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Released by: Universal Studios
Released on: 12/30/2008
Director: Joss Whedon
Cast: Nathan Fillion, Alan Tudyk, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Year: 2005
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The Movie:
In one of those rare instances where a studio kinda-sorta listened to fan uproar when a television series was cancelled, Joss Whedon's Serenity rose from the ashes of Firefly, a series that died well before its time but somehow managed to captivate a good sized and incredibly loyal cult following before the axe fell. While you don't have to be schooled in the continuity of the series to enjoy the film, it does help, though with that said this is more or less a self contained story and a pretty enjoyable one at that.
When the movie begins, the rag tag crew of the spaceship Serenity is in hiding to protect the life of their doctor, Simon Tam (Sean Maher) and his sister, River (Summer Glau). You see, River is a telepath and the militant Alliance, who once held her captive, want her back. Seeing as the members of the crew make their living on the ship by transporting cargo around the galaxy, it's been tough to find work as of late and they've found themselves in some seriously depressing times.
Things change when they decide to let River accompany them on a robbery during where they run into a horde of cannibalistic humans calling themselves the Reavers. In the ensuing Fray, Simon decides that he and River should leave the Serenity for the good of all involved but before this can happen, she loses control and shoots the ship's captain, Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillian). Simon manages to get his sister to go to sleep and Reynolds opts to hide them for safekeeping without realizing that there are Alliance members hot on their tail that will stop at nothing to capture River and find out what secrets she's holding…
Like the series that inspired it, Serenity is a fun space western that focuses as much on Whedon's trademark dialogue than it does on laser battles or alien worlds. Like his better known creations, Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its spin off, Angel, Firefly was a series that really benefitted from well written and well developed characters and that carries over nicely to this feature film take on the material. A nice mix of action, adventure and humor, Serenity is one of those really fun science fiction films that seemed to go out of style when George Lucas lost his mind sometimes around the era of Return Of The Jedi. It has a nice retro feel to it in terms of pacing and characters, but fits the modern sensibility of what a sci-fi film should be in regards to special effects and the overall look of the picture.
Nathan Fillian does a good job leading his crew. The charisma he showed in Firefly carries over well to the big screen and you have to wonder why he isn't a more popular leading man than he is. On the flip side, Summer Glau, who has found a considerable amount of popularity thanks to her starring role in Fox' Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, brings a sense of sexy mysteriousness to her character that she polishes with some impressive physical work in a couple of key scenes, making River the most interesting character in the batch. Supporting performances from the rest of the cast are completely competent and entirely enjoyable, even if there's very little in the way of surprises here.
Aspects of the picture border on the predictable and the film still feels about fifteen minutes too long but Serenity holds up well as good entertainment. Whedon wasn't trying to change the world with Firefly and neither is he attempting that here, but the guy can write interesting characters with the best of them and those who can appreciate that will likely get more out of this picture than those going into it simply for effects, though the film delivers there too. The end result is an exciting and truly 'fun' picture that can entertain kids and adults alike with ease.
Video/Audio/Extras:
The anamorphic 2.35.1 1080p VC-1 encoded widescreen transfer for Serenity looks excellent when you consider that at times the picture has been given a gritty, dirty look and feel. The picture quality is generally rock solid and rich with detail even if it isn't quite reference quality. Color reproduction is nice even if the movie tends to lean towards a blue tint at times, while black levels stay strong. Skin tones look dead on and both foreground and background detail is quite good throughout the film, even those heavy with optical and digital effects work. There aren't any problems with mpeg compression artifacts and any print damage that shows up however infrequently is minor. All in all, this is a very nice looking effort from Universal.
The primary audio track on this release is a 24-bit DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track in English. Optional French Canadian, French European, Latin Spanish, Castilian Spanish, German, Italian and Japanese tracks are provided in DTS 5.1 Surround Sound and subtitles are included in English (SDH), French Canadian, French European, L.A. Spanish, Castilian Spanish, German, Italian, Dutch, Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Swedish, Japanese, Korean, Traditional Mandarin, Greek and Portuguese!
The surround mix on this Blu-ray disc is very strong with plenty of aggressive rear channel activity to heighten the tension when called for, particularly during the action scenes. The mix benefits from nice, clear dialogue and properly balanced levels. There aren't any problems at all with hiss or distortion and the score sounds nice and crisp as do the various sound effects used throughout the picture. This is reference quality stuff, the audio on this release is top notch.
After sitting through writer/director/creator Joss Whedon's brief, four minute introduction to the film, check out the first of the two commentary tracks featuring Whedon flying solo. He talks about how he got the movie made, the demise of Firefly, what he hoped to accomplish with this picture and what it was like working under the various constraints he faced with this project. The second commentary features Whedon again, though this time around he's accompanied by cast members Nathan Fillion, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, and Adam Baldwin. This is a fun, relaxed track that explores the making of the film from Whedon's side but also from the performers' side as the discussion covers what it was like fleshing out the various characters, reprising the roles they'd developed for the television series, and what worked and didn't work so well in the picture. It's a very good talk that fans should definitely enjoy.
From there, delve into the twenty minutes worth of deleted (13:54) and extended (8:01) scenes that you can watch with or without optional commentary from Whedon who puts them into context and explains why they weren't used in the finished version of the film. A twenty minute featurette entitled A Filmmaker's Journey (19:55) explores how the film was put together by way of a look at the pre-production process through to the production and some post-production tweaking. It's an interesting peek behind the scenes that was done with the full participation of the cast and crew. More specific is the four minute Take A Walk On Serenity (4:06) featurette which is essentially a look at the set that made up the ship in the film. Future History - The Story Of The Earth That Was (4:32) is a brief featurette where Whedon explains where his inspiration for Firefly came from while What's In A Firefly (6:33) is an exploration of the special effects employed in the picture. Re-Lighting The Firefly (9:41) explores who fan reaction to the cancellation of the series lead to the production of this feature film while The Green Clan (3:07) shows, over three minutes, how cinematographer Jack Green and his kids shot the picture and developed a close friendship with Whedon. The last featurette is Session 416 (8:00), which is an examination of how River's character changes throughout the series' continuity. Also built into the Blu-ray release is the Alliance Database, which uses some nifty documentation, photographs and video clips to explain some of the history behind the characters and events in the movie.
Universal's patented U-Control functionality is built into this Blu-ray disc and by playing around with the four colored buttons on your remote you'll be able to enjoy a visual version of the commentary from Whedon and the cast. On top of that is some cool picture in picture content that will show pertinent behind the scenes clips and rehearsal footage at related points during the film's playback. You can also take part in a digital tour of Serenity and explore the ship's schematics and design work or poke around through the Mr. Universe's Compendium function which explains in a ridiculous amount of detail the weapons, technology and various characters that appear throughout the film.
Rounding out the extras is a six minute collection of moderately amusing outtakes (6:04) shot during the production, animated menus and bookmarking options. This release is also Blu-ray Live enabled, so those with web-connected Blu-ray players can go online to interact with other fans and explore some exclusive online content.
The Final Word:
It might be tough to convince HD-DVD owners to upgrade but anyone making due with the standard definition release of Serenity owes it to themselves to check the film out on Blu-ray where it looks and sounds infinitely better. The additional interactivity and supplemental features add plenty of value to the disc but the real reason to upgrade is the A/V quality. The movie itself holds up well and stands as a fitting tribute to the end of a series that died before it's time. It's a fun, action packed science fiction film with plenty of character to go alongside some exciting action set pieces.