Drew On Movies #6: Serenity (2005)

 Serenity (2005)

So as a number of my friends have decided to point out lately, I'm a bit late to the Firefly party. Now I was aware of the show when it first premiered but was watching other shows at the time so didn't give it much thought until it, like the shows I was watching, was also unceremoniously cancelled by Fox. Even then, it was just another entry on the growing list of shows the network unplugged without a second thought. Still I heard some muttering about it online, how it had a large fanbase that was unhappy, which if past experience has shown us anything- I'm looking at you Family Guy and Farscape, can be quite beneficial to resurrecting a series.

While the show of course did not return, the fan's were powerful enough both in voicing their opinion and buying the DVDs to warrant a theatrical film to tie up some loose ends. Now as for me, people still talked, and I heard that this show was apparently really good. About the same time I became a fan of Castle, and by extension Nathan Fillion, so added Firefly to my watch list, which if you've been paying attention, is pretty damn long. So it was a surprise to me that I decided to watch the pilot episode a week or so back, though not as much of a surprise that afterwards I went looking for the remaining episodes. Took just under two weeks, but I watched the series- bit of a newcomer but I'll call myself a fan.

So with the series in the can, decided to forgo my movie list for the moment and instead finish up with the film to close things off. In preparation I found copies of the comics that link the end of the series to the start of the film, just to make sure I knew what I was getting into. That being said, as I'm still new, this review won't be very fanboy-ish, so don't worry, I won't be going overboard with the geeking out or anything. Consider this a review for those who might want to check out the series and film by someone who did just the same. This is Serenity.

Plot

Small amount of backstory first- Firefly is about the adventures of the crew of a Firefly-class spaceship named Serenity, captained by Captain Malcolm Reynolds. Mal is a former member of the Independents, a group that fought The Alliance to prevent total unification. The Independents lost the war, and the Alliance took over, leaving the only real freedom in the sky. Mal and his crew are thieves, smugglers, they are cowboys in space, doing what they have to do to survive, and if it involves pissing off the Alliance it helps. In the pilot episode two fugitives join the crew, Dr. Simon Tan and his sister River. River was a captive of the Alliance who were experimenting on her, until Simon broke her out and the two went on the run. The two slowly become part of the crew, although they are always seen as 'passengers' rather then full members.

On to the film. We begin with a flashback to River's incarceration and her subsequent rescue by Simon. The flashback is being watched by a man called The Operative, played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, a high ranking officer in the Alliance who has been sent to track River down after others have failed. He tells the lead scientist that the Alliance worries about what River, a psychic, may have learnt, and intends to find her. He then kills the scientist and his entourage before leaving. We then cut to the crew of the Serenity as the ship is falling apart as always. They are heading down to complete a job and Mal, played by Nathan Fillion, is informing Simon, played by Sean Maher, that they will be brining River along on this one whether he likes it or not. This proves to be a wise move, as mid-job River, played by Summer Glau, senses trouble- Reavers are coming. Reavers are cannibalistic humans that the Alliance denies their existence of, but prove to be all too real. The crew barely escape, and once back on the ship, Simon knocks Mal down for endangering his sister, before it is decided that he and River will leave the ship at the next planet.

This of course does not happen, as while they are receiving payment for the job, River receives a subliminal message through a video screen and proceeds to attack everyone in the bar including the crew, before Simon is able to stop her. This does little to please the crew as they realize how dangerous River truly is. They contact an associate, a hacker called Mr. Universe, played by David Krumholtz, who confirms that the trigger was a subliminal message, and that River whispered the name 'Miranda' before beginning her assault. Before they can learn anymore, they are contacted by a former passenger, Inara, who is being held by the Operative. Mal goes to help her and encounters the man, who swiftly beats him up while explaining that he will let the crew go if they turn over River. Inara creates a diversion which allows she and Mal to escape to the ship. River escapes her room and reaches a computer where it is discovered that Miranda is a planet on the outer rim that none of them have ever heard of. The crew attempt to hide out on the planet Haven, where former passenger Shepherd Book resides, only to find it destroyed by the Operative in an attempt to give Mal no place to hide. With nowhere else to go, they decided to investigate Miranda, and discover a planet full of corpses and a recording explaining what happened, and more importantly, why the Alliance does not want anyone to know about it.

From here it is a last ditch effort to show the universe the truth, save themselves and get a little revenge for their dead. I won't say anymore as it would spoil the film, but the conclusion is well worth the price of admission, if for no other reason then to finally really see what River was programmed to do. Not every possible loose end is tied up, but a good chunk of things the show brought forth are explained, and the film does what it can to provide a satisfactory ending.

Favorite Character

The downside of watching the show and then the movie is that my favorite character in the series is not in the film much, so while he was awesome in the series, there is little to work with here- that character being the bad-ass priest himself Shepherd Book. He only gets two scenes in the film, and while they are good ones, I can't in good conscience put him here just because of how great he was on the show. The same really holds for much of the already introduced characters, as in the film they are simply continuing what has already been established, and without that prior knowledge they don't have much going for them. Thus I stick to a film only character, The Operative. This guy is a great villain- he is intelligent, well spoken, and ruthless. He has no qualms killing innocents if it leads to his goals being achieved, and does so on Haven and other worlds. He is also a great fighter, twice beating the crap out of Mal only to lose by luck on the scrappy captain's part. He is also dangerous because, as Inara puts it, he is a believer. His faith in the Alliance and his mission are so great that nothing will stand in his way- however it is also that faith that brings about his downfall during the films conclusion. He is mysterious and deadly, even going so far as to have no name outside of his title- that's a
great villain, so cool you don't need a name.

Favorite Line

This one was a toughie, but unlike with the character, I'm going to use something derived from the series because it is explored in the film. That is Kaylee's desire for Simon. When the crew are pinned down in the conclusion, preparing to fight off a swarm of Reavers, the two have a moment in which Simon explains that in all his time on the ship, he was taking care of River and never thinking of his own needs or wants. He tells Kaylee his one regret is that he never got to be with her, which Kaylee, who prior to this moment was ready to face her fate and die, cocks her gun and says the only real response to this:

"Hell with this. I'm gonna live"

Nothing reignites the human will to survive like long awaited nookie. But beyond that the line is one of hope, that even though there is a good chance none of them will make it out of this alive, there is hope that they might. Kaylee, the heart of the crew, the always optimistic and childlike mechanic, has lost that hope until she realizes that what she has always wanted, Simon, wants her as well. That's enough to bring the hope back, and we feel it too. We already want the characters to survive, especially since two others have already died, but now we want it even more- no one wants to see a declaration of love go unfulfilled after all this time.

Favorite Scene

I was going to cop out a little on this one and say the fight scenes, specifically, Mal's two fights with The Operative, and River's two moments of total ass-kicking. It's hard to disagree, as they are great scenes, however the more I think about it there is one better that doesn't involve any violence but connects to two of the scenes above. After Mal's second fight with The Operative and just before we see the aftermath of River's fight with The Reavers, Mal completes his mission and transmits the recording that explains what the Alliance did on Miranda. He has let The Operative live but has restrained him, and leaves him to watch the recording. We see his face as he does so, and by the recordings end, we see tears as his unshakable faith is shattered completely. It's not a long scene or particularly detailed, but it tells us just enough without saying anything. We have watched a villain die without being killed and a Government's armor begin to crack. It's a testament to Joss Whedon's storytelling skills that a scene like this, with no action could eclipse the preceding scenes that were almost all action, without either losing their importance.

Conclusion

Firefly was a good show, and I believe if it had been on almost any other network it would have survived a little bit longer. Likely still would have been cancelled in the long run, but would've at least had a run of more then fourteen episodes. That said, they did what they could in those fourteen stories, and were able to continue on and finish them as best they could with this film. The writing remains good, the characters are the same as they were when we left them, and although some don't get as much screentime as I'd like, they are at least still involved.  For fans it is of course a must see, for those just getting into the series it will be entertaining, and even as a standalone film enough is explained that it can be watched if not completely understood. If anything, give the show a chance, you might enjoy it, and if you do, check out the movie as well. May never come back but least we still have these to enjoy and to help us think about what could have been, and what other trouble the crew of the Serenity could get themselves into.

4 Kick-Ass Cancelled Series out of 5

That's all out of me, gonna return to the ever growing list of films next time, but until then, I'm the Drew, and I Be Awesome.