SERENITY (2005)
I am not quite sure what director Joss Whedon, was thinking about when he came up with the idea for what is basically “space western” with humor and butt-kicking thrown in. In fact, this movie could have been called “RIVER TAM BEATS THE LIVING CRUD OUT OF EVERYTHING”. It’s possible he got the idea from 80’s cartoons like BRAVESTAR and GALAXY RANGERS, only this group flies around in a rad-looking spaceship called “Serenity”. The main characters are also not lawmen, but the opposite of that. After the TV show FIREFLY was canceled, SERENITY became the show's swan song and it didn’t freakin disappoint.
In this movie the Serenity harbors a lethal weapon in the form of a girl named River Tam (played by Summer Glau). If you recognize Summer Glau, it’s because she has been in a ton of nerdy stuff from TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONOR CHRONICLES to ARROW. She was also in MAMMOTH, one of the greatest B-Movies ever made. River will kick your freakin teeth in, and then space out hanging on the ceiling in your hallway. She’s nuts and it’s just fantastic against this tapestry of personalities. She and her brother are being hunted down by a planetary alliance called “The Alliance” (score one for creative naming). The reason they want River is because she has hyper-sensitive information in her psyche they need to stay hidden. The crew of the Serenity itself is pretty awesome. Mal is the captain played by Nathan Fillion. Gina Torres is awesome as Zoe, Alan Tudyk (from A KNIGHTS TALE) plays Wash and Jewel Staite plays the ship's mechanic Kaylee. They are basically pirates that take jobs in order to make money, like another prominent sci-fi legend with the last name “Solo”. We also get introduced to a few other characters from the show, and all together it works story-wise. The movie's main villains are played by a bunch of deranged cannibals, but also an antagonist known as The Operative played by Chiwetel Ejiofor (who was in Doctor Strange).
Effects and settings wise for me, this movie outdid the original STAR WARS making it a better overall film. I got a ton of grief for saying that when this thing came out, but there is an elegance and beauty to this thing that just hits it out of the park. Yes, the ship is CGI (and I do prefer practical effects most of the time if I can get them) but everything in this movie from cinematography to lighting is extremely well done. The script is a mixture of seriousness contrasted with humor and even gloom, which is mesmerizing from a pure storytelling standpoint. All these things are also characteristics of the show, which was a mega cult hit.
If you are tuned out and didn’t bother reading after I said I liked this movie more than the original STAR WARS, I get it, that’s a bold statement. I stick by it though. I loved this movie from start to finish and really appreciated that the filmmakers took the time to give FIREFLY an amazing sendoff. For me, SERENITY is a clear 7 out of 7. Of course, part of me is saying that because I don’t want Summer Glau to pop out of nowhere and suddenly kick me in the head while doing a backflip and taking out 35 other assailants.
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