"Serenity"
"Serenity" is a rare thing--a science fiction adventure movie for adults, or at least for teens and up. It's got a sophisticated plot, a cynical-but-noble worldview and emotional issues that show a certain level of maturity that most big-budget science fiction movies aren't allowed.
Writer/director Joss Whedon has a strength for dark, emotional storylines, and he brings a depth to the story of Malcolm Reynolds, captain of the ship Serenity, and his struggle between doing the right thing and just getting by in a galaxy that doesn't seem to have a place for him any longer. It's more ambitious in scope than "Firefly", the TV series on which it's based, but as a movie it doesn't have the space to give the rest of Reynolds' crew the kind of meaty storylines they might have received on the show. They're around as backup and color, but they don't really get to shine until the end of the film. The real stars are Mal Reynolds and River Tam, the telepathic teen who is on the run from the imperious Alliance government for something hidden deep in her brain they can't afford to get out.
The episodes of his TV shows directed by Whedon have always had a strong visual flair, usually with one or two film techniques that rise them above the normal look of television. He achieves basically the same effect with his feature film debut. "Serenity" opens with an impressive long tracking shot following Nathan Fillion's Captain Reynolds through the entirety of the ship that gives the movie its name, meeting and interacting with each member of his crew and setting the tone for what everyone's like and where this is going. The rest of the directing isn't quite as flashy and in places feels like it could be opened up more, as if Whedon is still so used to television that he has a challenge bringing the sensibility of film to the camerawork.
The story is terrific. It gets to be ambitious in places where "Firefly" couldn't, gets to resolve some questions that "Firefly" left unresolved, and gets to shake up the status quo of the ship in unexpected ways. It's important not to reveal too much about the plot itself because there are some great surprises that fans of the show may not see coming. We finally get to meet the "Reavers", interplanetary savages who are rumored to eat their victims alive, and we get a suavely impressive villain in the form of an Alliance operative without a name, who is driven by the belief that Malcolm Reynolds and River Tam must be destroyed for the sake of creating a better world.
"Serenity" isn't perfect and in places it betrays its TV series origins, but it's an exciting adventure movie that's a welcome change from the candy-colored toy tie-ins that are most sci-fi pictures. Go see it again and again.
Jeff
Writer/director Joss Whedon has a strength for dark, emotional storylines, and he brings a depth to the story of Malcolm Reynolds, captain of the ship Serenity, and his struggle between doing the right thing and just getting by in a galaxy that doesn't seem to have a place for him any longer. It's more ambitious in scope than "Firefly", the TV series on which it's based, but as a movie it doesn't have the space to give the rest of Reynolds' crew the kind of meaty storylines they might have received on the show. They're around as backup and color, but they don't really get to shine until the end of the film. The real stars are Mal Reynolds and River Tam, the telepathic teen who is on the run from the imperious Alliance government for something hidden deep in her brain they can't afford to get out.
The episodes of his TV shows directed by Whedon have always had a strong visual flair, usually with one or two film techniques that rise them above the normal look of television. He achieves basically the same effect with his feature film debut. "Serenity" opens with an impressive long tracking shot following Nathan Fillion's Captain Reynolds through the entirety of the ship that gives the movie its name, meeting and interacting with each member of his crew and setting the tone for what everyone's like and where this is going. The rest of the directing isn't quite as flashy and in places feels like it could be opened up more, as if Whedon is still so used to television that he has a challenge bringing the sensibility of film to the camerawork.
The story is terrific. It gets to be ambitious in places where "Firefly" couldn't, gets to resolve some questions that "Firefly" left unresolved, and gets to shake up the status quo of the ship in unexpected ways. It's important not to reveal too much about the plot itself because there are some great surprises that fans of the show may not see coming. We finally get to meet the "Reavers", interplanetary savages who are rumored to eat their victims alive, and we get a suavely impressive villain in the form of an Alliance operative without a name, who is driven by the belief that Malcolm Reynolds and River Tam must be destroyed for the sake of creating a better world.
"Serenity" isn't perfect and in places it betrays its TV series origins, but it's an exciting adventure movie that's a welcome change from the candy-colored toy tie-ins that are most sci-fi pictures. Go see it again and again.
Jeff
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