Serenity

If you have not yet seen the film, there may be some spoilers in here for you!  
If need be, I will have to shoot you for not seeing it!

Serenity, Joss Whedon’s directorial debut in my film of the year! Although it must be known that with Serenity I may be a little fan-boyish, big fan of the series… and a big fan of the film. So here is comes the review you’ve all been waiting for, hopefully it will be my best one yet!

I must say that I did not actually know that Serenity was being made until earlier this year, neither did I care. I only really watched Firefly in the summer, so I am relatively new to the particular story, but I knew that when I really got into Firefly it was like Buffy and Angel (in particular) all over again. Rarely does a series usually entrap me to the point of needing to squeeze in the next episode etc. I am a sucker for what Whedon delivers; I know all too well that some people cannot stand it. But with his mix of humour, character development, and stories, they’re always winners to me.
… So anyway back to the story. I hadn’t even known there was a film in production until www.ctrlaltdel-online.com posted a link to the trailer, I watched it and thought, ‘meh’ I’ll probably watch it.. now I am flabbergasted, the film was exactly as I had hoped for, and one of the most enjoyable films that I believe I may have ever seen at the cinema.. strangely television is always more enjoyable..

So, directed by Joss Whedon- of who I am a big fan of; his episodes are always the best written and more often then not, the best! (Don’t complain, I’m a big fan girl!)- Starring Nathan Fillion (Malcolm Reynolds), Summer Glau (River), Sean Maher (Simon), Adam Baldwin (Jayne), Jewel Staite (Kaylee), Moreena Baccarin (Inara), Gina Torres (Zoe), Alan Tudyk (Wash), Ron Glass (Shepard Book) and Chiwetel Ejiofor (The Operative).

There was only really one avenue that Joss Whedon could travel when thinking of a film for his sleeper show: Firefly. With nine characters to the idea, only River was the most promising that a film could be made about (Or perhaps Shepard but its all too late now!) either way, besides changing a few things around, I believe it worked rather well, The dead people looked pretty good, I only hope that he will continue Firefly in some form or another.

In comment to the actors... The actors worked just as perfect on film as they did on television. Pretty much nobody in the cast has performed in a film where they were a main part. But everyone really nailed it on the head, Mal was just as funny as ever. Though I felt that Jayne was a bit left behind, usually he carried more funny lines. Unfortunately a host of the characters were pushed into the background, with little coming from Simon, Kaylee, Inara, Zoe, Wash and Shepard, the whole film seemed to be focused on Mal and River. Which I cannot complain about, but it was Wash and Shepard’s last chance to reveal their pasts.
What more can I say, Chiwetel was pretty good as the operative, I would have preferred another character like Jubal Early (Objects in Space) but he was sufficient; a bad guy with no sense of morals beside his own, ruthless and fighting the cause.

The screenplay was exactly as I expected, perhaps there were a few more jokes added into the script than I expected, but everything that ‘made’ Firefly was still there. The great characters still had their charm, the set design, and script. Amazing in my opinion.

In absolutely loving the series, the film was just heightened to excellence. I can list things all day for what I enjoyed, so I’ll simplify it.. the actors, what can I say, I am still in love with each and every one, and although it seemed a few of them were kept in the shadows, they were still included nonetheless. Although I can not help but wonder, if Joss Whedon does attempt to take Firefly any further what will its focus be??
The film was awesome, granted it had its lows (some very unexpected deaths) and I would have rather it been otherwise, but it was necessary; two characters that perhaps were needed to die. Perhaps this will possibly open new avenues of places to explore, if continued.

As for bad points… now when I say bad points, in terms of Serenity I am picking holes (which I love to do so much) Most of my problems were the changes from the series, which were very much understandable, but anyway…
The beginning, I was confused, I had absolutely no idea what was going on. It sorta turned around some of what had originally supposed to have taken place (Ariel). The film also seemed to focus more on the futuristic side of the idea, not much western could be seen, which was sorely missed by myself; with this also said there was little Chinese spoken. Whereas in the series people would be spouting it all the time… I suppose it was not to scare some people off.
I was also very disappointed in not seeing hide nor hair of the blue handed men!! Who were the some of the most sinister antagonists I had ever seen on television.

I feel I should do some ranting, because I feel strongly for the film, but I think I cannot because it was so long ago that I watched it… something along the lines of “Why Joss Why!!”… but then that would be childish, so I am deciding not to moan (too much) and keep calm and collected, this is, after all, a very serious review.

Cptalbertwesker Rating – 10/10!!
Watching it late night on a Friday was a great experience, the cinema was pack with people and everyone seemed to enjoy it, even if the other person who went to see it with us thought that everyone should have died