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One Extra-Large Genre Blend with a Shot of Character and Whipped Cream on Top

By Jason Davis

Serenity

Joss Whedon (also directed)
Based on the television show Firefly, created by Joss Whedon


Firefly fans: 5 stars
Those who don't know who Joss Whedon is: 3 1/2 stars


Serenity, a reconstruction-era Western set among the stars, finds Joss Whedon continuing the story of his cancelled Fox television series, Firefly. The film offers up a satisfying science fiction tale about rebels trying to save one of their own from the evil Alliance's experiments, a self-contained story either enriched by the viewer's familiarity with the precursor or taken as a complete meal for neophytes up for a bit of action garnished with wit and philosophizing.



Several years after a galactic civil war with the totalitarian Alliance ended with the subjugation of the freedom-loving Independents, Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), a vanquished Independent, allowed Alliance fugitive River Tam (Summer Glau), and her brother, Simon (Sean Maher) sanctuary on his smuggling vessel, Serenity. Now, a nameless Alliance Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) seeks to kill River to protect his government's darkest secret, and Reynolds must decide whether to ditch the Tams and flee or dig deeper into the mystery and possibly topple the government he hates.



Writer/director Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, and script doctor for such blockbusters as Speed and the Oscar-nominated Toy Story, has achieved cult status for his vividly drawn characters and post-modern sensibility. Serenity is no exception to his canon, emphasizing character, humor, and horror in a unique fusion of genres that allow his film-school degree a full run of the tropes he learned in college. Taking the mysteries set-up in the series (whose viewing isn't integral to appreciating the film), Whedon concocts a paranoid political thriller with sequences of psychological terror, western action, and science fiction technology wrapped around a human core of genuine drama.

Ported over from his cancelled television series Firefly, Whedon's characters are wonderfully realized bundles of eccentricity and contradiction. Reynolds projects an air of amoral self-interest but belies his image with occasional, and often unexpected, acts of mercy -- and sometimes he doesn't. The script manages to convey his unpredictable nature and sketchy code of ethics in a satisfying way. Other characters receive less screen time, but Whedon makes succinct and informative introductions that refresh the memories of longtime fans while quickly acquainting new arrivals with the ensemble. Though the scope of the film, by its nature, focuses on Reynolds and the Tams, each character gets a moment in the spotlight and dialogue an actor would kill for. The principal new addition to the TV shows' dramatis personae is The Operative, who provides an intriguing and well-realized villain; in the best tradition of cinematic heavies, The Operative sees his mission as just. The character is a hybrid assassin-philosopher who carries out his duties in the name of a government he wholly believes is noble. The fact that his character growth is as integral to the story as that of Reynolds and company is a tribute to Whedon's penchant for solid characterization.


An overcooked voiceover frontloads historical exposition that could, and is, more cleverly layered throughout the story, but for the most part, Serenity does an economical job in setting up the facts of the universe. The Reavers, near mythical men-cum-monsters who prowl space in search of settlers to rape and murder, are effectively employed as a formidable foe for the film's heroes and gracefully serve a dual purpose which becomes clear as the story develops. The screenplay builds their reputation by the reaction to their mention by various characters and judiciously presents just enough of their savagery to let the viewer's mind run with the horror. Whedon's trademark postmodernism is in full swing with cleverly undercut genre cliches abounding and self-conscious dialogue left and right. The philosophical bent of Whedon's script manages to tie elements as diverse as River's government conditioning and The Operative's theoretical "world without sin" into a social commentary on government encroachment on the lives of its citizenry while never becoming overly didactic.

The introduction of two former Serenity crewmembers fails to make a satisfactory impression, which undermines a few emotional beats, but doesn't scuttle the ship. A few rough patches mark the transition of story gears in a fashion that suggests a TV commercial break, but these are quickly forgotten in a blaze of wit, a mess of action, or some well-conceived horror sequences that suggest another ingredient in the already bubbling genre cocktail.


Small-screen in origin, big-screen in ambition, Serenity may not be the shiniest ship in the sky, but the characters and style with which they're portrayed take the emotion of the story to the limit. Skillfully borrowing from a variety of genres and wrapping the trappings around a core of well-defined character, Serenity tells an epic story of humanity in conflict with itself from the perspective of everyday folk trying to make an honest -- well, mostly honest -- buck.

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