Film Review: Serenity @ the Capitol 7
In movie theatres these days, it’s hard to ignore the depressing number of quick cash-lifts that the movie industry has taken from classic television series.
From the funny—but not particularly enduring—Starsky and Hutch to the downright stupid Dukes of Hazzard, TV adaptations are fun, but not exactly great cinema.
So when you are presented with Serenity—-yet another film adaptation of a TV series—-it’s tough not to write it off completely. But be prepared to give Serenity the benefit of the doubt … and then prepare to have all your doubts blasted to smithereens by a laser cannon. A completely original, action-packed sci-fi extravaganza, Serenity is definitely one to watch.
Set several hundred years in the future, Serenity tells the story of the spaceship of the same name and the crew that it carries. The ship is on the run from a formidable government assassin and spy pursuing the psychic mind of the youngest crew member. The action and adventure is fast and furious, leaving little time for slower-paced viewers to catch their breath or rub their eyes.
Serenity is adapted from Joss Whedon’s short-lived series Firefly, which received rave reviews during its brief lifespan but received relatively little viewer attention, unlike Whedon’s other shows, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel. Serenity is a true Cinderella story of the movie industry—a chance for a little-known TV show to dress up with a bigger budget and fancy special effects and wow the world.
“Aha!” I hear the skeptical and media-savvy among you say. “We’ve seen Joss Whedon’s explorations in sci-fi before in Alien Resurrection, and aren’t going to get fooled by that moron again.” And it’s true: Whedon’s previous attempts at writing for the big screen have been less than great. The aforementioned Alien Resurrection and the original Buffy the Vampire Slayer movie left much to be desired.
Fear not—-the third time is definitely charm in the case of Serenity. Whedon proves himself to be a master of comedy and action scriptwriting with memorable and witty one-liners, as well as fast-paced spaceship battles that put the irrelevant CGI chases of the Star Wars prequels to shame.
The characters are nuanced and complicated, from the anti-hero captain, Mal (Nathan Fillion), to the deliciously contradictory River Tam (Summer Glau), the psychic at the heart of the story. But, like the original Star Wars, it’s the “baddy” that really stands out. The nameless and monstrous operative, played by British actor Chiwetel Ejiofor, gives a ruthless performance with subtle hints of a damaged self-loathing underneath his cool exterior. You find yourself actually caring about the characters, and the possibility of their death—-either from ravenous cannibals or the unexpected explosion of their ship—is a real worry for the audience.
Serenity isn’t without its problems. The plot of the film suffers under the strain of having to simultaneously fit a whole season’s worth of characterization and storytelling into two hours of screen time and have an original story for first-time viewers. So it is not unsurprising that the storyline has a distinctly “blink and you’ll miss it” aspect that could easily put some viewers off.
Besides being as convoluted as anything you’re likely to see on screen, there are also many sci-fi clichés in Serenity: a corrupt government with wafts of totalitarianism, a superhuman individual with a power she doesn’t understand and an almost carbon copy of the Blade Runner sets will ring more than a few bells for anyone who has seen science fiction films before.
Serenity still manages to be a perfect escapist movie, and anyone who loves a good sci-fi flick, an action adventure, or just a plain good story will adore this film.
A brilliant antidote for university-type stress, this film will take you out of this world—literally.
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