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Review By: Sal - 9/13/05
I was one of the lucky
folk who managed to wrangle an invite to one of the several Serenity
preview screenings that have been popping up lately, with the last free
preview in New York just three days before the official national
opening. For those who aren’t familiar with Serenity or what it’s
supposed to be, this review’s for you.
Serenity is a film written and directed by “Buffy the Vampire Slayer”
and “Angel” creator/writer Joss Whedon, whose writing and creating
talents have garnered him celebrity status among the legions of fans of
either show. Few are familiar with Whedon’s less-successful creation,
“Firefly,” named after a class of spaceship from the show, bearing
slight resemblance to the insect by the same moniker. It enjoyed
limited popularity on FOX, citing poor time slots and inconsistent
scheduling as the reason for its downfall.
Serenity is both a continuation for fans of the show, and jumping-on
point for those who missed it on television or DVD. Like the show from
whence it came, Serenity centers on a group of nine eclectic
individuals who make up the crew of Serenity, the name of a “Firefly”
model spacecraft given by the ship’s captain and war veteran, Malcom
Reynolds (played both in the show and film by Nathan Fillion). When the
film opens, we are privy to a flashback (of sorts) from one of the
crew’s newest “recruits,” a young woman named River Tam (portrayed by
film newcomer Summer Glau) who is established as exceptionally
intelligent and strangely intuitive.
When we are finally introduced to the stars of the film, we are thrown
in the middle of what would under normal conditions be considered utter
chaos. From reentry to landing, we half-expect Serenity to fall into
anarchy altogether. The crew we are expected to follow for 127 minutes
is already at each others’ throats (both literally and figuratively)
and some members of the crew aren’t living on the ship for various
reasons. However, there is an energy that can be felt through each
actor’s performance that is truly remarkable. By the end of the first
ten minutes, we as an audience understand that this is a family that
has fought for each other, fought with each other, and bled for each
other on more than a few occasions.
Unfortunately, if you want to get a feel for what it must be like on a
regular day-to-day basis on Serenity, one should probably pick up the
DVD set of the show. For the film Serenity, it is non-stop action from
the opening ‘til the end title crawl. The first “job” Serenity’s crew
undertakes is truly a sequence to behold. Snappy dialogue that puts
Kevin Smith to shame, mixed with the best heist guts of film, topped
off with a chase scene that makes Bullet look like Driving Miss Daisy,
should have you jumping on board and ready for the rest of the ride
within the first fifteen minutes.
Our story is rather standard. While we do follow the lives of nine main
characters, it is one character’s story that takes the stage for this
adventure. The sister of Serenity’s medic Simon (played by Sean Maher),
River carries within her tortured mind a terrible secret that threatens
to unravel the very structure of lies the government hoped to keep
unknown.
We are in what sci-fi fans refer to a “lived-in universe,” where the
status quo of life is quite different from what we’re used to today,
and everything’s dirty. That’s not to say there is no hint of the
pristine, polished, high-glossy future we’re so accustomed to. We
receive our Roddenberry fix in the form of the great Alliance, this
universe’s governing body that keeps the peace, and occasionally
kidnaps young children for devious purposes. This universe even has its
own urban myth. Cannibalistic madmen, or “Reavers” as they’re called,
roam on the fringes of space, attacking ships and performing
unspeakable acts upon their inhabitants. A deep connection between
these “Reavers” and River’s dark secret is what throws this unlikely
band of thieves, mercenaries, pilots, mechanics, preachers and
prostitutes into a deadly game of cat-and-mouse with the largest
military might in the galaxy.
The makers of this film do not make any effort to hide the fact that
this film is indeed established by its television predecessor. However,
Whedon and his team go through painstaking efforts to make the film as
acceptable to a new audience as it is to the salivating fans that have
eagerly awaited its release since April (its originally intended
release). While you do not need to watch the show to follow the film in
any way, I will say that having a familiarity with the characters makes
it feel like coming home again.
For a film season lacking so much originality, Serenity is a welcome
change. She’s got her kinks and quirks, like the ship she’s named
after, but you find yourself loving her all the more for them. From bad
70’s camera zooms and lens flairs to the occasional run-on sentence or
butchering of grammar in the interests of giving someone a cool line,
to a medley of actors you’d never expect to see in a room together, but
couldn’t imagine any other way, Serenity’s got character in spades.
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