Review

Review Date: 2-October-05
Spoiler Rating: Low
Juju Judgment: Jubilation!

Serenity (2005)

In the last minutes of Joss Whedon's triumphant sci-fi western "Serenity," a battle-scarred spaceship captain (Nathan Fillion) describes how his love for his "boat" inspires him, and it's the perfect ending to all that comes before. In just two hours I fell in love with Serenity too, from her rusty hull to her rustic kitchen, and every last soul aboard her. Leave it to Whedon, creator of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," to conjure up a world so enthralling that it prompted me to do what I had never done before: exit the first matinee and immediately buy a ticket for the next one.

The TV series from which the movie grew, "Firefly," didn't tickle my fancy none, but "Serenity" is a different story. The players (who remain the same) are a group of attractive young desperadoes living on the fringes of an intergalactic empire and surviving through odd jobs of questionable legality. Some are veterans of a failed uprising against the ruling Alliance, including the drop-dead sexy captain, Mal Reynolds, and his right-hand woman (Gina Torres). The two most recent additions have an even more precarious past. A doctor (Sean Maher) and his sister (Summer Glau) have escaped a government lab where she was subjected to mind-altering experiments, and it appears the Alliance wants her back dead or alive. This forces Mal to ditch his thief's apathy and fight for rebel glory again, which he does with embittered reluctance.

Throughout the classic underdog vs. oppressor adventure, Whedon sticks to tried-and-true situations that harken back to oaters, war movies, action flicks, and every sci-fi story ever told. (Not to mention a Buffyesque girl-power vogue.) The measure of his success lies in how he gives "Serenity" a unique voice that makes everything old new again, several centuries in the future. The movie feels and sounds like nothing else (except, perhaps, "Firefly") with a neo-retro, multicultural chic that pervades the sets, the costumes, and, most of all, the fabulous Wild West dialogue. It's no wonder that Whedon wanted to keep the original cast as he transitioned to the big screen; they had already mastered the vernacular of his universe (or "verse") and could do justice to the twangy, slangy poetry coming off his pen.

Great dialogue makes the characters endearing and allows for moments of humor from the ship's loose cannon (Adam Baldwin), pilot (Alan Tudyk), and engineer (Jewel Staite). But nowhere does it flow to such splendid effect as from the lips of Mal and his opponent (Chiwetel Ejiofor), an assassin of the Dolores Umbridge school of government wherein anything is justifiable if it toes the party line. (He even uses the word "umbrage" at one point, which, knowing Whedon, is probably not a coincidence.) These two men trade blows and barbs laden with the film's philosophy about the extremes to which mankind can be driven and the flawed but preferable middle ground where folks can at least try to do right by what they believe. (With a hero who blends Wyatt Earp and James T. Kirk, and a title like "Serenity," there must be a philosophical core. Thankfully, it's independent of the Christianity espoused by Mal's advisor and the Buddhism of his prostitute girlfriend.)

"Serenity" packs enough modest thrills and special effects to please the average moviegoer, but its real strength — the one which will hopefully secure a sequel — is personality. When Mal wraps up by expounding on his captain's affections, anyone in tune with Whedon's one-of-a-kind brilliance must feel like they'd follow him to the nethermost galaxy and beyond. That's love, pardner, and that's what this picture is about.

Copyright © 2005 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.