Serenity - Catching Firefly in a Jar

Right at the beginning I have to say that I'm a big fan of the cancelled television series Firefly; which is what Joss Whedon's new movie Serenity is technically a sequel to. This popular science fiction/space western series was cancelled by Fox television after only a handful of episodes and was thought to be lost, with only a DVD set available for loyal fans.

And yet this cancelled series sold enough copies to make it one of the bestselling DVD series in science fiction history. Enough to generate not only major interest in the series as a worthy companion to Mr. Whedon's other great television works (Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel) but to inspire and promote a major motion picture based on the unique universe Whedon had created.

Serenity was greatly anticipated by the Browncoats, Firefly fans that were eager to see the continuation of the adventures of their favorite characters and see more of this universe that mixed old-fashioned train robberies and wild spaceship battles. A whole publicity campaign started up with the Browncoats promoting the movie to anyone who would listen and being invited to special preview showings to keep the interest up and keep the fans on the edge of their seats.

So when the actual movie appeared, I was eager to see it. After all, I had seen and reviewed the "Firefly" DVD series and caught all the reruns on the SciFi Channel. It had to be a good movie, right?

Unfortunately my hopes were dashed pretty well within the first hour and crushed by the second. A great movie, perhaps - but not necessarily for the casual fan.

The premise of the Serenity universe is one that's been used before - a central government attempts to keep control over their outlying colonies through force, crushing any rebellion hard and fast. Malcolm Reynolds (Nathon Filion) is one of these men, a survivor of one of the Rebellion's last major battle seven years ago in Serenity Valley. But his side lost and now he's a ship captain with a crew looking to find work and keep flying - and stay out of the way of the Alliance.

His crew consists of a paid thug (Adam Baldwin), a mechanic (Jewel Staite) and a husband/wife team of pilot and second-in-command (Gina Torres and Alan Tudyk), one of his few remaining comrades from the Rebellion remaining at his side despite her concerns over certain situations. Two characters who have been previous crew members from the television series are now gone, having left the ship - Inara, the Companion (Morena Baccarin) and Shephard Book, played by Ron Glass who gets too short a role in the movie.

Still along for the ride is River and Simon Tam (Summer Glau and Sean Maher), on the run from the Alliance. A year ago Simon freed his sister from an Alliance facility where they were experimenting on her and made his way to the Rim, where he found the crew of the Serenity and a place to hide. Offering his services up as a Doctor in exchange for safety, he's been helping keep the crew patched up while trying to undo the mental and psychic damage that's been inflicted on River.

As the movie starts a special operative is being unleashed by the Alliance to find and terminate River Tam. It seems that they're concerned that she may have knowledge about some of the Alliance's dirty laundry that shouldn't ever be made public. The Operative is on his way and things are about to get very dangerous for one Firefly crew.

At the same time Mal's preparing to rob a bank - it seems that legitimate jobs are becoming harder and harder to come by without endangering River's fugitive status and he's had to accept assignments from various individuals that are less than honorable. But this time is different because he's taking River along with him. Her ability to read minds is going to be a big help when dealing with a potentially deadly situation with plenty of firepower and a lot of sweaty palms.

The movie is a special effects masterpiece, with the small Firefly-class spaceship often the star of the show with the amazing amount of detail paid to the smallest things on this weary craft. The battle scenes are going to drive most fans crazy with attempts to identify and recreate the diverse numbers of spaceships that fill the screen, from the Reavers' small attack ships to the Alliance's warships.

But once you get past the makeup and special effects Serenity falls into the same pit as most motion pictures based on television series do - alienating your audience if you're not able to let go of your logic. If you're not already a Browncoat or a fan of Joss Whedon you may find yourself lost in the leaps of logic and the injokes that will only be recognizable to those faithful who demanded this movie be made. It's one thing to make a movie to tie up the loose ends generated by an unjust cancellation - another to mangle the characters and the universe.

The Malcolm Reynolds here is a caricature of the one shown on the television series and on the DVDs - he's willing to walk into a bank and threaten civilians without any moral misgivings or concern for their wellbeing after the enemy attacks. There's an attempt to justify this by claiming that over the year between the series and the movie that the Serenity crew has gotten more desperate for work, but it doesn't work for me. Zoe, the faithful second-in-command comments on this once and then it's dropped along with a lot of the personality that Nathon Filion worked so hard to create and maintain in the cancelled series.

The logic holes are abundant and easily visible to those not blinded by fandom. Why wait an entire year after River Tam has escaped to send out an Operative to silence her? How vital can her information be if it's taken so long to react to it? And why only one man? Surely a government that has no problem creating and hiding genetic torture and manipulation would be able to dispatch hundreds of these Operatives to find and hunt her down without much concern about their public image.

As well the deaths of some major characters took me by surprise not in that they died, but that nothing was made of their deaths. There's no reaction from any of the crew other than a few comments and then it's back to the story as we race through the universe again to our next battle with plenty of explosives and threatening crazed Reavers and Alliance Operatives. These deaths do nothing to advance the story and came across as an attempt to cut down on the amount of characters on-screen.

The ending, while probably very satisfying to Browncoats, didn't ring true as well. I find it improbable that Mal and his crew, no matter how eager they are, would be able to rebuild their Firefly practically from scratch - it's like a car enthusiast taking a burnt-out husk and rebuilding it to the point that he can take it in a cross-country rally using second-hand parts and only the owner's manual for reference. Possible, but highly unlikely.

Overall Serenit is a good timewaster and a welcome return to the screen for a television show that wasn't given it's rightful due, but falls short of creating the dynasty that so many fans may want. Definitely worth picking up the DVD, but I'd start first with the superior "Firefly" DVD set and see where Whedon did it right the first time.