Created by celebrated Buffy alumni Joss Whedon, Firefly
was an episodical part sci-fi, part Western show that told of a small
space freighter whose crew are willing to take whatever types of jobs
come their way in order to preserve a way of life outside of the
regimented Alliance. Similar to what happened with the similar-themed Star Trek
some thirty years before, Firefly garnered a huge following in such a
short amount of time, and with sales of it’s DVD Box-Set going
through the roof – it seemed only natural to give it a second
chance - on a bigger canvas. Less refined than George
Lucas’s drastically more expensive sci-fi saga, and dirtier in
both look and manner than GR’s Enterprise adventures,
Whedon’s series, and now movie, is quite a unique experience.
Everything you loved about the series is back on the big screen too -
with $50 million worth of extras. Back is the excellent writing, the
humour, the adventure, the distinct characters, the plight, the
battles, the sexual tension, and the imaginatively designed starships
– still as dirty as ever, and as wonky as a rusted bike. There
are a couple of surprises in tow too. Cocky space-smuggler
Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his crew – engineer Kaylee
(Jewel Staite), his second in command and most trusted ally, Zoe (Gina
Torres), her husband, the pilot, Wash (Alan Tudyk), and the muscle,
Jayne (Adam Baldwin) - are still harbouring fugitives, the telepathic
River Tam (Summer Glau) and her doctor brother, Simon (Sean Maher)
on-board their rust-bucket space ship. The alliance’s hunt
for the fugitives – especially River, who harbours some secrets
and then some – is cranked up a notch when The Operative
(Chiwetel Ejiofor) is assigned to find them. He’ll do anything
– quite a nasty character he is – to get to River, and it
poses quite a challenge for the crew of Serenity. Serenity
feels like a gobsmackingly-good two-hour season ender for the series.
But that’s good. That’s what fans want. Who wants to
revisit the beloved characters only to discover that they’re
changed, or that the story’s drifted away from the one we were
tuning in week-after-week for? At the same time, Whedon’s
– making his feature-film directorial debut here - need to please
the fans might also have hurt his film a little. Those that are new to
the world might soon catch on – you get a quick introduction
– but they’re unlikely to be as emotionally invested in the
characters as the fans are, and let’s admit it, it’s the
characters that we keep coming back for. Some of the film’s
surprises are unlikely to affect newcomers, as they will the regular
browncoats. Still, everyone likes a good movie – and this
is definitely an A-grade experience. The writing is impeccable, the
chemistry among the cast is fantastic, the performances are great, and
the action is non-stop. The film’s skirmishes really kick in
towards the tail end of the movie, and it’s everyone’s
party then. Summer Glau is inevitably the film’s standout
as the puzzling Escapee River giving a multi-faceted performance and
predominantly, kicking some royal bootie in action stakes, but series
scene-stealers Nathan Fillion, as Mal, and Adam Baldwin, as Jayne, are
still as amusing and boastful as ever. There’s a couple of
equally talented newcomers to the Whedonverse too – Chiwetel
Ejiofor as the ominous villain, and the always-dependable David
Krumholtz as the amusing techno-head ‘Mr Universe’. There
are some slow spots - exposition does need to be slotted somewhere, I
guess? - and it’s disappointing to see a couple of the
show’s most popular characters sitting on the bench, but
all-in-all, Firefly fans are going to be extremely happy with the feature-length treat Sir Whedon has rewarded them with here. Many,
I’m guessing, might want to pick up some cough mixture on their
way home from the theatre too – with all the screaming, laughing,
yahooing and shouting, they’ll be doing, they’re inexorably
going to lose their voice. Thanks Joss. This is a superb directorial debut - and one sensational bit of cinema. DVD
Extras I'm pleased to say that the DVD looks and sounds a treat - but I
don't want to say that too loud, just in case Universal decide that
we're quite content watching this gang on the small screen and ditch
plans for any more big screen jaunts - and that the extras component is
fat, funky and full of browncoaty goodness. First up, there are about nine deleted scenes. Nothing too gripping here, but fans will want to check them out anyway. Then,
there's a couple of documentaries : "What's in a Firefly" and
"Re-lighting the Firefly". The quality isn't too crash hot - it's a bit
grainy - but there's enough meat on the bone here, so a minor
injustice. The outtakes are worth waiting for- that Fillion's a bit of
a joker ain't he? In addition to his introduction to the
film (which you would have seen if you attended one of the early test
screenings of the film), Joss Whedon provides audio commentary. Whedon
is full of information - and unlike a lot of tracks, you won't be able
to easily switch between the commentary and the films soundtrack. Well
worth a listen. The
major buzz for Aussie fans is the bounty of exclusives for the
Australian DVD release. These include "A Filmmakers Journey - Journey
with Joss from Script to Screen", a riveting "Joss Whedon Q&A
Session - Filmed at Fox Studios in Sydney", Extended Scenes (exclusive
to Australian DVD), "Take a Walk on Serenity - Cast and Crew take us on
a special tour of the Serenity ship" and "The Green Clan - Expose on
Cinematographer Jack Green and his team". Conclusion:
Movie 80% Extras: 80% 
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