Serenity
Written and Directed by: Joss Whedon
Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Summer Glau, Sean Maher, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Rated: PG-13 for sequences of intense violence and action, and some sexual references.
Parental Notes: This film has some fairly intense moments but is probably fine for mature preteens and up.
If you’re in the mood for some outer-space adventure, “Serenity” may just be right up your alley. Set 500 years in the future, it is an odd blend of old westerns, Eastern thought and language, and classic science fiction. Like much of writer-director Joss Whedon’s work, it seems like pure thrill ride about 95% of the time – but that other 5% will hit you where it hurts.
The film, which picks up not long after time covered in the television series “Firefly,” takes place 500 years in the future, after humanity has abandoned Earth and colonized a new star system. The central planets are in the grip of the Alliance, which also took over the less-civilized outer planets after a brutal civil war. Our heroes are the captain and crew of the Firefly-class spaceship Serenity. They make their living by hiring themselves out for jobs — usually things like holding up payroll houses or transporting high-risk cargo.
They’re a motley crew. Mal (Nathan Fillion), the ship’s captain, is a veteran of the civil war, a classic rogue, and he runs his ship his way — if you don’t like it, get off. He’s also a true hero, although he doesn’t see himself as one. Zoe (Gina Torres), his second in command, also served with him in the war. She’s a skilled fighter and unquestioningly loyal to Mal. Her husband, Wash (Alan Tudyk), is the ship’s pilot and source of wisecracks.. Jayne (Adam Baldwin) is a pure mercenary — he’s in it for the money and not terribly particular about the bodycount. Then there’s Kaylee (Jewel Staite), the irrepressible mechanic. Together, they’re a family — dysfunctional, maybe, but they work well together.
The film revolves around the story of River and Simon Tam (Summer Glau and Sean Maher), a brother and sister who are on the run from the Alliance. River was kidnapped and experimented on by Alliance scientists until Simon broke her out and got them passage on Serenity. Simon studied to be a doctor, and now that he’s on Serenity he serves as the crew’s medic. River can’t be much help because although the experiments gave her psychic powers, they also left her more than a little insane. Things really get rolling when she suddenly snaps and takes on a cantina full of ruffians with precision martial arts. In trying to figure out what set her off, the crew find themselves digging into a conspiracy that makes the one on “The X-Files” look like the work of amateurs.
But what makes “Serenity” a delight among sci-fi films is more than its plot. It’s the dialog, which has its own flavor and is a mix of new idioms and phrases borrowed from Chinese.It’s the courage and daring of the characters, who come up with some truly amazing strategies when all seems lost. It’s the villains, who are a new kind of nasty: there are the Reavers, insane humans who prey on lone spaceships and do terrible things to the passengers, and there’s the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a soft-spoken man who knows that what he does is evil, but believes it is serving the greater good. It’s the use of practical, near-anachronistic things like horses and guns with bullets on outer planets that don’t have the fancy technology of the Alliance. It’s the feeling of reality these characters have as they wisecrack their way through danger. Put together, the sum is a film that shines far and above most offerings out of Hollywood.
The thing that mars this amazing creation of Whedon’s is the same thing that pops its head up in his other stories: his desire to make sure you don’t rest easy in your seat. He wants you to know that these characters he’s written so brilliantly are in danger, and to be afraid they will be badly hurt or killed. It’s unfortunate that Whedon relies on a “gotcha!” moment to create that fear, but then again, not everybody is bothered by that kind of thing.
“Serenity” is easily the best science fiction film to hit the screens in years, and I am including George Lucas’ recent offerings in that estimation. This film is virtually flawless, and fans of the show will not be disappointed (except maybe by the fact that the characters of Inara and Shepherd Book are barely in the film). Many questions from the series are answered here, but the movie isn’t inaccessible to those who missed the show. It stands on its own feet — but it may well drive you to beg, borrow, or steal the DVDs so you can spend more time in this amazing universe.