ewe2
19-03-2006, 10:24 AM
You all got on this boat for different reasons, but you all come to the same place. So now I'm asking more of you than I have before. Maybe all. 'Cause as sure as I know anything I know this: They will try again. Maybe on another world, maybe on this very ground, swept clean. A year from now, ten, they'll swing back to the belief that they can make people...better. And I do not hold to that. So no more running. I aim to misbehave.
-- Captain Mal Reynolds.
Let's start with the miracle: this movie was the result of sustained pressure and incredible DVD sales figures by the fans of the cancelled series Firefly, and the desire of its creator, Joss Whedon, to continue the story of its characters. This is unique: that a cancelled series made it to DVD in the first place, and then for that to generate studio interest in a movie sequel. The reasons why are simple: the fans love the characters, love the story and the universe in which it is set, and are not going to accept the end of the story yet.
The Firefly universe is the setting for Serenity: mankind has resettled in a new Solar System, in a culture that mixes Western and Chinese languages and influences. This Alliance sought to spread beyond the core planets and a war of Unification was fought and won. Our protagonists are a mixture of the losing side (Browncoats), some innocent and not-so-innocent bystanders, and those the Alliance would use to complete their program of complete control. Simon Tam has rescued his sister River from a government facility and she is not what she seems. Captain Mal Reynolds and his sidekick Zoe, ex-Browncoat soldiers, have taken the Tams on as working passengers in their privateer enterprise of smuggling, theft and other odd jobs, supported by Kaylee the ship's mechanic, Jayne the hired merc, Wash the pilot, Inara the Companion (a partnership of convenience between her and the Serenity crew), and Shepherd Book, a preacher.
The movie opens at the point where the series left off: Inara has left to return to her Companion training house, Shepherd Book to his destination mining community, both with intriguing backstories and unresolved questions. The Alliance still seeks River, and now we have some background as to why. It seems that apart from her experimental and military value, she knows something she should not, and it is a matter of urgency for the assigned Operative that this secret be kept.
From here the plot races along, and I won't spoil it any further. If you loved the series, you'll love the movie, and if you've seen the movie, the questions it raises should have you hunting up the Firefly DVD set.
The Serenity universe is not your normal sci-fi, and it continues the Firefly series' unique vision. To begin with, this isn't the grand sweeping story of the elites or massed armies in galactic warfare like a more typical sci-fi movie plot. Whedon likes to call it the story of the people on the edge of such stories, those that are just trying to make ends meet out in the backwaters, away from the bright lights where its a matter of survival to eat and fuel another payload. The planets they visit are best described as shanty towns on a larger scale, the jobs they take range from theft and smuggling to passengers and even cattle. They barely have the cash to keep Serenity in the black, and the payment of one strawberry indicates how rare real food is out here. In essence, it is a vision based on scarcity and stealth, not the normal sci-fi themes. It's been called a space western before, and it defintely has the frontier approach. There have been attempts to downgrade Firefly/Serenity by referring to Cowboy Bebop and Babylon 5 but they are simply different stories, and they got to be finished; Serenity is not done with yet.
In keeping with the anti-hero approach, Serenity (like Firefly before it) isn't shot like a typical sci-fi. There's lots of hand-held and action sweeps, big close-ups and unusual depth of field. The special effects are nowhere to be seen because they aren't special, its the way things are, for example the initial reentry of Serenity accentuates the risk and physical feel of it, not some brief cutaway so common in Star Wars.
The relationship between the characters is also much more real than anything Lucas put together: these are people living on the edge with their own secrets and are not above seeking their own advantage in whatever situation their captain's jobs lands them in. Mal and Kaylee's loyalty to Serenity is most absolute, for the others, its more of a love-hate relationship. Zoe is loyal to Mal like any sergeant, which is sometimes difficult for her husband Wash. Jayne can only be trusted as far as the next job; the others are not really bound to the ship and its owners: Inara is particularly conflicted in her unrequited love for Mal; for her Serenity is business that has gotten out of hand. Book's concern for Mal's faith did not prevent him from leaving. The most intriguing questions not answered by the movie are personal ones: why did Inara choose to travel in the first place? What was Book before he was a priest? What got Zoe and Wash together? How does Mal know so much more about Reavers than anyone else?
It is for this unusual mix of fresh characterization, an unconventional approach to science fiction and outright great storytelling that Serenity is an underrated must-see movie. If you missed it at the cinema, its very rewatchable on DVD while you wait for Serenity 2!
-- Captain Mal Reynolds.
Let's start with the miracle: this movie was the result of sustained pressure and incredible DVD sales figures by the fans of the cancelled series Firefly, and the desire of its creator, Joss Whedon, to continue the story of its characters. This is unique: that a cancelled series made it to DVD in the first place, and then for that to generate studio interest in a movie sequel. The reasons why are simple: the fans love the characters, love the story and the universe in which it is set, and are not going to accept the end of the story yet.
The Firefly universe is the setting for Serenity: mankind has resettled in a new Solar System, in a culture that mixes Western and Chinese languages and influences. This Alliance sought to spread beyond the core planets and a war of Unification was fought and won. Our protagonists are a mixture of the losing side (Browncoats), some innocent and not-so-innocent bystanders, and those the Alliance would use to complete their program of complete control. Simon Tam has rescued his sister River from a government facility and she is not what she seems. Captain Mal Reynolds and his sidekick Zoe, ex-Browncoat soldiers, have taken the Tams on as working passengers in their privateer enterprise of smuggling, theft and other odd jobs, supported by Kaylee the ship's mechanic, Jayne the hired merc, Wash the pilot, Inara the Companion (a partnership of convenience between her and the Serenity crew), and Shepherd Book, a preacher.
The movie opens at the point where the series left off: Inara has left to return to her Companion training house, Shepherd Book to his destination mining community, both with intriguing backstories and unresolved questions. The Alliance still seeks River, and now we have some background as to why. It seems that apart from her experimental and military value, she knows something she should not, and it is a matter of urgency for the assigned Operative that this secret be kept.
From here the plot races along, and I won't spoil it any further. If you loved the series, you'll love the movie, and if you've seen the movie, the questions it raises should have you hunting up the Firefly DVD set.
The Serenity universe is not your normal sci-fi, and it continues the Firefly series' unique vision. To begin with, this isn't the grand sweeping story of the elites or massed armies in galactic warfare like a more typical sci-fi movie plot. Whedon likes to call it the story of the people on the edge of such stories, those that are just trying to make ends meet out in the backwaters, away from the bright lights where its a matter of survival to eat and fuel another payload. The planets they visit are best described as shanty towns on a larger scale, the jobs they take range from theft and smuggling to passengers and even cattle. They barely have the cash to keep Serenity in the black, and the payment of one strawberry indicates how rare real food is out here. In essence, it is a vision based on scarcity and stealth, not the normal sci-fi themes. It's been called a space western before, and it defintely has the frontier approach. There have been attempts to downgrade Firefly/Serenity by referring to Cowboy Bebop and Babylon 5 but they are simply different stories, and they got to be finished; Serenity is not done with yet.
In keeping with the anti-hero approach, Serenity (like Firefly before it) isn't shot like a typical sci-fi. There's lots of hand-held and action sweeps, big close-ups and unusual depth of field. The special effects are nowhere to be seen because they aren't special, its the way things are, for example the initial reentry of Serenity accentuates the risk and physical feel of it, not some brief cutaway so common in Star Wars.
The relationship between the characters is also much more real than anything Lucas put together: these are people living on the edge with their own secrets and are not above seeking their own advantage in whatever situation their captain's jobs lands them in. Mal and Kaylee's loyalty to Serenity is most absolute, for the others, its more of a love-hate relationship. Zoe is loyal to Mal like any sergeant, which is sometimes difficult for her husband Wash. Jayne can only be trusted as far as the next job; the others are not really bound to the ship and its owners: Inara is particularly conflicted in her unrequited love for Mal; for her Serenity is business that has gotten out of hand. Book's concern for Mal's faith did not prevent him from leaving. The most intriguing questions not answered by the movie are personal ones: why did Inara choose to travel in the first place? What was Book before he was a priest? What got Zoe and Wash together? How does Mal know so much more about Reavers than anyone else?
It is for this unusual mix of fresh characterization, an unconventional approach to science fiction and outright great storytelling that Serenity is an underrated must-see movie. If you missed it at the cinema, its very rewatchable on DVD while you wait for Serenity 2!