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Serenity
After a future war, a group from the losing side ply a trade of smuggling and theft - until they get involved with a girl whose secret could change the balance of power in the galaxy. Big screen adaptation of Joss Whedon's short-lived television series 'Firefly'
In a time when science fiction cinema is dominated by the fussy CGI and abominable scripting of the Star Wars prequels, or the misfiring bombast of The Island, a smaller, more intimate and more heartfelt film is a breath of fresh air. Not that Serenity lacks excitement and spectacular set-pieces, but they are balanced by strong characterisation, distinctive dialogue and largely effective performances. It doesn't matter if you're not familiar with 'Firefly', the short-lived television series by Joss "creator of Buffy" Whedon, which forms the background to Serenity. The film - which doesn't entirely throw off its small-screen tone - does an able job of filling in what newcomers need to know and does not overcomplicate the scenario with back story. Five hundred years in the future, humanity has spread into space and terraformed several new worlds. However, conflict arose as not everyone agreed with the policies of The Alliance - the self-appointed civilising force. From the perspective of Whedon and his ragtag band of heroes, The Alliance is an oppressive government, an ??ber-corporation, a privileged, private club. The Alliance is a world away from the benign Federation of the granddaddy of serial sci-fi, 'Star Trek'. Serenity does not completely shake off the 'Star Trek' influence. Several sequences in the film play out in the California countryside, a staple setting for Hollywood serial fiction since the 1930s (from 'The Lone Ranger' to 'The A-Team') and reminiscent of the dire Star Trek Insurrection. Whedon's film also includes some material familiar from the original Star Wars, with a rebels-versus-empire scenario. There's also a Matrix-esque atmosphere to scenes featuring Mr Universe (Krumholtz), the ultimate techno geek who lives in front of a huge bank of screens and deconstructs telecoms imagery to numeric code. However, for the most part, Whedon has created a very distinctive universe for 'Firefly' and Serenity. The story involves Captain Malcolm 'Mal' Reynolds (Fillion) and his crew - pilot Wash (Tudyk), his warrior wife Zoe (Torres), the weapons-obsessed Jayne (Baldwin) and kooky engineer Kaylee (Staite) - who get involved with troubled teenager River Tam (Glau). The psychic River was exploited by the government but rescued by her brother Simon (Maher). They joined the Serenity crew where he was hired as ship's doctor. As well as periodically kicking ass (Whedon loves those martial arts chicks), River has been having troubling visions. Meanwhile The Alliance sends the efficiently deadly Operative (Ejiofor) to track down River and bring her back. River has a secret buried in her confused memories, one that could spell disaster for The Alliance. Having been on the losing side of the war, Mal - who sees himself as fighting for freedom - senses the opportunity to strike a blow, but doing so will be dangerous. It will bring his crew into conflict with The Alliance pursuit forces, and the fearsome Reavers, grotesque cannibals who live on the borders of galaxy. Whedon's writing has a distinctive voice. Though it was smothered in his earlier screenwriting gigs (Alien Resurrection, Titan AE), he retains more control here. As in 'Buffy The Vampire Slayer' and its spin-off 'Angel', the characters speak an idiom inflected with wild west-isms. The amiably quirky dialogue and compassionate and jokey repartee are also intact. Fans of Buffy will feel at home. Mal's ruthless pursuit of his ideals is undercut with amusing rebuffs to his machismo. Arguing his determination to help River, he comes to blows with Jayne, who wants to dump the Tams. "Do you want to be captain?" he demands, all puffed up. "Yes I do," replies Jayne. "Oh," says the surprised Mal, fumbling for words "Well you can't". Serenity is a refreshing addition to contemporary science fiction cinema. It's not flawless and it does feel somewhat low-budget compared to the Hollywood super-productions (Whedon reportedly had $40 million - huge for him, but meagre compared to Spielberg's $130 million on War Of The Worlds or the $115 million Lucas spent on Episode III). Even so, Whedon includes a personality absent from the work of the old hands or the studio hacks. Why the TV series was cancelled is a mystery. Roll on the sequels. Verdict A likeable and rousing adventure that revitalises the bloated Hollywood science-fiction film. Great stuff, if you don't mind Whedon's idiosyncratic dialogue. |
