When Joss Whedon decided to resurrect the 1992 box office failure Buffy the Vampire Slayer as a television show, its success defied expectations. So when Fox aired episodes of Whedon's latest show, Firefly, out of order before abruptly canceling the series, the director took the opposite route and remade his television series into a movie, Serenity.
Once again, the results defy expectations, as Serenity is one of the best sci-fi films in years. Simply put, there is more creative energy, more genre-blending know-how and more intelligence in each scene than in any other movie in recent memory.
The story follows Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), the Han Solo-like captain of a small smuggling ship named Serenity. A veteran from the losing side of a galactic civil war, Mal and his crew now survive through shipping and petty crime, hoping to avoid the cannibalistic Reavers who live on the edge of space while avoiding the Alliance, the interplanetary government that won the galactic war.
But Mal's journeys are complicated by Serenity's passengers, specifically two fugitives from the Alliance: a psychic River Tam (Summer Glau), the victim of countless Alliance experiments and her brother, Simon (Sean Maher), a doctor who gave up everything to free her. Because she knows sensitive information, the Alliance wants River back and orders an assassin, The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), to retrieve her at any cost.
Each plot point is delivered so that the audience can register it, and instead of a simple hide-and-seek storyline, Whedon takes Serenity's crew through various revelations, learning about themselves and the Alliance's dark secrets along the way. There is always a sense of momentum that carries the film along as it flies through several dazzling sequences, including what is arguably one of the best space battles ever filmed.
Visually, the movie is a gem. Cultural mishmashes abound with influences from sci-fi to westerns to eastern mysticism. The special effects are nothing to write home about but appear like the camera was simply filming them, complete with live action-like blurring and shakiness. The result is a seamless blend, more natural that the often-distracting computer-generated imagery of, say, Episode III.
If Serenity has one problem, it is its inaccessibility. The cast itself maintains momentum for the first third of the movie, with sharp and snappy dialogue that never feels forced or unnecessary. And each of the nine actors from the television series returns, but there isn't enough screen time to fully develop the characters.
For moviegoers unfamiliar with the television series, two hours isn't enough time to become fully attached to Serenity's crew. That said, the uninitiated should still be able to enjoy the film. Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau are captivating in their roles, carrying the bulk of the movie on their shoulders. Meanwhile, Chiwetel's Operative is surprisingly intense, portraying an assassin who clearly believes in his righteous cause and the sin of his actions -- his introductory sequence alone is worth the price of admission.
In the end, Serenity is one of those rare television-to-film transitions that should hold everyone's interest. With a number of strong characters, beautifully choreographed sequences and a surprising amount of social commentary, Whedon has succeeded once again.
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