SERENITY REVIEW

Serenity review

By Mike Kelly

Just saw the movie again on DVD and I was happy they included a Lovedoll in the story. She was played by a nice young blond girl and was called a "Love Bot".

She was married to a computer guy who was really happy with her. The relationship was mainly for laughs but the computer guy seemed to like the little “Lovebot”.

It added some fun to a movie that was filled with chases and lots of action of all types.

Firefly fans (TV show movie was based on) have been praying for Serenity ever since Fox canceled Joss Whedon's cult "space Western" show in its first season. And boy, have their prayers been answered. Serenity continues the adventures of the ship's ragtag mercenary crew in grand fashion, as they're pursued across the universe by an implacable badass of an assassin with an armada at his disposal. It all might move a bit too fast for the uninitiated, but Whedon's hybrid vision does walk a lot of fine lines very well: It's equal parts deadly action, deadpan comedy and knotty mystery. It's faithful to the die-hards and still deserves a larger audience. And most of all, it's a popcorn film that dares to be about faith and consequences (in more than a half-assed way). Grant yourself the wisdom to see it.

Joss Whedon's intimate sci-fi epic "Serenity" rockets straight out of the universe of second chances.

Whedon seems to have cornered this market, having penned 1992's lackluster "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" feature, only to resurrect it five years later as the cult TV phenomenon starring Sarah Michelle Gellar.

"Serenity" takes the reverse course. It's the sequel to Whedon's groundbreaking "Firefly" TV series. And oh, what a movie it is. "Serenity" is a brash, funny, action-packed bit of sci-fi ecstasy-but you needn't have seen a single episode to be blown away by "Serenity." Its first five minutes plunges audiences into Whedon's esoteric universe of outlaws living on the fringe of the Wild West-style frontier of space.

The movie begins with Capt. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) struggling to keep the crew of spaceship Serenity together. Taking on fugitive siblings Simon (Sean Maher) and telepathic River (Summer Glau) has caused considerable strain on Serenity's fractured crew of smugglers—mostly because the unstable, unpredictably violent River is an escaped government she-weapon.

The Alliance, Whedon's totalitarian galactic state, wants River back—even at the cost of starting a small interplanetary war. Actor Chiwetel Ejiofor plays Serenity's deadly nemesis, an unnamed "operative" with steely resolve and murderous methods. The calm, polite Ejiofor is the greatest asset in Whedon's war of ideologies.

"[When] I start a fighting a war, I guarantee you'll see something new," Reynolds says.

It's a promise Whedon keeps.

Outer space as the new western frontier isn't anything new. In fact, when Gene Roddenberry was trying to sell "Star Trek" to networks, he pitched it as "'Wagon Train' to the stars." Whedon takes the metaphor even further.

Characters talk in an artificial "OK Corral" vernacular (people are always "fixin'" to do something), pausing only to swear in Chinese. Mal's love interest, Inara (Morena Baccarin), works as a “Companion” (can you say hooker – I can!), a revered class of intergalactic saloon courtesan. Space battles are at a minimum, since Serenity doesn't have any guns. No aliens. No transporter beams. No phasers on stun.

"Firefly" was never about the techie stuff, and unlike its peers, "Serenity" isn't designed to sell action figures (although, yes, there are toys). Instead, it's a character-driven series about fundamental human issues: love, the morality of genetic engineering, big government, etc.

Even so, "Serenity's" special effects look remarkable. Instead of offering intricately designed space fights on a static screen, the action sequences look as if they were captured on a hand-held camera, often out-of-focus and blazingly fast, much like the human eye sees.

But Whedon's primary allegiance remains with the human heart. Though the Inara/Mal relationship gets short shrift (mostly due to screen time allotted them, one suspects), pixieish mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite) finally reveals her twitterpation with Simon. Second-in-command Zoe (Gina Torres), her pilot husband Wash (Alan Tudyk) and mercenary Jayne (Adam Baldwin) also faces major changes—but keeping the Serenity clan intact remains the central theme.

"Serenity" carries an unexpectedly high body count and is far nastier than audiences may bargain for. Mal's face-off with the Alliance's operative feels a tad unsatisfying, if only because it defies convention. Then again, Whedon has made a career thumbing his nose at convention.

With "Serenity," Whedon has his cake and eats it too—wrapping up most of the major plots and themes of "Firefly," while leaving the door open (just a crack) for a new series—maybe even another film. I hear that the SF channel wants the series BAD….

BBC Movie Review http://www.bbc.co.uk/films/2005/09/26/serenity_2005_review.shtml

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