rating:
(out of
4 stars)United States; 2005
Directed by Joss Whedon; produced by Barry Mendel; written by Joss Whedon
Starring Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Chiwetel Ejiofor
The better, more complete, review will be online very soon.
I wish Hollywood would make more movies like 'Serenity'. A movie like this
is pure entertainment, working within a genre that it truly loves. In this
case the genre is science fiction, and the movie mixes elements from the
classics it has given us. It is not nearly as good as 'Star Wars' or let's
say 'Blade Runner', but it has the same entertaining elements. For the fun
it has with itself I was reminded of 'The Fifth Element', although it knows
how to be serious between the goofy moments - not too much though.
The film is based on television series 'Firefly', created by Joss Whedon who
also created popular series 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' and 'Angel'. I have
never seen an episode of 'Firefly' but this movie, also written and directed
by Whedon, has made me curious about it. For me this says a lot since I am
definitely not a fan of science fiction. I like the classics from the genre,
but of course they are more than just science fiction. Maybe 'Serenity' has
the same quality, working on multiple levels. I guess you can say there are
comedy, drama and horror elements for that matter.
The story itself tells of River Tam (Summer Glau), who is a psychic
imprisoned and investigated by The Alliance. Because she has been in a room
with important Alliance-people, those who rule the world, she has their
information in her head. This is the reason The Alliance sends The Operative
(Chiwetel Ejiofor) to kill her after she is rescued by her brother Simon
(Sean Maher). The two are now hiding on the ship called Serenity, with
captain Mal (Nathan Fillion) and his team of smugglers. Smuggling has been a
very popular occupation in science-fiction and once again it proves that it
does a terrific job for some introducing action sequences.
The Operative is not the only villain. As in most science fiction stories
there is a third party, that seems to exist to bring action and other
thrilling moments. Here they are called Reavers, human beings gone mad,
feeding themselves with other humans. It is an effective group, both for the
story as for action and suspense. Another effective element is the nature of
River. We think she will be the hero of the movie, but some dark
characteristics and surprising moves from her side make you wonder if she
really has the same agenda as the others.
In the end with 'Serenity' we have entertainment in the purest form. It does
not only depend on the visuals, even though they are good enough, especially
in the fighting sequences. It knows it has an interesting story to tell, it
knows it has a lot of wit, it has a tremendous time with everything it
shows, giving us the same great time. Again, there should be more movies
like 'Serenity'.