One Part Buffy's Fighting, One Part Angel's Nobility and Mix In Firefly
Serenity
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin
Director: Joss Whedeon
Movie Help Web Popcorn Kernels:
Combining the non-stop action of his beloved Buffy with the noble sentiments from Angel, Joss Whedon finally brings his outer space western to the big screen in Serenity. Based on the 14 episode Fox series called Firefly that aired in 2002, Serenity was a labor of love for one of Hollywood's hottest writers. Even after the show's cancellation, he began calling in chits, finally bankrolling his vision with $40 million of Universal's money.
Building on Roddenberry
Hollywood legend holds that Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry originally pitched his television show as a "Wagon Train In The Stars". Shatner, Nimoy and the rest did their best to hold true to that vision, but often found themselves delivering morality plays on racism or war.
In Firefly, Whedon not only succeeded in what Roddenberry set out to do, but has perfected the motif in Serenity. Set 500 years in the future, things are not a glossy, perfect trip through a galaxy populated by perfect worlds. Serenity's crew travels on a bucket of bolts held together by bailing wire, spare parts and fervent hope. When they have a firefight, they got shot. When they crash into a ship, parts go flying around and damaging the rest of the ship. Even simple tasks like picking up a coil of cable and bring it aboard ship are shown. This is a ship for Everyman to travel on, although true to Whedon's pedigree, Everyman includes lots of strong female characters.
With so many similarities to his previous efforts, Whedon fans will undoubtedly be pleased by the two hour Serenity. The film remains faithful to the television series; indeed, having that watched show serves as an excellent backdrop from framing the movie. Whedon has always been a fan of continuity, and Serenity rewards the Firefly faithful with little touches that visually serve as grace notes serve music.
A Cast The Director Loves...And They Don't Do Bad Work
The strapping cast (the men are all 6 foot plus and the ladies are quite tall too) bring a bearing to the film that Whedon has used in his television series for years. He apparently loved this cast's versatility and showcased them in his hit shows as often as possible.
And with good reason.
Gina Torres (Lawrence Fishburne's wife) is as strong a female lead as you'll see on television or in the movies. Adam Baldwin (not a Baldwin brother) brings just the right amount of comic relief as tough guy Jayne. There also strong performances from Summer Glau, who has a made a career by playing River Tam and may finally be ready for some other acting and too short a turn from Ron Glass reprising his role as Shepherd Book. Most of the cast was classically trained at top-notch schools and their skill shine.
Surprisingly, leading man Nate Fillion's aw-shucks, bad guy who is good guy, seems to wear the thinnest after the screening. There is a lot of backstory to Fillion's Mal Reynold's character, but except for a few references, little of his characters motivations made it to the final version. And speaking of messes, moviegoers unfamiliar with this universe are quite excused for not knowing that Brazilian actress Morena Baccarin's Inara is a space courtesan trained in all manner of arts.
Will I Like The Story?
If you're a Firefly or Whedon fan, you have already seen the film so let's skip that group. Whedon uses enough comic relief to lighten the story's familiar themes and uses at least two jarring major character events to disrupt complacency to stay interesting. What I don't know, but rather doubt, is if the average moviegoer unfamiliar with this universe will give the film enough time to develop.
Quite surprisingly, the women in the audience reacted loudest to events as they unfolded on the screen, whether those events were comedic, tragic or even swashbuckling. That Serenity manages to cram all three into the final mix is a testament to Whedon's well-deserved writing reputation.
Yes, I think you'll like the story if you can suspend disbelief long enough to accept man's colonization of multiple worlds and the ability to travel from planet to planet without deep sleep or generation ships. Once you get past that, you are home free. Sadly, Whedon slips some familiar formula into the mix, especially towards the ending, but by then the crew has hopefully endeared themselves to you, and you'll accept the cop-out.
The Bottom Line, Popcorn Kernels and All
The premise is familiar, but writer-director Joss Whedon's attention to detail and writing chops make Serenity come alive. He leads the relatively unknown cast through their paces, and while some trimming could have been done to keep the movie at a more manageable length, Serenity remains an excellent science fiction film and even a pretty solid general purpose movie.
Five Things To Remember From This Review
1. Serenity is set in the universe of the short-lived Firefly series on Fox.
2. Gina Torres and Summer Glau lead a group of strong women characters through what is typically a movie story...
3. ...but that's not unexpected because writer-director Whedon's most famous character is a vampire slayer named Barbie, errr, Buffy.
4. Unsure whether he wants to tell a rollicking fun tale or rail against oppressive government, Serenity does both and gets a little lost sometimes.
5. Despite several lapses into formulaic plotting, there are two absolutely unexpected character developments that caused theatergoers to gasp out loud. That's good storytelling.
