Review of Serenity (2005) by Brad G — 18 Jun 2014

The crew of a spaceship operating on the ragged edge of civilisation are targeted by the ruling Alliance for harbouring a pair of fugitives that have knowledge of a secret that is potentially devastating to their regime.

The fans of cult sci-fi western Firefly were aware that Joss Whedon was capable of creating a hugely enjoyable fantasy blockbuster a good while before The Avengers hit our screens. Serenity is the conclusion to the swiftly - and unjustly - cancelled TV show and contains the same formula of likable characters, funny one-liners and space bound action that made it so beloved by the few who actually saw it.

The idea of a roguish smuggler going head to head with a charismatic villain to expose the folly of an evil empire is not unlike that of a certain other infamous franchise; in fact Serenity could be considered Han Solo: The Movie and captures the charm of the original Star Wars trilogy far more successfully than its own prequels.

Existing in the space between Pirates Of The Caribbean and Minority Report, Serenity makes a perfect conclusion to Whedon's space-bound saga and I encourage anyone who enjoyed The Avengers to seek out copies of both this and the original Firefly series.