The Speculist

In migrating the "Firefly" mythos to the big screen, writer-director Whedon executes a precarious but ultimately successful combination of manga and morality play, all in glorious cinematic live-action. Even more than in previous works ("Buffy the Vampire Slayer", "Angel", "Firefly"), Whedon's characters don't so much discuss, banter, or shout their lines as declaim them in tight, pithy, speech-balloon-sized sound bites and ensemble and crew make it work, frequently moving the audience to laugh, gasp, shriek or sigh out loud and just plain 'get into' the story.

At its best, Whedon's prose rises to the nearly-Shakespearean, though it sometimes trips over itself becoming merely better than average for a science fiction movie. His heritage as a third-generation television writer shows a bit in the overall structure of the piece, but the triphammer pacing of the first two thirds of the movie compare favorably to the work of James Cameron, and, although the overall graphic style and composition of the cinematography owe more to Stan Lee and Jim Sternanko, there are elements of John Ford particularly in Whedon’s space shots.

This film is, obviously, a must-see for hardcore fans of the cancelled television series. For those who have seen a few episodes, either during the original run on FOX in 2002 or recently on the Sci-Fi channel, and liked what they saw or for fans of other Whedon franchises, this is also money well spent and probably an easy decision. For fans of the SF genre, action film buffs, and even open-minded horse-opera devotees, sufficient background is provided in the opening scenes of the movie and in the somewhat stereotypical roles of Serenity’s crew and the characters they interact with, that confusion should be minimized. A late arriving summer popcorn muncher for those who like action fantasy disguising a refreshingly thoughtful and thought-provoking set of characters and situations, “Serenity” is one of the rare films (even rarer in the era of big-budget, franchise driven SF) that works on many levels.

For those who feel that no movie review is complete without a slug-worthy grade or rating, I’ll give this film a solid B+ for “Firefly” fans. Surprisingly, for those new to the franchise, I’d rate it an A- as a standalone SF movie unencumbered by relation to prior events and character expectations.

(Note for fanboys: Be on the lookout for a scene reminiscent of Han Solo in the Bespin carbonite chamber. “Vest, No Vest, Vest”)

"Serenity": B+ / A-