Review of Serenity (2005) by Halfwelshman — 19 Oct 2012

Serenity is proof that Joss Whedon truly understands the key elements of great, involving filmmaking, that is to say, character, relationships and story. With the addition of impressive special effects and production design, a grand and moving score from David Newman and Whedon's usual flair for snappy almost poetic dialogue, and this sci-fi really stands out from the crowd.

Serenity is a fittingly grand and rewarding send-off to Firefly, an exceptional TV series cruelly cancelled before it reached its full potential, and Whedon thankfully wasn't tempted to overcomplicate the plot, keeping it relatively stripped-back and linear, sticking to resolving a couple of dangling plot threads from the series, and always focussed on the characters and their relationships that steadily develop over the course of their journey.

It feels like we've never left the space-faring rustbucket, as the technically impressive single-shot opening sequence that guides us through the entire vessel proves - the characters are exactly where we left them, and we as an audience feel ready to be re-acquainted with their various eccentricities.

The cast all deliver, with Nathan Fillion upping his performance as a far darker Captain Mal Reynolds than we saw in the TV series, Adam Baldwin's towering but soft-at-heart Jayne still brings the laughs, and Summer Glau's psychic warrior angel River proves to be a real force of nature.

The newcomers also impress - Chiwetel Ejiofor is terrifyingly calm and collected as a fanatical nameless assassin, and David Krumholtz's information dealer Mr Universe is a fun character and invaluable ally to the crew of the Serenity.

Like the preceding series, Serenity is a film of striking contrasts - science-fiction/western, Eastern culture/Western culture, the darkness of human nature and the eternal optimism in the human heart.

As a film it delivers not just in terms of spectacle, but in terms of intelligent ideas and emotional character-driven drama, particularly in the film's stunning final act. This universe of galactic frontiers, settlers, smuggling, adventure and mad space cannibals remains endlessly entertaining, and if this really is the final time we'll see Whedon's beloved creation on-screen, then it has been given a majestic final voyage.