Extras:
Joss Whedon Introduction, Feature Commentary, Deleted Scenes (with commentary),
Outtakes, 'Future History': The Story of Earth That Was, 'What's in a Firefly',
Re-lighting the Firefly: A Filmmaker's Journey
Director:
Joss Whedon
Producer:
Barry Mendel
Screenplay:
Joss Whedon
Music:
David Newman
Cast:
Capt. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds: Nathan Fillion
Zoe: Gina Torres
Jayne: Adam Baldwin
Wash: Alan Tudyk
The Operative: Chiwetel Eljiofor
River: Summer Glau
Inara: Morena Baccarin
Kaylee: Jewel Staite
Simon: Sean Maher
Shepherd Book: Ron Glass
Mr Universe: David Krumholtz
Writer-director Joss Whedon is an acquired taste.,
His first foray into movies was the trite Buffy The Vampire Slayer
(1992), with Kristy Swanson; a failure that evolved into the spunkier TV
series with Sarah Michelle Gellar in 1997.
Whedon spent the interim working as a "script doctor", anonymously polishing
the screenplays to movies such as Speed and Toy Story.
After Whedon's career skyrocketed with Buffy, he returned to movies by
writing Alien Resurrection (1997) - but the film was also a resounding
failure. So it was back to TV with Buffy, and later its spin-off show
Angel (1999), which only lasted a few years before cancellation.
Whedon stayed with TV for his next project, a sci-fi western called
Firefly (2002), but that show lasted a mere 11 episodes before being
canned. However, strong DVD sales of the Firefly box-set gave impetus for a
retry - with Whedon asked to retool the series for movie screens as Serenity
Serenity focuses on Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds, a war veteran (on the
losing side, interestingly) who now makes a living with a motley crew of
criminals aboard the eponymous spaceship. But the crew's lives are complicated
when Mal takes on two new passengers -- a young doctor and his telepathic
sister, who are actually fugitives from a sinister coalition dominating the
universe...
I've never seen Firefly and wasn't sure if that would influence my enjoyment
of Serenity. Unfamiliarity with the TV show could be used as an excuse, but
all movies have to be enjoyed by fans and newcomers alike. It's a balance
that's very difficult to get right, just take a look at Star Trek: The
Motion Picture (1979) or The X-Files Movie (1998).
So without the deeper knowledge of a fan (or "Browncoat"), I have to declare
that I found Serenity to be enjoyable, but wholly forgettable. Fans of the
TV series will champion Serenity outright (it was their support that gave
rise to the movie, after all), so they clearly don't want to be bored
with too much scene-setting.
Whedon did an admirable job in countering these inherent problems, and it
helps that spaceship adventures tend to follow a basic formula. Audiences
unfamiliar with Firefly are aware of Star Trek, so it's not too difficult
to settle into Serenity's basic groove. This is effectively a variant on
Trek, with the crew petty criminals and the universe given an Old West
aesthetic (grimy brown uniforms, sun-bleached desert planets, rusting
machinery and old-fashioned guns with bullets, etc.)
The plot is fun, yet ultimately quite laborious; despite a punchy start and
some intriguing scenes in the first half. There are plenty of well-staged
stunts and Whedon's trademark smart-ass dialogue comes intact from TV --
whether that causes smirks or winces depends on your tolerance for his
tangled wordplay. The characters are broad enough to make them relatable to
people acquainting themselves to these new faces, but they're also mostly
two-dimensional. Only Nathan Fillion and Chiwetel Eljiofor
get more rounded characterisation, and thus dominate every scene they're in.
The universe Serenity inhabits remains somewhat sketchy throughout and the
diversions to other planets and characters in Act II often seem superfluous
to the main plot at times. It's a problem The Chronicles Of Riddick
also suffered from, introducing the audience to so many new characters,
concepts, planets and relationships that it becomes a little distracting
and, ultimately, distancing.
At heart, Serenity is too much like a TV episode to really be successful on
the silver screen. It has moments that deliver a cinematic experience,
mainly from some cooler-than-TV effects sequences, but little else. There
are imaginative scenes that hint at greater things, but the fact remains
that the story is difficult to invest in or care about. Perhaps familiarity
with Firefly helps matters, but... I've already said that's no excuse.
By the time the credits rolled, a few things were obvious to me: Nathan
Fillion was the movie's shining light (a Han Solo/Kirk hybrid that works
brilliantly), the special-effects were unexpectedly strong, Eljiofor (the
"woman" in Kinky Boots!) made a brilliant villain, but... I didn't
particularly care about any of the death scenes, the mythology with the war
and Reavers made little sense to me, and overall this seemed more like
half-decent television episode...
I'm not hungry to play catch-up with the Firefly DVD box-set after seeing
this movie, nor do I think a sequel is warranted, but I'd definitely have
given the series a whirl on TV if this was its first episode. If that's
faint praise, then so be it...
Serenity may have bombed at the box-office (budget $40m, box-office $25 in
the US), but DVD is where the TV show was embraced by fans, so it's no
surprise that the Serenity DVD release is given a fairly extensive package
and great transfer.
The 1.85:1 widescreen anamorphic picture is very good, with decent levels
of details throughout and some well presented campfire scenes without much
smearing of the image. The best moments of the disc are undoubtedly with
the dazzling exterior landscapes, with brilliant sharpness and clarity.
For the sound there is strong DD5.1 sound work, particularly with the Reaver
chase sequence. There are lots of directional sound effects thrown around the
speakers and sharp gunfire. The dialogue occasionally seems lost, but that's
probably not due to any fault with the audio transfer. The music is also
impressively balanced with the effects mix.
The extras are as follows:
Director's Commentary:
Joss Whedon gives a fantastic commentary to the movie, quite essential for
fans and refreshingly frank about the aspects of the movie. A real highlight
of the extra's and Commentary tracks in general.
Deleted Scenes:
9 scenes are scooped up from the cutting room floor; ‘Extended Lilac
Entrance’ (a few seconds of talk from River), ‘Extended Kaylee and Jayne’ (1
minute of extra exchange between the pair), ‘Inara and Sheydra’ (2 minutes
of Inara teaching companions and denying the rumours that she had an affair
with a pirate), ‘Operative Tracks Mal’ (2 minutes of the Operative learning
more about Mal and Serenity), ‘Extended River and Simon/Haven Opening’
(also includes some more of Shepherd Book), ‘Escape from Companion Training
House’ (Mal and Inara fool Alliance soldiers on their way back to her
shuttle), ‘Mal and Inara Shuttle Chase’ (a few seconds of humour), ‘Mal
and Inara Quiet Moment’ (a touching couple of minutes between them)
and ‘Extended Mal and Operative Coda’ (just a few extra words).
Outtakes:
6 minutes of goofs, with the cast clearly enjoying the experience of making
this movie.
'Future History: The Story Of Earth That Was' Featurette:
a 4 minute piece with Whedon explaining the backstory to the sci-fi universe.
'What's In A Firefly?':
a 10 minute featurettes with Whedon and the cast talking about the
original TV show's cancellation and their hopes for the movie.
'Joss Whedon Introduction':
a great intro from Whedon himself, made directly to the Firefly fans
that made Serenity possible. Perhaps a bit too long at 4 minutes, though.
'A Filmmaker's Journey':
a good 20 minute featurettes about the making of the movie, again showing
the level of fun the cast had on set.
Overall, this is an essential purchase for fans, and an entertaining
distraction for everyone else. The DVD neatly exploring the love and
affection for the project in its extra's, while ensuring the visual/audio
transfer is top notch.
DVDs reviewed by the editor are watched on a Panasonic TXW32R4 32" widescreen TV
connected to either a Creative Dxr2 DVD-ROM player or Microsoft Xbox and
played through a Sony STR-DB930 amplifier.
PC games reviewed by the editor are on:
Since Nov 2005: Intel Pentium D 830 3.0Ghz, 1Gb RAM, 128Mb nVidia GeForce 6700XL, Windows XP
Since Aug 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.66Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb GeForce4 MX440 graphics, Windows XP
Since May 2003: Intel Pentium 4 2.6Ghz, 512Mb RAM, 128Mb ATI Radeon 9600TX graphics, Windows XP
Since Jun 2002: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, 64Mb ATI Radeon 8500LE
Since May 2000: Intel Pentium III 600Mhz, 384Mb RAM, Windows 98 SE, Voodoo 3 3000 AGP
