Underrated film of the week: Serenity

If you know me, you know I’m a sucker for Joss Whedon, the man that gave our generation “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, “Angel”, “Dollhouse”, “Dr. Horrible’s Sing Along Blog”, and of course “Firefly”. Now Firefly, a science fiction western (Yes I wrote that right, a western set in outer space) only lasted a dozen episodes which for the most part weren’t even aired in the right order before it was quickly cancelled by Fox. Flash forward three years, and the show was brought back to life into a feature length film entitled “Serenity” written and directed by Whedon himself and with all the original cast back.

Some quick backstory: In the future the earth has become so packed that the human race explore and terriform other planets. In doing so, small towns are formed, and matters such as farming and settling and horses (think America in the old west). However within this some settlers in the outer rims of the new galaxy declared a civil war on the Alliance (the universal government) and, much like the American civil war, the South...errr outer rim planets, lost the war.

The film, like the show (although set six months after the show ended), brings the viewer to the crew of the Serenity, a group of rag tag mercenaries (for lack of a better description) led my Captain Malcolm Reyonlds (Nathan Fillion) who come to discover that one of his crewmates River Tam (Summer Glau) was experimented on by the Alliance as a child because she could read minds, to the point where she’s a little...funny in the head. She’s had so much programmed in her and absorbed that she can’t understand any of it. However, the Alliance wants her back, sending the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor, from “Love Actually” and “Dirty Pretty Things”) to find her, and killing anyone who is helping her. After seeing a commercial at a bar that is programmed to trigger her, River goes off fighting like Bruce Lee randomly without anyone knowing why, and it’s up to Mal and his crew to protect her from the operative and find out the secrets that River has in her head.

Now for those of you who aren’t a fan of Whedon’s long list of shows, then Serenity may not interest you. Matter of fact if you don’t like science fiction or westerns this may not interest you. However, the film is a marvel, with critics loving it and science fiction authors enjoying it (to the point where Ender’s Game author Orson Scott Card stated that if Ender’s Game can’t be as good as this film, I would never want it made. I’d just rather see Serenity again ) However the film was barely able to make back it’s $20 million dollar budget worldwide, although finding life on dvd. One note, although the film does a solid job of being self contained for those who haven’t seen the show Firefly, watching the show either before or after would help the viewer understand the background of the character and their arcs which are concluded within this film. And although some main characters on the show were largely sacrificed to minor roles, specifically Sheppard Book, and Inara, which may leave some first time viewers questioning any development or understanding of who they are, the film still remains largely self contained.

Now the good things: First and foremost, the comedy. A lot of the comedy in this film is dry and mostly things that the characters would probably say, which makes their moments funnier, however like all comedy, some people may not find the humour funny, but it works very well for the film. Also, the visual effects need mentioning. In a year where Star Wars: Episode III, King Kong, The Chronicles of Narnia, and War of the Worlds (among others) we’re scooping up all the visual effects kudos, Serenity was able to make a $20 million film look like a $100 million summer blockbuster, with fantastic spaceship action sequences and a pretty sweet chase scene in the beginning, Serenity’s effects deserved more kudos compared to the other films running for the VFX Oscar. Going off that, the films action sequences are also a marvel, with River sporting some amazing martial arts scenes which are done with very few cuts, and the film is also fairly scary (the Reavers, whom are a savage cannibal like villain play a major role in the film, with scared and self inflicted piercings) which really works to ramp up the suspense when it matters. Having said of what a fan I am of Joss Whedon’s work, I have to talk about the writing and directing. It’s stellar: The man has known these characters, created their world on the small screen years before, and even though years have passed since he wrote about the world, the story and the characters fit so well it’s like no time has passed. The characters are written so well, and the plot is, while not complex, still strong. Also a positive note is that many times you won’t know what the film will do next with each scene, although the basic plot has redundant elements we’ve seen hundreds of times over, Whedon tweaks them to keep the audience guessing and on the edge of their seat (including killing a character of two randomly).The directing is also top notch, with Whedon making the budget look a lot bigger on screen then they actually had, playing the drama, the scares, and the comedy with finesse. The acting is also stand out as well, the actors clearly loved their characters and it shows in their performance, with Nathan Fillion both charming and goofily funny, but clearly leader material, and Summer Glau playing insane ninja girl with surprising effectiveness and sympathetic love. Oh, and hats off to Adam Baldwin as Jayne Cobb, the crew’s tough violent thug guy, who is pitch perfect in the film, and Alan Tyduk as Wash, the ships pilot, who spews comedy with every line.

As I have said, it’s not for everyone, but the film hits all the right beats, and sadly didn’t get it’s due when it was released in theatres, which is why I’m proud to declare it my underrated film of the week. Give it a shot, watch it to the end, let the characters absorb you and the action overwhelm you, and if you like it, give the show a shot, since it’s doubtful a sequel will ever be made.

4.5/5 stars