Serenity
is a hugely entertaining space opera set in the distant future as Earth
has colonized several planets in another solar system.
In true
Star Wars tradition, the movie's title
refers to the name of a Millennium Falcon-type spaceship falling apart at
its seams piloted by a group of loveable rogues and a captain clearly
modeled on a pre-Special Edition
Han Solo. "I came here unarmed," an opponent declares. "Good," our hero
replies and promptly shoots him.
Serenity is of course the full-length movie version
of the cult sci-fi TV show, Firefly.
Sci-fi fans always seem attracted to lost causes, and there are few causes
as lost as Firefly: the TV show created by Joss Whedon of Buffy
and Angel fame was yanked from the air by Fox without even
finishing its first season.
Fans rallied and the show became an
unexpected hit on DVD. So another studio (Universal) picked it up and brought out
this full-length movie. It however sadly bombed at the box office upon its
release despite universal good reviews and fan adulation. Maybe DVD sales
will rescue the franchise - after all even George Lucas admits that his
movies make their money with DVD sales and not at the box office - but
things don't look good.
THE DISC: This DVD however is a good start: it is
packed with 45 minutes of brisk making of featurettes, none of them
longer than six minutes. There are some deleted scenes, but they aren't as
interesting: it is obvious why they were left out. The outtakes are really
fun though and fans should check it out. Sound and image quality is pretty
decent too and there is an audio commentary by Joss Whedon himself.
WORTH IT? Serenity is how all sci-fi
adventure yarns should be made. The dialogue is sharp and witty, and the
characters quirky, interesting and likeable. Things get a bit drawn out
with the climactic fight scenes, but that is a minor niggle. Serenity
embodies the sort of good-natured fun the original
Star Wars trilogy was
before Lucas got all heavy and self-important with the so-called prequels.
RECOMMENDATION: Buy it.
