Review of Serenity (2005) by Zachs M — 28 Jul 2012

From the age of nine until I saw this movie, my favorite film of all time was Star Wars. However, without realizing it, I had slowly over time long grown out of Star Wars. I had to watch it again to realize how Star Wars made me feel when I was nine is not how George Lucas' works make me feel today.

I so much longed to feel like that wide eyed crazy kid whose mind exploded with possibilities after watching a movie. Serenity did for me seven years ago and still does for me today what Star Wars did when I was a child.

It makes me feel like a child again, but with a more mature, perhaps darker sensibility. Even where one may find fault with a movie about characters from a failed TV series, I walk away from Serenity having been told a great story, that's only part of a much larger saga, that can play on in the minds and hearts of those who only have to look up into the stars and dream about where mankind might go from here.

Serenity is a promise we each make to ourselves as individual parts of a greater whole called humanity, to love our families of choice, to reach past the limitations others place upon us, and when absolutely necessarily warranted (or maybe sometimes when its not warranted), aim to misbehave.

Serenity is not my favorite film merely because of what it objectively is, but also what it subjectively represents to me. I still play the DVD again once every few months or so, and a film that gets better with repeated viewings is a big thing for me.