"That's a nice-a donut."

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Serenity (2005)

In the short-lived sci-fi television series Firefly, a crew of independent renegades (including a pair that were highly wanted by the law), led by the veteran of an intergalactic civil war, sailed through space on a beat-up old spaceship moving from place to place and job to job. Few jobs were turned down, even if they were illegal and, well let's face it: most of them involved stealing things for other people. The series was sometimes described as a "space western" and it made sense, as the band of misfits lived from day to day on the edges of the known system, just trying to stay alive and to make peace with themselves. It was a fun show, and certainly had a lot of potential to live on for a long time. But, for various reasons, Firefly was unemotionally axed by Fox after little more than half a season. But with the help of creator Joss Whedon and a loyal group of cult followers, known as the Browncoats, the crew of the spaceship Serenity was reborn in a feature-length motion picture.

Serenity picks up sometime after the last events in Firefly; crew leader Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and the others are getting more and more desperate. Jobs are getting scarcer and the manhunt for young doctor Simon (Sean Maher) and his very special sister River (Summer Glau) continues to get more intense. Now a dangerous assassin (Chiwetel Ejiofor) is on their trail, not to mention those pesky Reavers - wild murderous humans who for some reason, rape and cannibalize their victims. As we go on a wild, fast-paced adventure on the edges of space, the misfits of Serenity learn some startling revelations, while trying to fight for their lives.

...There are two main questions that need to be asked with a movie such as this: how well does it translate to the "big screen," and how well does it succeed in introducing new viewers to this universe? In short, does the movie stand on its own terms?

The answer to the first question is an unabashed "yes." The story is epic in scope, filled with intense action and unexpected tragedy, but still retains much of the wit and fast comic-like retorts and sweet insults that helped to make Firefly such a cult sensation in the first place. Throw away all the small little tales that were told in the TV series, because Serenity had only big ambitions. When the life of pretty much every character in the story is at stake, and you are on the edge of your seat for much of the second half, it is safe to say that the credentials are very much big screen-worthy. Perhaps the only thing that one might quibble about in this area is on the quality of the special effects - it is a space movie, after all. Like the show, a good portion of the movie takes place on the ship, and things there look quite good indeed. In space though, you never really get a sense of the vastness of the universe all around. Space shots are fairly quick and specific, never lingering. Of course, the plot didn't require any massive explosions or space battles, or planets blowing up. Things look (and sound) good, but it is clear that the budget wasn't on the level of, say, Star Wars.

As for how friendly Serenity may be to new viewers, that will be a very subjective issue. As someone who has seen Firefly (though as a relative newcomer), it seems that for the most part, it is a pretty straightforward story. It is very exciting; with nary a dull moment, and the dialogue and action should probably appeal to most people. Of course, it would have been very tedious to start completely anew, so the backstories and things we learned in Firefly are not all repeated. For instance, we know that River has special powers, but new Serenity recruits may not fully grasp how volatile and dangerous that she really is.

Along these lines, one problem with the move to film is that in the television series, some episodes might have focused a little more on some characters than another. It is a often much slower building relationship with a TV series - for instance, one character (such as Sherpherd Book) might only be gradually developed and is never really a key focus, but another (such as the ships pilot, Wash) might have the occasional episode where they are a central figure and are given more insights and screen time. With the movie, you don't have the luxury of taking time to wait for characterization or to build empathy for the players - it's all got to be natural and to happen at a fairly brisk pace in order for everything to be over within 2 hours. As such, one casualty is that a few people from Serenity are pushed to the background - mechanic Kaylee is just a pretty face with the occasional line, Wash is barely used, and the alluring Inara never has a chance to shine either.

By the end, I imagine that most people will like the movie. Pretty much everyone who enjoyed Firefly will like Serenity. Of those who haven't seen Firefly, I could understand some of them not liking this. For some, the dialogue (and other oddities like how people curse in Chinese) might just be too different, or perhaps they felt they missed too many small details without benefit of the show. To those who haven't seen this, if you are looking for flashy sci-fi with lightsabers and strange new creatures, then you've come to the wrong place. But if you want well-told dramatic action, with plenty of strange people, then this should be right up your alley. In the meantime, feel free to peruse any of the hundreds of Firefly and Serenity fansites that have been created. Now, pardon me, while I go sign the petition asking for a sequel.

The Verdict: B+.

Michael Bentley 8:58 AM

"That's a nice-a donut."

Thursday, January 19, 2006

Archives