Serenity
Serenity is the continuation and probable conclusion to the TV series Firefly, which had a 15 episode run from 2002-04 and of which I've never seen one minute, so keep that in mind. It's a testament to the determination of creator Joss Whedon and the show's fans that a feature film was greenlit from a cancelled TV show, and for them the result was probably everything they dreamed. For the rest of us, Serenity is an eminently watchable sci-fi/western romp, more of an entertaining diversion than a lasting piece of pop culture iconography. The establishment of its future universe is a bit weak for the uninitiated, but its characters can be spotted right away. Nathan Fillion plays the hardened, remorseless captain with grit and determination—basically Han Solo before we meet him in the cantina scene in Star Wars. Come to think of it, the ship Serenity is basically the Millennium Falcon with a gang of one-dimensional misfits and scalawags as its crew. It sounds stale, but good comic book-style writing, sharp dialogue (including some cool use of ancient sailing vocabulary) and a cast with more chemistry than acting chops keep the proceedings from growing moldy. Even if you haven't seen its TV antecedent, Serenity is a much better pirate movie than this summer's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest.
- July 28, 2006
DVD Extras
Too many vignettes with cast and crew agog at what a labor of love the movie was; some funny outtakes that demonstrate the camaraderie of the cast; and, of course, deleted scenes, most of which should stay deleted—though a few of them would have been helpful to those of us who didn't watch the show. Speaking of which, couldn't Whedon or someone else have written a recap of the TV series as a pre-feature option on the DVD? Missed the boat on that one.