Movie Info

Serenity - "Can't Stop The Signal"

Serenity is the big-screen continuation of Joss Whedon's short-lived Firefly television series. Joss Whedon is the creator of the cult hits Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel. With both of these series lasting seven seasons, there was much hope that Firefly would be a success. Alas, Firefly's debut was dismal and the networks pulled the plug before giving it a change.

I've only seen excerpts from a few of episodes but what I saw was interesting. Whedon has a talent for creating interesting dialogue and great characters. So with a tv series cancelled and a legion of loyal fans trying to resurrect the series, Wheldon did the next best thing: he made a movie instead.

Before I went to watch Serenity, I knew almost nothing about the tv series. I knew that Serenity was the name of the ship that the characters were using. I was a little worried that watching Serenity with no background information may actually be harmful to whole experience. However, I was mistaken. You didn't need to know much about the characters before we are introduced to them. It may add to the entire experience but Whedon does a great job to introduce the characters, the plot and the setting.

So the first 15 minutes were a little confusing but towards the end of the movie, I found that I really enjoyed watching the movie. The quality of the characterization is great and Whedon definitely knows how to create evil villains.

For those who want a little background before watching, I'll write a quick summary of what I know below(I still haven't watched the TV series). Over-population of Earth has sent humankind to the stars to colonize planets. Of course, with any land grab there comes a time for civil war. It was the Alliance versus the Browncoats. The Alliance won and have total control over the colonies except for the fringe planets where nobody really has control. The Serenity is a ship commanded by Mal (Nathan Fillion). Nathan and his first officer Zoe (Gina Torres) were originally Browncoat soldiers. After losing the war, they've disappeared and now make a living smuggling and doing other scrupulous things. The other members of their crew are Jayne (Adam Baldwin), Zoe's husband Wash (Alan Tudyk), mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite), Dr. Simon Tam (Sean Maher), his sister River (Summer Glau), and Inara (Morena Baccarin), who left the ship before the movie.

The crew spends its time running jobs and avoiding the Alliance as much as possible. During the TV series, Dr. Simon Tam sold his services to Mal so he and his sister would have safe passage. Both of them were running from something, but it was never really touched upon during the series. This movie is about that open plotline. It turns out the Tams are running from the Alliance and now the Alliance wants Summer back.

As I said before, Whedon has the ability to write great characters and dialogue. It was seen in Buffy and Angel and it is apparent in Serenity. Although I was confused about who was who in the beginning, I somehow became a fan of the Serenity crew at the end of the movie. I was cheering for the underdog and had a deep respect for Mal, who is played brilliantly by Nathan Fillion. Chiwetel Ejiofor does a terrific job portraying the creepy Operative. The resolution to the plotline made sense and the pacing was terrific. It was nice to see that the main cast isn't indestructible as seen in so many sci-fi movies.

I also enjoyed how Whedon has created this universe. Religion has taken over in many aspects of life and Whedon also makes a note to drop in a multicultural background. Different races sharing the same religion. You see Chinese characters mixed in with other languages and Japanese commercials on TV. It's a great take on the future and I found myself wanting to know more about the Firefly universe.

I also loved the settings in the movie. The fringe worlds are gritty and had a western feeling to them. They reminded me of Tatooine from Star Wars. One of the city scenes reminded me of Blade Runner and another of the city from Aeon Flux. Whedon has successfully created a universe that is diverse in it's environments.

Serenity uses a mix of computer graphics and models to create its special effects. The effects weren't too flamboyant. The CG company, Zoic Studios, also provides CG for the new Battlestar Galactica series. There's a scene in the Battlestar Galactica series where you see the Serenity in the backdrop. It's a great Easter Egg.

Overall, I think Serenity was a great movie to watch. It had a great balance of action, sci-fi and drama. The comedy in the movie was dark, but it's along the lines of Buffy and Angel. I really hope that Serenity succeeds and allows Whedon to produce more adventures in this futuristic universe he's created. It's a real shame that the TV series was pulled. Serenity could have been a movie that only targeted Firefly's audience but instead Whedon made the movie appeal to all audiences.

Dragoncrypt