Serenity

So, I caught a Sunday matinee of Serenity over the weekend.

It was quite good.

For those who may not know, Serenity is the feature film extension of a short-lived scifi show that aired on Fox a few years back. The show got poor ratings - no doubt because Fox never gave it a consistent time slot, left multiweek gaps between airings, and actually aired the episodes out of order - and was cancelled after only 7 or 8 episodes. Anyway, the show was really good and died before its time, thus garnering it something of a fanatical cult following and thrusting it into the world of motion pictures.

Now, I never actually saw the show during its original run. In fact, I only vaguely remember seeing on of the advertisements for its premier. I, like so many others, got hooked on it through the DVD release. In only 14 episodes, Joss Whedon somehow creates an incredibly immersive universe filled with witty dialogue and interesting characters. Add to that some impressive sets and innovative, high quality special effects, and you've got one hell of a show.

The movie, which picks up soon after the final episode of the show, pays off in just about every way that the show did. Sure, some characters got less screen time than I would have liked and some of the quirkier aspects of the show were toned down for a broader audience, but it's still the same Firefly I got hooked on.

My only concern is that newcomers might not get the full effect of the movie without having seen the TV show. The emotional impact of the film certainly relies on the viewers' attachment to the characters, some of which, like I stated earlier, don't get as much screen time as they really should. It's hard to be objective about this. There were certain scenes where the dialogue was knee-deep in exposition, but I don't know if that would be obvious to someone who was unfamiliar with Firefly 'verse.

All in all, though, the film seemed easy enough to follow and the storyline was actually a well written, coherent plot; something that is far too rare these days. In the end, I'd definitely recommend this to anyone who's interested.