Movie Review: Serenity

In 2002, Fox began broadcasting a new science-fiction program called Firefly. I remember there being some sort of buzz about it at the time, as it was the brainchild of Joss Whedon (the force behind the cult hit Buffy the Vampire Slayer). A week or so afterward, a friend of mine wrote and asked me, "I hear this show is supposed to be the 'next big thing'--is it?" to which I (never a Buffy fan) replied with a breathless "Oh, yeah!"

As with most things I fall for, Firefly disappeared quickly. Only 11 of its 14 completed episodes were aired; and those were shown out of order and often preempted to the point where it was impossible to follow the plot. I shrugged and moved on with my life. Indeed, I'd completely forgotten about it until about a month ago, when I stumbled across an episode on the SciFi network and discovered a) there was a rabid "Browncoat" fanbase that had never given up on the show and b) thanks to stellar DVD sales and the Whedon name, Universal Pictures had gambled $40 million in order to make a motion picture from the failed TV series. That night I went out to get the DVDs, and let me tell you, in all candor, that the combined shock and amazement (and the fact that the series was better than I'd remembered) pretty much made me explode directly in my pants.

But this is supposed to be a movie review, so let me say a few words about the Serenity setup. Five centuries hence, humanity has moved itself en masse to a new solar system, full of "terraformed" planets and moons. Some are rich and prosperous, some have been neglected by the central government and wallow in poverty. Mal Reynolds captains a not-so-legal freighter operation (on a ship named "Serenity") out here on the frontier, harboring a personal grudge against the authoritarian Alliance and trying to find paying jobs before his rickety ship breaks down for good. His crew have been denigrated by reviewers as archetypes (and they are, but the advantage is that you grow fond of them very quickly), but they're fun to watch. Serenity revolves around young River Tam, on whom the Alliance has experimented with startling results. She's now something of a walking weapon in girl form; her brother Simon manages to break her out of a lab and the Alliance wants her back--at all costs. Serenity's crew discover the danger River poses--to themselves and others--but in the end decides to hide her from the forces closing in. What ensues is a fast-paced, action-filled adventure that also has the advantages of a compelling plot and entertaining dialog and characterization.

One word of caution, though: Firefly/Serenity is different than the sci-fi you're used to seeing. A lot different. There are no aliens, no faster-than-light drives, no fancy techno-babble...it's about humans, doing things like humans. And most of the action takes place on the frontier of inhabited space, where advanced technology is so scarce that they ride horses, shoot (admittedly souped-up) six-guns, and say things like fixin' and messin'. It's weird without being jarring, and continually reminds you that this is a different sort of story. A Whedon quote about Star Wars helps to describe his overall approach: "My version is that Han Solo walked into the bar five minutes later and never found out about the Force or the rebellion and still had to make a living and still had the Hutt after him. It was the lived-in quality. This guy has the quality of 'we have no higher purpose, no Force that surrounds us and guides us, we only have each other and a crappy little ship. That's much more interesting to me..."

I was, frankly, prepared for the film to be terrible. One is most forgiving to the things one loves best, and I steeled myself for the possibility that (as was the case with The Phantom Menace) I would have to stand behind something that was a real stinker out of a sense of loyalty. But, even in the light of day, I say with all honesty that Serenity was a real achievement: gripping, thought-provoking, funny, and occasionally wrenching. Some reviewers have stated that you can't enjoy the movie without being a fanatic about the series, and this is a lie. I brought my brother to the show last night; and although he asked me "What should I know?" I kept him completely in the dark as an experiment. He came out entertained, with a clear sense of what had happened, and not asking a lot of questions like "So who was that guy supposed to be?" The movie, in short, is very accessible. Plus, it's really, really good.

Tags: Serenity, Firefly