Serenity

Serenity is based on the TV miniseries Firefly, but the story is a standalone but i would recommend watching Firefly first.

Earth that was could no longer sustain the number of people there were just too many so they had to find a new solar system with dozens of planets and hundreds of moons, each one terraformed, a process taking decades to support human life to become new Earths. The central planets of this solar system formed the Alliance rules by an interplanetary parliament but the savage outer planets refused Alliance control causing a war which the alliance won.

From its great concept to the fantastic decor & aesthetics, this movie kept me engaged with a simple but decent plot, good acting with Alan Tudyk & Nathan Fillion, good dialogue, and an overall retrospace vibe that i love.

Everytime I watch this movie I shed a tear for Joss Whedon's original vision. If only fox hadn't shut him down, we could have fleahed out these stories over many seasons.

Mankind had left Earth for a new solar system with dozens of planets and hundreds of moons. The inner most planets had formed the Alliance, and conquered the outer Independent planets in a destructive war. Mal (Nathan Fillion) and his ragtag band of former rebels are living on the edge of survival. Simon had bought his way on board and rescued sister River from a government facility. She's a secret experiment with psychic powers and hidden memories of a deadly government secret.

This is the follow up to the short-lived cult TV show Firefly. Although it's not absolutely necessary to know the TV show to understand the movie, it would help to get the feel of the group dynamics. The relationships are what gives the movie its emotions. The characters are pretty easily decipherable. Nevertheless, their backstories would help.

This has the Joss Whedon touches. It has the fast talking inside jokes of a Scooby gang. That's what makes this fun. The CGI is not the absolute top rate, but he makes up for it with inventive energy. The random craziness of the big space battle is something that Star Wars can only aspire to. In fact, Mal is Han Solo. Imagine if Star Wars centered on Han Solo, and you've got this movie.

Read a review from 2006 that claims that this is what Star Wars prequels should have looked like. I couldn't agree more. All the Star Wars that came after the original three were simply cash grab. Had Fox marketed the Firefly t.v. Series, Serenity would have been unnecessary and we'd have probably ten seasons of Firefly. Anyhow, I was curious about this movie but always forget to look for it when I'm in search for a film to watch, until now. I've been advised to watch Firefly first, but for what it's worth, Serenity can be watched as a stand alone film as in is pretty straight forward in the story telling - doesn't get bogged down with character intro because the pacing is well thought out. I discovered for myself that watching the t.v. Series first would have allowed me to score this lower as there are a couple of integral t.v. Characters that didn't have much screen time in the movie. I watched Serenity first. If you watch both Serenity and Firefly, you will not clamour for another (typically awful) Star Wars movie.

***NO SPOILERS*** I saw the movie at a sneak preview in Houston, TX on 6/23/05. I was just happy that we were getting more of these characters and this setting.

Visually, it was stunning. The extra budget for effects was well spent. The characters and their relationships were recognizable, but there had been changes from the show. I think this was necessary within the movie, and part of an evolution from the TV show to the big screen (the movie takes place 6 months after the last episode, "Objects in Space"). Things have changed.

There is a higher action and violence level in this (duh, it's a movie, not on TV), and we get some major revelations about the world (which some who saw it with me already don't like). There are some MAJOR events that affect the characters, and I wasn't totally happy with them - shocked is the word. But this is Joss's world, and his characters, and he tells the stories he wants to tell. He doesn't get bound up in hurting our feelings; he just tells it like it is. I believe he did say that this was the hardest thing he'd ever had to write.

At least one person at our screening was a "Firefly virgin," and he said that he liked it. I hope people who have no exposure to the show will be able to see this and enjoy it. Our big damn heroes come across well, and I hope this will get them some well-deserved exposure. This is a no-holds barred, big-time action/adventure sci-fi story, bold and raw, and set in a world unlike anything portrayed in SF before (well, except for "Firefly"). And I hope it does really, really well, and we get to see the sequels.