Serenity  

Review: written 2006

Possibly the best TV to movie transfer ever..?

OK, I won’t be shy about it – I love this movie.. mostly because I loved the TV series it spawned from. Joss Whedon has taken a much beloved (at least once on DVD) TV series, and transposed the characters to the big screen in a story that does them justice and moves the characters on, while never seeming like an extended episode.

For those uninitiated with the series Firefly, this is a self-contained film which requires no knowledge of the series- the excellent commentary shows what lengths they went to, even at the expense of some of the characters stories, to make this a complete experience. However, you will benefit greatly from watching the 15 episodes of Firefly before watching this. After all, the chances are you will be so hooked you will only want to go back and watch them anyway.

For those who love Firefly, this is a fitting continuation ( I can't bring myself to say conclusion, as I can't bear the thought that it would end here) answering some of the threads left hanging when the series so rudely ended.

Nathan Fillion is captain of a small Firefly class ship - he is a disillusioned ex-soldier from the losing side of a civil war, and now leads a life of petty crime, but always upholding his own values.. think of a Hans Solo for today.. He and his motley crew are sheltering a woman and her brother from the Alliance. However, the secrets the woman holds turn out to bring the entire crew to face ultimate sacrifices and choices as to what is important to them.

Some of the character arcs are surprising, but once over the surprise / shock, they are all fitting. The effects, the photography, the music, all are satisfyingly big screen, while making us enjoy everything we loved on the small screen.

Nathan Fillion and Summer Glau deserve to be go on to big things after these fine performances.. but I can't help hoping there is some contact somewhere that says they will do more adventures on Serenity!