'Serenity' review by Captain Raptor

'Serenity' review by Captain Raptor (contains vague spoilers)

I've had one or two people tell me since I've started this blog that my reviews seem unprofessional and that I'm not harsh enough on the films I critique. Those who know me will doubtlessly be aware of my unending and passionate love for the works of writer/director Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Avengers Assemble), primarily because I refuse to be silent on the subject. Serenity is the movie adaptation of Whedon's quickly cancelled sci-fi/western series Firefly (which I strongly recommend you familiarize yourself with before watching the movie), and follows the exploits of a group of lovable rogues as they attempt to bring down the oppressive regime that rules the galaxy. This plot may seem familiar. 

Cutting to the chase, Serenity is an absolute masterpiece, a funny and dramatic action film with intelligence and thrills in equal measure. A phenomenal cast (there is not a character in this film that isn't vastly entertaining, brilliantly written and beloved by all the fans) is headed up by Nathan Fillion (Castle, Slither) as the vaguely heroic Captain Reynolds; the character is often compared to that of Han Solo but due to a proficient backstory and an excellent performance, Reynolds is a much more realised and developed character, and the script portrays him as a man who has his honour but no real desire to help anybody but his crew rather than a typical blockbuster hero or an all round good guy. This is matched in Serenity's villain, known only as The Operative, a highly religious man who only commits the atrocities he does because he wants to make the world a better place. An understandable villain and a realistic hero is indicative of Joss' methods in the film, trying to subvert clichés at all corners (admittedly he succumbs to some of the more basic tropes).

 The film's other stand out performance comes from cult heroine Summer Glau (Sarah Connor Chronicles, most famous for her role here) as the traumatized and quietly insane River Tam, a psychic whose ass-kicking abilities (when substantially provoked) know no bounds. A constant look of terror and confusion on her face, Summer steals every scene she's in as the odd and frail-looking psychic. There's so much more I want to write about this film's excellence, but that would require an entire novel's worth of words to express, so I shall limit myself to saying that the plot is intelligent, surprising and inventive, the dialogue sizzles with Whedon's typical humour and the action sequences are mesmerising, Glau making sure to fully utilize her training as a ballet dancer while destroying rooms full of enemies. 

Any flaws I have with this film basically come from the fact that it isn't as good as Firefly. Watching the crew of the ship scrape through their weekly encounters almost feels like home, whereas the more advanced camera techniques and variety of sets actually do the film a disservice by making it seem too glossy. Serenity is largely story based, so people who haven't seen the TV series won't know that Wash is incredibly funny and that Shepherd Book is a comforting guiding figure just from watching the film alone, because Serenity's two hour runtime doesn't give it enough time to fully re-introduce and explore all the wonderful characters from Firefly. And obviously, there's the classic fan complaint that he shouldn't have killed any of the characters that we love so dearly, but it certainly adds a lot of drama to the proceedings (a friend who joined me for this re-watching was literally in tears for half an hour, although a lot of that is because somebody reminded her of Forrest Gump).

In short, Serenity is an almost perfect movie, and you can see it serves as a template for Whedon's later success in Avengers Assemble, mixing jaw-dropping action with humour and genuine intelligence. The cast all give their finest ever performances, and really, who could protest to a movie about spaceships, civil war, flesh-eating lunatics, conspiracies and cowboys? As Kaylee so expertly put it, everything's shiny Cap'n.