Dir: Joss Whedon. Starring: Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Chiwetel Ejiofor.
Let’s cut straight to the chase here: Serenity is one of the finest sci-fi films of the past decade, it kicks Revenge of the Sith’s arse, tickles it a bit, and then shoves it in to a fiery furnace. Fans of Firefly won’t be disappointed in the slightest, and there’s a lot to love about this film. But despite all the above gushing, there’s one major issue I have with it. And it’s this – Joss Whedon is a bastard.
I’m going to leave you hanging there for a little while and concentrate on the plus points first. Apart from the first ten minutes which explains a few of the characters’ back stories, and provides newcomers who haven’t seen the series with enough information so that they won’t be confused over what’s going on, it’s a rollicking rollercoaster of a ride, and a rollercoaster which constantly throws you all over the place, with any expectations you might have being constantly proved wrong.
Nathan Fillion’s Captain Mal Reynolds out Solo’s Han Solo, he shoots first, hell, he shoots before anyone else has drawn a gun. He’s a master of the snappy one liner, passionate about those he loves, and a fantastic central protagonist. Anyone who’s seen Firefly will know how strong the other characters are as well, but alas most have less to do here – bar River (Summer Glau), who gets to go all Buffy-tastic when she’s not looking moody and mental. She’s great, but it’s a shame that the film centres around her so much, whilst the rest of the cast twiddle their thumbs and wait for something to happen.
Bar the slightly clunky first ten minutes, events take place after the final episode
Serenity’s main strength is Whedon’s ability to write dialogue, and here without pop culture references to rely on, it’s stronger than ever. He also proves with Serenity that he’s going to turn out to be a great director too, extremely comfortable both with dialogue and action scenes. The final half of the movie is especially gripping, as events take a much darker turn.
So why is Joss a bastard? Because for the third time in his career he pointlessly kills off a much loved character just to add unneeded dramatic gravitas. He did it in the final episodes of Buffy and Angel, and he does it here too. Perhaps if it had been someone else I wouldn’t have the issues with it I did, but dagnammit, it wasn’t someone else. It was one of Firefly’s strongest, and funniest, characters, and one who will be greatly missed from any potential future sequels or tv series.
Still, this is a minor quibble really, one which newcomers to the crew of Serenity probably won’t even be affected by, given the lack of screen time he has. And considering the strength of the plot, dialogue, acting, and direction, Serenity should be applauded for being as fantastic as it is.
Alex Finch.
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