So I finally saw Serenity Thursday night. I had mixed feelings going into the theater. In case you didn’t know, Serenity is the movie version of a failed TV show called Firefly. A TV show that I waited for months to see. A TV show that still has a fairly respectable cult following. A TV show that I couldn’t shut off fast enough! You see, I love an old fashioned space opera, but honestly, I have a problem with cowboys in space. Think about it, your flying around in an intergalactic starship with a six shooter on your hip. A six shooter? That’s really the best you could do? Maybe I’m being a bit harsh. What the show was trying to depict is human suffering and their struggle in an unforgiving universe, akin to the hard-ache and dangers the first settlers of the American west had to endure. And rightfully so. In a true sci-fi space saga everything shouldn’t be neat and shiny. There is no galactic utopia. *cough* star trek *cough* Space is a cold, lonely, lifeless void. I just don’t think the western motif is the way to go.

So why did I go see this movie if I didn’t particularly like the TV show? Because I’m a sucker for space operas. I can’t not see them. While where at it I should admit to a couple of other soft spots I have. I love movies with women that kick ass, martial arts, and that showcase camaraderie. I tend to let my guard down a bit when when reviewing movies that have one or more of those characteristics. I’m ashamed to admit that there are more than a handful of movies that slipped into my DVD collection that otherwise would not be there considering my strict and often ruthless guideline to what I consider to be a great movie.

Serenity, to my pleasant surprise, had a bit of all four of those characteristics. Now that you know that, you must have deduced that I may be a bit wishy washy with this review and that you should take it with a grain of salt. I would agree with you. The movie had average special effects, sub-par acting, and a mediocre plot, but I still enjoyed it very much. It will definitely end up in my DVD collection. If you can get by the many flaws of the movie and strip away the layers of blah, what you have at the core is a fun shoot’m up space saga that does a good job of keeping you guessing. I would love to be able to rave about how great the special effects were and how deep the plot is, but I can’t. They were simply okay. But okay seemed to work just fine. Let’s get real for a second here. My grandmother isn’t coming to see this movie. As a matter of fact I can’t think of one member of my rather gigantic family that would come to see this movie. This movie isn’t for them. It’s for me and space geeks like me. And for us, it was a pretty fulfilling ride.

The cast of Serenity consists of the original cast of Firefly. You won’t see any Oscar nominations here, but the chemistry and the diversity of the actors seemed to work extremely well. As a rule I try not to get too deep about the plot or the characters in my movie reviews, but I feel I must mention Summer Glau. The movie is worth seeing just for her. Not necessarily her performance, but for the character she played. (Although her performance was hands down the best in the film.) She plays a character called River Tam. Let’s just say that she is what Jessica Alba’s character should have been in that other failure of a TV show, Dark Angel. Minus the psychic ability of course. I honestly got goose bumps watching some of her scenes. That’s all I’ll say though. You’ll have to see the movie for yourself to see what I mean.

I’m glad I saw Serenity and I would definitely go see the sequel. If I had to give it a tag line I would say it was a “fun-filled, adventurous space saga that is caught somewhere between cheesy and epic”. Kind of a broad statement I now, but I’m a bit out of practice. All in all I think Joss Wedon got it right. It makes me wonder if I was to harsh on the original Firefly series. I think it’s time to revisit the old show and give it a second chance. What the hell, it’s only $3.00 to rent at my local video store. Why not?

// Update: My new thoughts on Firefly //