-hour pilot and started up with the second episode, which obviously lacked the fundamental desirables like plot setup and character establishment. Summarily cancelled (as is Fox’s M.O. with good shows), I didn’t catch up with the show until this very summer on DVD. It took more than a few episodes, but not long before I felt a kinship with the anti-heroes and a grasp of what Whedon was accomplishing. The cultish fanbase which had developed in its wake had some merit and not one of them shall be disappointed in its jump to the big screen. For the uninitiated, I’m happy to say that none will have to worry about catching up on the show to follow along since the film captures the spirit of the series while jumping ahead with some unyielding visions of the future which have just as much relevance today.Establishing its own Cliffs Notes version of what went down in the series without ever betraying the fans’ thirst for an extenuation of it, the crew of the ship Serenity have been harboring a pair of fugitives on the run from the “Alliance”; the new government which united the planets (but not all its inhabitants) in a quest for universal peace. Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and Zoe (Gina Torres) were co-fighters for the independent “browncoats” in the great war until realizing they were fighting a losing battle. Now they scour worlds like cowboy outlaws looking for jobs and avoiding the hunters who would have them disappear just as quickly. Mal’s crew also consists of Zoe’s husband and pilot, Wash (Alan Tudyk); self-serving strongman, Jayne (Adam Baldwin in a career role); respectable “companion”, Inara (Morena Baccarin); and spunky mechanic, Kaylee (Jewel Staite).
The cargo in question is the young River (Summer Glau), a girl with psychic abilities duped into special schooling by the Alliance so they could get their electrodes into her and see if she couldn’t be made into a weapon of destruction. Her doctor brother, Simon (Sean Maher) busted her out and they’ve been hiding with Serenity’s crew ever since. Now, a bounty hunter (the great Chiwetel Elijofor) is on them leaving a trail of death in his wake while everyone tries to solve the mystery that resides within the mind of the unpredictable and dangerously unstable River.
Serenity is a space adventure and a chase flick first and foremost, but Whedon’s vision extends to a more palpable sense of universal dread. As if foreshadowing current events or amplifying enough foresight in the history-repeats-itself motif, Serenity takes place in a world not unlike that of the Star Wars saga where a universal empire seeks to gain control of all living things but uniting them under a central ruling class. The Alliance maintains an optimistic theory for its bid for galaxian peace, but its methods have created a backlash against its methods and even fed into the hands of a group called the Reivers; cannibalistic pirates who are feared throughout, but given just enough space to operate within. These creatures were a recurring element of the Firefly series and we learn a lot more about them in the film; more than the powers that be would care to admit.
But enough about politics. Firefly’s jump into the next phase has already trumped Star Trek’s sister Next Generation’s attempt with its four inter(non)stellar features. Serenity brings with it the intrigue and tragedy of Wrath of Khan with the humor of The Voyage Home, leaving no one behind. And the final half hour is a pure marvel of shock and serious action. From week-to-week, these characters took a serious beating with shootings, torture and very near-death experiences. It’s great to see that pessimistic uncertainty carried over along with the don’t-play-by-the-rules aura of our heroes. Nathan Fillion, who you might recognize as the first Private Ryan found in Spielberg’s epic and whom I gave great praise for his comedic performance in a little film called Outing Riley (by Project Greenlight’s premiere winner, Pete Jones) before I even knew he was the Firefly’s captain, has quickly become one of the great science fiction heroes. He’s cut from the Han Solo cloth before the Greedo-shot-first days - only in it for the money with the occasional flash of conscience - and Fillion turns him into one for the ages, the boy scout next door gone sour.While I stand by that newbies won’t be lost venturing into Serenity’s territory for the first time, they still won’t be bringing in with them the affection that Firefly’s fans have for these characters. Even if it took a quarter of the 13 episodes to develop such a rapport, rookies to the cult will soon be the next ones waiting in line for a sequel. New fans will be initiated and those in on the ground floor will be left with some serious surprises and maybe still in a state of shock after leaving the theater. Serenity is representative of a moment in time when protest can bring about a listening ear. Universal had that ear, took a chance, then Whedon and crew delivered. Phase two will be the fans showing up and bringing a friend to the theater so the gamble will payoff and pave the way for the future.
link directly to this review at http://efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=12621&reviewer=198
originally posted: 09/30/05 14:58:45
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OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2005 Edinburgh Film Festival. For more in the 2005 Edinburgh Film Festival series, click here.
OFFICIAL SELECTION: 2006 Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival For more in the 2006 Boston Sci-Fi Film Festival series, click here.
TV to Screen: For more in the TV to Screen series, click here.
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USA
30-Sep-2005 (PG-13)
DVD: 20-Dec-2005
UK
N/A
Australia
N/A
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