Serenity [HD DVD]
by Joss Whedon
![Serenity [HD DVD]](/images/Serenity-HD-DVD-B000FA57N0-L.jpg)
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DVD details
Actor: Adam Baldwin, Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, Ron Glass, Summer GlauDirector: Joss Whedon
Brand: Universal Pictures
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); English (Original Language), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; French (Dubbed), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; Spanish (Dubbed), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1; English (Published), Dolby Digital-Plus 5.1
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 119 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2006-04-18
Audience Rating: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Universal Studios
DVD Reviews of Serenity [HD DVD]
DVD Review: Joss Whedon provides some closure to the "Firefly" saga,
Summary: 5 Stars
If you were thinking that Joss Whedon wrote and directed "Serenity" to be the first in a series of movies based on the crew of his late and lamented television series "Firefly," think again. Whedon knows this might be his only bite of the cinematic apple for his creations, so fans will see this being more like the series finales of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" and "Angel." In other words, not everybody is going to be around for the final credits.
To get everybody on the same page Whedon begins with Simon (Sean Maher) breaking his sister River (Summer Glau) out of the Alliance laboratory where they are busy playing with her brain. River is both a psychic and a living weapon, and it turns out that it is the former that is of the biggest concern to the Alliance because she knows something she should not know. That knowledge, rattling around in her head, is part of the reason that River is mentally unstable, and so the Alliance has sent an Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), who has neither a name nor an official position, to bring her back. Then we jump to Serenity and a tracking shot in which the boat's captain, Mal (Nathan Fillion) starts in the cock pit with Wash (Alan Tudyk), and then walks all the way through the crew deck and returns back through the cargo deck, meeting Zoe (Gina Torres), Jayne (Adam Baldwin), and Kaylee (Jewel Statie), along with Simon and River along the way. Inara (Morena Baccarin) and Shepherd Book (Ron Glass) are no longer aboard, but rest assured they will pop up. So, Mal has River and the Alliance wants her, so the Operative is coming to get her and he is coming "sideways."
Mal Reynolds is in the reluctant hero Han Solo/Rick Blaine mold; he and Zoe fought against the Alliance in the war and now his entire world is Serenity. His crew is his top priority and the Alliance is making a big mistake in forcing him to care about larger issues. Besides, he has an ace, or at least a wild card, up his sleeve with River. So the character arc of the captain is certainly a familiar one. But one of Whedon's chief attributes is that he likes to play with established conventions. Every time you think that you are ahead of the characters and that Mal does not know what is about to happen next, you are wrong. So it is nice to play with expectations and Whedon does so, to provide not only humor but some pathos as well (Whedon likes to make you laugh and then give you a reason to suddenly stop laughing).
Yes, those of us familiar with "Firefly" have an advantage in watching "Serenity" because we know the characters, not only in terms of their histories but also their temperaments. That is why we were expecting a lot more cursing in Chinese in this movie. We are also going to be more accepting of attempts to fast forward some of the interpersonal issues that afflict the crew of Serenity, as well as the attempt to suggest what is to come down the road. Whedon could get bogged down in trying to finally untangle the love-hate affair that Mal and Inara have been having, but he rightly keeps the focus on working out the River plotline. Most of the crewmembers of Serenity get their moments, but this film comes down to Mal and River, which is what both the television series and the prologue here have set up. I am perfectly willing to grant that such insider knowledge is worth at least a half-star in terms of rating this film, but that is just the way things break with this movie.
Ultimately, I ended up rounding up on "Serenity" because in the sequences where River goes to town Whedon tries to do as much of the action as possible in one shot. I am so sick and tired of seeing fight sequences reduced to a rapid fire montage of cuts where I can never tell what is going on. It seems that you do not get to see what is really happening in a fight unless it is not really happening because you are using CGI for your fights (a prime example being Spider-man versus Doctor Octopus in "Spider-man 2"). But when River takes her turn we get to see what she is doing and enjoy her whirling ballet of death and one of the joys here is watching Glau turn off the crazy little girl routine and show exactly what the Alliance has created. In other words, Whedon provides the payoff we were denied when "Firefly" was summarily cancelled after only eleven episodes had aired, which is exactly what the mission statement was this time around.
Description of Serenity [HD DVD]
Universal Serenity - HD-DVDBeloved television cult director Joss Whedon (BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER, ANGEL) makes a spectacular first foray onto the big screen with SERENITY, the cinematic adaptation of his wildly popular but short-lived sci-fi series, FIREFLY. A mix of space western, comedy, and drama, SERENITY follows captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his ragtag crew as they trade their way around the edges of civilized society. Of particular interest are two passengers they take on,Simon and River Tam (Sean Maher, Summer Glau), a brother and his telepathic sister on the run from the corrupt governing Alliance. As notorious former members of the anti-Alliance opposition, Mal andhis crew make it difficult for Simon and River tostay hidden. Everything goes completely awry whena government assassin is sent to retrieve River. As Mal is forced to choose between his close-knit crew and the brother and sister newcomers, it becomes apparent that River harbors both a dangerous secret and astounding fighting powers, and Mal decides that discovering the truth about what she knows might just be worth his time.Serenity offers perfect proof that Firefly deserved a better fate than premature TV cancellation. Joss Whedon's acclaimed sci-fi Western hybrid series was ideally suited (in Browncoats, of course) for a big-screen conversion, and this action-packed adventure allows Whedon to fill in the Firefly backstory, especially the history and mystery of the spaceship Serenity's volatile and traumatized stowaway, River Tam (Summer Glau). Her lethal skills as a programmed "weapon" makes her a coveted prize for the power-hungry planetary Alliance, represented here by an Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who'll stop at nothing to retrieve River from Serenity's protective crew. We still get all the quip-filled dialogue and ass-kicking action that we've come to expect from the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, but Whedon goes a talented step further here, blessing his established ensemble cast with a more fully-developed dynamic of endearing relationships. Serenity's cast is led with well-balanced depth and humor by Nathan Fillion as Captain Mal Reynolds, whose maverick spirit is matched by his devotion to crewmates Wash (Alan Tudyk), Zoe (Gina Torres), fun-loving fighter Jayne (Adam Baldwin), engineer Kaylee (Jewel Staite), doctor Simon (Sean Maher), and Mal's former flame Inara (Morena Baccarin), who plays a pivotal role in Whedon's briskly-paced plot. As many critics agreed, Serenity offered all the fun and breezy excitement that was missing from George Lucas's latter-day Star Wars epics, and Whedon leaves an opening for a continuing franchise that never feels cheap or commercially opportunistic. With the mega-corporate mysteries of Blue Sun yet to be explored, it's a safe bet we haven't seen the last of the good ship Serenity. --Jeff Shannon
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