Serenity (2005) "Rocks So Hard!"

So says Julie D. of Happy Catholic. She links to Steven D. Greydanus' Decent Films review of Serenity (2005). Mr. Greydanus wastes no time in launching his readers into the heartland of Firefly fans' last hope:

Like lots of people, I didn’t catch “Firefly” in its one-season run three years ago, but I recently caught up with it on DVD, and Whedon’s characteristically quirky blend of frontier rough-and-tumble and sci-fi space opera (“Buck Rogers meets Roy Rogers” in the clever turn of phrase of USCCB critic David DiCerto), despite certain drawbacks, is entertaining and frequently enthralling, and leaves the viewer intrigued to know where the series would have gone had it been given the chance.

For long-suffering “Firefly” fans, Serenity is at last a precious opportunity to find out what happens next, not to mention to learn the answers to nagging questions left hanging by the series’ abrupt demise — a journey that is at once thrilling, rewarding, heartbreaking, and wistful. For non-fans, Serenity is a delirious excursion into a world whose setting, characters and relationships are richer and more elaborate than any one-shot movie is likely to be.

Whedon has a tricky balancing act, crafting a film that’s satisfying for fans without being off-putting to newcomers, and for the most part he delivers. Newbies may not always understand what’s going on, but that was true of the series as well; you’ll get it if you stick with it.

He also notes that some comparisons of Serenity to George Lucas' Star Wars Trilogy are misplaced:

Perhaps inevitably, Whedon’s witty sci-fi space opera has been favorably contrasted with the now-complete trilogy of Star Wars prequels climaxing in this year’s Revenge of the Sith — in part, I suppose, because Whedon’s trademark banter provides the greatest possible contrast to Lucas’s clunky dialogue.

The comparison, though, seems superficial to me. Beyond the sci-fi trappings, Serenity and Star Wars have less in common than, say, “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and Star Wars. Star Wars, like “Buffy,” is storytelling in a mythic good-versus-evil mode, a story of the war of good and evil. Buffy and Luke Skywalker are heroes in the archetypal sense, with Giles and Ben Kenobi (and later Yoda) as their mentors, pitted against archetypal embodiments of evil.

Serenity is nothing like this. There’s no mythic iconography here; “Star Trek,” not Star Wars, is the obvious point of comparison and contrast. For the moment, the Trek universe has collapsed under the weight of two tired series and two unspectacular films. The world of Serenity and “Firefly” is utterly different, fresh and vigorous. The prospect of a Serenity sequel strikes me as far more hopeful and promising than that of Trek film.

There are drawbacks to Whedon’s world. His “messy humanity” may be a refreshingly honest point of contrast to Roddenberry’s humanistic optimism, but Whedon lacks the moral basis for an adequate critique of his characters’ shortcomings, and sometimes he can celebrate or even indulge in them. At the same time, it’s gratifying that, like Babylon 5 creator J. Michael Straczynski, Whedon makes room in his future world for Christian belief and morality, and in an appealing and respectfully treated form.

Overall, he offers a vision of a creative and refreshing sci-fi adventure that explores the authentic complexity of human relationships and interaction. Julie D, meanwhile, has this to say:

Joss Whedon is a superb storyteller. Just when you start thinking that the movie is winding down to the ending, he cranks it up another notch and careens on to a more intense ride. This is accented with hilarious, throw away lines just when you least expect it (again, think Han Solo).

The other thing to know about Whedon is that he is no respecter of characters. In his TV series (Buffy, Angel, and Firefly) he has proven time and again that just because someone is a major character doesn't mean he won't kill them off at the drop of a hat if it moves the story along ... and sometimes even if it doesn't. That adds a certain amount of tension to any story he is telling and certainly was forcibly brought to mind more than once during this movie. Unpredictability is the watchword.

As in Star Wars, which in my mind is the most comparable model for comparison, there is a major conflict between good and evil. However, where Star Wars painted those themes very broadly (Darth Vader BAD, Luke Skywalker GOOD), Serenity deals with what different men choose to put their faith in and how strong that belief is. Early on, River says that the reason the outlying planets don't like the Alliance, despite the many obvious benefits of to belonging to civilization, is that " We meddle... People don't like to be meddled with. We tell them what to do, what to think, don't run, don't walk. We're in their homes and in their heads, and we haven't the right. We're meddlesome."

Just how "meddlesome" is shown over and over again while, in counterpoint, Mal Reynolds repeatedly says that he doesn't believe in anything except survival of "me and mine" meaning his crew. Shepherd Book tells him that he must believe in something, that it doesn't matter what but that he must believe. We know this isn't true because it becomes clear that the Reavers believe, and fervently, but in nothing with which any sane person would agree. Watching Mal it is clear also that his actions speak louder than words, although by the end of the movie he does articulate his belief also.

Now, I'm a big-time Sci-Fi fan, but I have to confess: I never saw Firefly. Yes, I know reruns of the doomed series appear on Sci-Fi Friday. I just haven't made seeing it a priority. Perhaps I was Buffied or Angeled out. I don't know. I just didn't give Joss Whedon's Sci-Fi masterpiece a look.

That may change. I respect Steven Greydanus' reviews, and I enjoy Julie D.'s perspective on many cultural phenomena (by the way, if you're not reading Happy Catholic, what are you waiting for?). I admit that the trailer intrigued me. When I learned that Serenity evolved from Firefly, I even became curious. Now, I may need to take the plunge. Consider me in the batter's circle to see Serenity!