Movie Review:

SERENITY

by Lynn B.

Need some new other-worldly characters to follow on the big screen now that Star Wars has wrapped? Captain Mal and his rag-tag crew might just fill the bill.

Meet the transport for hire, fly outside the law crew of the little starship Serenity. There’s Han Solo type Captain Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), his feisty second in command Zoe (Gina Torres) who is married to ship’s pilot Wash (Alan Tudyk), ship’s mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite) and mercenary tough guy Jayne (Adam Baldwin).

In the big screen version of the 2002 “Firefly” TV series, Mal agrees to transport two runaways from the evil, galaxy controlled Alliance; telepathic, backside-kicking River (Summer Glau) who has been trained as a human weapon and her doctor brother Simon (Sean Maher). River is in great demand by the Alliance which sends cold-as-a-fish enforcer The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) to bring her back to them.

The shipmates try to take refuge with old pals Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) but the horrible cannibalistic Reavers get there first. The gorgeous apple of Mal’s eye Inara (Morena Baccarin) lures the crew into more trouble culminating in a final battle over a huge 12-year-old secret that will reveal the true nature of the current galactic situation and challenge the heroes to reveal all to the peoples of an unsuspecting galaxy or die trying.

I only saw this TV show once but it was kind of intriguing, sort of a Western in space complete with dirty ships and a rag tag crew. I got busy with personal junk and missed the rest. For fans of the “Firefly” series, this film will take some questions and answer them with a cool, bigscreen bang! I will say that you don’t have to know the series to enjoy the movie. Joss Whedon of “Buffy” fame, introduces his characters substantially and employs his usual wonderfully smart, clever dialogue which works well here, blending smoothly with the graceful action sequences and the rough and ready world he’s created.

From fans, I understand that the Mal character gets to be a bit darker, Doc Simon gets to do more action and the Inara-Mal tension is still in place. The film really goes to town with more on the creepy Reavers who like to strap the skeletons of their victims to the front “bumper” of their spacecraft. Ewww but really visually interesting on the big screen. We even see River dispatch a whole room full of them to end on a totally Buffy-esque “pose” in which she stands, looking at camera on top of her pile of conquests.

Acting is full of good chemistry. Summer Glau, especially, has to pull off some suffering that is very effective. New to the big screen version is a really great, multi-faceted villain, The Operative, played to perfection by the elegant Chiwetel Ejiofor as a seething volcano covered by a prim, upper crustry, business-like exterior.

Action is creative and smooth. The worlds of Serenity look good. What’s not to like? With a void left after the Star Wars saga ended, why not see if audiences might latch onto these new fugitives from an Evil Empire? Their motto seems to be that only love keeps their rag tag ship flying…love of their fans in this case but, hey, it’s a good thought for everyone.

This movie is rated PG-13

Official Movie Web Site - Serenity

Pictures courtesy of and copyright Universal Studios, 2005