Serenity
Written and Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Jewel Staite

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Joss Whedon has droves of dedicated fans who all think he is a god among men, mostly thanks to his cult hit TV series Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Ironically, Buffy The Vampire Slayer started as a movie written by Whedon that was a box office flop. Now, years later, Whedon has had an opportunity to experience the opposite irony. His sci-fi TV series Firefly was tragically mishandled by Fox and barely made it past 10 episodes before being cancelled. After surprisingly strong DVD sales and a rabid fanbase, a feature film continuation of the series was greenlit. “Serenity” could be what finally breaks him in as a bona-fide Hollywood big shot… but is the movie just a 90 minute TV episode, or does it illuminate Whedon’s true potential as a master storyteller?

A quick background on Firefly is probably an order here. It is held by many to be a very smart and well-spun blend of the science-fiction and western genres. Imagine a show about Han Solo in his smuggler days, but set in a believable Star Trek-type future, and you have a pretty good idea of what you’re dealing with. Capt. Malcolm Reynolds fought in a war for independence as part of the Browncoats, a rebel group who ended up on the losing end. Now he works as a smuggler commanding a ragtag crew of mercenaries who take on any job that will get them paid — regardless of how legal it is.

As you can imagine, moving from a TV series to a movie is a difficult transition to make. There are so many established characters and relationships being developed on the show, that they can’t possibly all be addressed in a movie. This is definitely one of the biggest weaknesses of the film. Viewers coming in without prior knowledge of Firefly can expect to be quickly overwhelmed by all the characters and their backstories since they are only hinted at but never fully explained. This movie does not dumb things down, that’s for sure. Dedicated fans of Firefly on the other hand will likely feel that many of their favourite characters are either ignored or not quite themselves.

Captain Reynolds, for example, arguably the main character in both the show and the movie, is not particularly likeable in the movie. Rather than being a kind but no-nonsense anti-hero who earns the loyalty and respect of his crew, he just seems to be bitter and angry all the time. Simon and River, the brother and sister who are also at the center of the film, are more of a mystery than anything, and are not fleshed out enough for their actions to have any sort of emotional impact.

There is a lot of emphasis on action in “Serenity”, and while much of it is executed well, it suffers from that typical problem of feeling hollow and without purpose — mainly because there is not enough time spent building up the characters. Despite being a sci-fi/action series, many episodes of the TV show focused on dialogue and character dynamics. This was all thrown out for the movie.

The basic plot is a continuation that will satisfy fans by exploring a couple of the show’s most interesting hanging threads: the strange psychic abilities of River Tam, and the nature of the “Reavers” (terrifying human savages that were only hinted at in the series but never really seen — sort of like Firefly’s version of The Borg). The Reavers really were one of the coolest parts of the movie; they were sufficiently horrific and frightening without being overused.

Still, a lot of the movie felt like a Star Trek: The Next Generation movie, where characters that have since been separated are somehow conveniently written back into the story. Also, until the movie’s climactic finale, there was little to no sense of danger or urgency. The villain who is tracking Simon and River in the movie is a lot less interesting and a lot less intimidating than the bounty hunter or government operatives who came calling in various episodes of the show. Fortunately, the last 30 minutes of Serenity were absolutely killer (ahem… no pun intended). If it wasn’t for the intensity of the dramatic showdown, this movie would have left a much weaker impression on me.

The visual effects in Serenity have been ramped up quite a bit; even though the series had some respectable FX work, the movie blows it away. There are some breathtaking space battles, and a lot of the futuristic cityscapes are amazing. The movie breaks from the show’s tradition of depicting all space flight in complete silence, however. I guess people don’t want to see a big blockbuster movie without some serious explosions rattling their seat.

As a fan of Firefly, I enjoyed Serenity a lot. Maybe not as much as I was hoping I would, but given the constraints I think it’s fair to say that it delivered the goods. This movie works as a continuation and also as a distinctly different experience from the TV show. As a standalone movie, however, I think it had a number of flaws. It can still be enjoyed as a pure popcorn flick, but it’s probably a bit long and at times confusing for anyone who hasn’t seen the show. While it’s not likely to help the show become more than a cult phenomenon, it’s still a lot more fun than just about anything I’ve seen in theatres this year. — Sean

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Recommended If You Like: Star Trek: First Contact, The Matrix, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Ghosts of Mars

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