Written by: Kevin Berge
If they were going for a Star Wars echo on the poster, they got it. (Image Courtesy of: wallpapers-s.com)
Quick Take: Serenity does the best job it could wrapping up seasons of storytelling in two hours to finish the story of the crew of the Firefly. It is exciting, fun, and often unsatisfying in a memorable way with intense action and horror to balance out more strong comedy. Unfortunately, it is not easily accessible without having seen Firefly.
***This is a review of a film released over a decade ago, focusing on the elements of its construction that made it great and also made it less than a hit. Those who have not seen the movie are encouraged to watch the film first before reading ahead as there will be major spoilers.***
When Firefly lasted a mere 14 episodes, it would have been easy for it to fade into obscurity. Luckily, strong DVD sales led to interest from Universal who gained the rights a couple years after the series ended, and they gave Joss Whedon one more shot to complete the series.
What came of Whedon's work was Serenity, a final exploration of the world particularly focused on the mythology of the Reavers. Just like its predecessor, the movie underachieved commercially and just about managed to scrape by to make back its budget.
Just like Firefly though, this is brilliant science fiction if unpolished. Written particularly for fans of the series, everything returns from the show with the characters not much different and the world all the same. All that changes is that this story has one goal: answering the series' most prominent question.
The crew of Firefly have finally hit the breaking point in their war against the Alliance as an assassin (Chitewel Ejiofor) is sent after River with singular focus. Mal must decide what is worth fighting and dying for as the pressure mounts and many crew members are pushed to the edge.
From the start, it is clear that this is a movie that Whedon is pushing to the limit of its budget, attempting to make the most of a limited budget and a situation where he must speak to two different audiences. The direction at the outset is well done to introduce the world with a series of scenes watched within other scenes.
The panning long shot through Serenity is brilliant as both an introduction of the crew and the ship with hilarious dialogue in the place of exposition. The film does not take too long addressing those with no knowledge of the original series, but it does not enough to tell a complete story without the TV show.
When Firefly lasted a mere 14 episodes, it would have been easy for it to fade into obscurity. Luckily, strong DVD sales led to interest from Universal who gained the rights a couple years after the series ended, and they gave Joss Whedon one more shot to complete the series.
What came of Whedon's work was Serenity, a final exploration of the world particularly focused on the mythology of the Reavers. Just like its predecessor, the movie underachieved commercially and just about managed to scrape by to make back its budget.
Just like Firefly though, this is brilliant science fiction if unpolished. Written particularly for fans of the series, everything returns from the show with the characters not much different and the world all the same. All that changes is that this story has one goal: answering the series' most prominent question.
The crew of Firefly have finally hit the breaking point in their war against the Alliance as an assassin (Chitewel Ejiofor) is sent after River with singular focus. Mal must decide what is worth fighting and dying for as the pressure mounts and many crew members are pushed to the edge.
From the start, it is clear that this is a movie that Whedon is pushing to the limit of its budget, attempting to make the most of a limited budget and a situation where he must speak to two different audiences. The direction at the outset is well done to introduce the world with a series of scenes watched within other scenes.
The panning long shot through Serenity is brilliant as both an introduction of the crew and the ship with hilarious dialogue in the place of exposition. The film does not take too long addressing those with no knowledge of the original series, but it does not enough to tell a complete story without the TV show.
Not quite a Blade Runner sequel but it may be better than we what we end up getting. (Image Courtesy of: manilovefilms.com)
The actors are all at their peak in this film with Nathan Fillion showing off far more than just a charismatic Han Solo impression with a mix of fantastic line delivery and quiet emotion. Gina Torres may have outshined him in pure one-liner delivery though.
Summer Glau has the toughest role again and does well enough with it even some of the crying scenes are tough asks for any actor. Chitewel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) may have been the perfect choice as the newcomer villain to play off the main cast with frightening threat behind near monotone that sells his devoted drive.
Whedon is the star of the show here with brilliant direction throughout. His writing is also on point, almost to the point of calling it rhythmic at times. Few men write funnier dialogue, and he tinges it with an overarching plot that has intelligent themes behind it particularly further further exploration of its authoritarian world in its main focus on control.
The film clearly though is not top notch science fiction in construction. The special effects are passable at best though not distracting. The action is intense particularly hand-to-hand but not quite visceral even in its best moments. Much of everything still feels like it is TV worthy rather than film worthy.
That doesn't take away from a brilliantly constructed science fiction though that is one of the best modern space operas. Energetic and fun, the film also knows when to go dark, diving deep into a web of lies that traces back to The Alliance's construction of the Reapers through failed human experiment to breed docility.
Much like any Whedon product, this is far from the purely satisfying conclusion. Killing off Shepherd Book early makes the sudden violent death of Walsh in the climax all the more vicious. This is a world where the heroes only win by destroying idealism, left licking their own wounds even as they seem to have finally defeated the government.
This film is science fiction, western, and even horror at times in its adventurous final journey through a bleak world. It echoes some of the best sci-fi from Huxley to Orwell to Scott Card in its contemporary criticism through exploration of the future. It is true complete genre fiction that is rough around the edges and may turn off new viewers but will appeal to anyone invested in the world and genre.
Summer Glau has the toughest role again and does well enough with it even some of the crying scenes are tough asks for any actor. Chitewel Ejiofor (12 Years a Slave) may have been the perfect choice as the newcomer villain to play off the main cast with frightening threat behind near monotone that sells his devoted drive.
Whedon is the star of the show here with brilliant direction throughout. His writing is also on point, almost to the point of calling it rhythmic at times. Few men write funnier dialogue, and he tinges it with an overarching plot that has intelligent themes behind it particularly further further exploration of its authoritarian world in its main focus on control.
The film clearly though is not top notch science fiction in construction. The special effects are passable at best though not distracting. The action is intense particularly hand-to-hand but not quite visceral even in its best moments. Much of everything still feels like it is TV worthy rather than film worthy.
That doesn't take away from a brilliantly constructed science fiction though that is one of the best modern space operas. Energetic and fun, the film also knows when to go dark, diving deep into a web of lies that traces back to The Alliance's construction of the Reapers through failed human experiment to breed docility.
Much like any Whedon product, this is far from the purely satisfying conclusion. Killing off Shepherd Book early makes the sudden violent death of Walsh in the climax all the more vicious. This is a world where the heroes only win by destroying idealism, left licking their own wounds even as they seem to have finally defeated the government.
This film is science fiction, western, and even horror at times in its adventurous final journey through a bleak world. It echoes some of the best sci-fi from Huxley to Orwell to Scott Card in its contemporary criticism through exploration of the future. It is true complete genre fiction that is rough around the edges and may turn off new viewers but will appeal to anyone invested in the world and genre.