SERENITY

SERENITY
By Ken Leicht

The fact that a movie based on the FIREFLY series exists at all is a miracle. The fact that it happened a mere two years after the death of the TV series is even more extraordinary. Heck, we had to wait ten years for the first STAR TREK movie, and it was less than stellar (i.e. it sucked…usual apologies to the late Robert Wise apply).

I didn’t watch FIREFLY when it was originally on. I never cared for Joss Whedon stuff because I always thought he was too tongue in cheek. But I got a hold of the FIREFLY box set for basically nothing so I figured I’d give it a shot. I ended up loving it. I should have known that I would given that I am always drawn to the band of outlaws on the run from the corrupt system kind of thing (ROBIN HOOD, FARSCAPE, The WILD BUNCH, etc.).

For those who don’t know, the FIREFLY series was essentially a post-Civil War Reconstruction period western…in SPACE. That’s a pretty fucked up kind of way to describe anything but it’s the most accurate. If that’s too complicated for you then try to think of STAR WARS if it was told from Han Solo’s point of view but without aliens and the Force.

Anyway...the Firefly universe or ‘verse as they call it, is essentially the edge of man’s new frontier in space. The outer space Wild West if you will. Mal Reynolds, a veteran of the losing side(referred to as the Brown Coats) of mankind’s latest civil war, ekes out a living doing hired gun types of jobs with his small band of outlaws. Sometimes they smuggle, sometimes they just come and kick somebody’s ass. They do anything for a buck along the edge of the space frontier all the while dodging the growing Federation Empire and the sinister cannibalistic Reavers. Along for the ride are: Zoe, Mal’s second in command from the old war days; Jayne, a straight-up Lee Marvin type of outlaw; Inara, a high end lady of the evening known as a “Companion”; Kaylie, the ship’s tool pusher; Book, a preacher with a mysterious past; Wash, the pilot and Zoe’s husband; and most importantly for the film…fugitive doctor Simon Tam and his sister River.

While it’s not exactly clear, the movie picks up a few months after the series left off. A mysterious man referred to only as the Operative views a security video of Simon and River Tam’s escape from a hospital. The audience learns what fans of the show already know which is that River is no ordinary little girl. She was a lab rat for the Federation who had been trained as a super weapon. As her psychic abilities may have exposed her to certain secrets that the Federation would like nobody to know, she is a threat and must be found. And the Operative is the one to do it. In a bit of an echo of the series episode “Objects in Space”, the relentless hunter the Operative sets off in pursuit of his quarry.

Cut to the Serenity, where River currently dwells with the others. The ship is minus Inara, who left because of her uneasy feelings about Mal and Book, who is off running an orphan colony someplace. The crew of Serenity is off robbing a Federation bank which supplies corrupt evil industries when the planet is suddenly attacked by the mysterious Reavers. The Reavers are like something like zombies. They swoop in and eat people and abuse them and skin them and then commit all other sorts of atrocities. Barely seen in the series because the show didn’t run long enough to get to them, they play a big part in the film. It’s cool to finally encounter them in force and they are scary.

After the narrow escape from the Reavers, Mal and his crew soon realize that they are in the sites of somebody who is after River with a vengeance. The first encounter with Mal and the Operative is priceless. When the Operative says he is unarmed, Mal says “Good” and promptly shoots him. Of course the Operative has armor on but it’s a great moment and typical of the series’ humor.

Without going too much further into the plot details, it’s safe to say that Serenity basically covers in two hours what Whedon probably meant to cover in five years: The Federation, the Reavers, River Tam and her secret training; Kaylie and Simon’s romance…are all resolved to an extent. If this is the last FIREFLY adventure ever, you can leave the film feeling happy. I certainly did. The movie was fun, exciting, and unexpectedly scary. The scary comes from the Reavers who are pretty R-Rated vicious for a PG-13 film.

Though the trademark humor is still here, the film is surprisingly very dark. There are several surprises and unexpected deaths. As a Firefly fan, I was surprised by the tone and the deaths but more than satisfied with the story. If this is the last “episode” if you will, it’s a great series finale. The only quibbles I and some of the other fans of the show have are that some of the characters get short shrift but hey, there’s only so much time and everyone does get their moments. I, like all the fans, just wanted more. If there are more films, I guess I’ll get it.

If you haven’t seen the show, I still recommend the film. The movie acts like you’ve never seen the show and sets things up pretty clearly. The acting, writing and effects are all top notch. Special commendation to rising star Chiwetel Ejiofor as the super cold Operative. And hey, it has maniac psycho space cannibals. That alone should be enough to pull in anyone. Hmmmm…cannibals. Shiny!