From L-R, Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion and Gina Torres in Universal Pictures’ “SERENITY.”
Photo Credit: ©2005, Universal Pictures.

 
As the Universal logo pulls away to reveal the Earth, a voice tells us, “Earth that was could no longer sustain our numbers.”

It’s revealed the voice is a teacher with students, telling them of the Alliance’s victory over the independents—just follow me. One of the students speaks up, refuting this teacher’s apparently propagandist advocacy of the Alliance.

Why would the independents resist? The young girl, River, says, “We meddle.”

Speaking of meddling, I’m going to do something I don’t normally do. I’m going to incorporate at least some external information about Firefly, the TV series directed by Joss Whedon upon which this film is based. I feel there are going to be two types of core audiences for this film—the built in fan base of Firefly and moviegoers who like a good action/sci-fi. The latter may appreciate being brought up to speed on some of the details so they can have a better appreciation for the world Joss Whedon has created.

Firefly premiered in 2002 but was cancelled after only 11 episodes. However, in a phenomenon reminiscent of the original Star Trek, the show grew an enormous fan base following the release of the series on DVD. Some readers may recall that the original Star Trek ranked 59th in the Nielsen ratings in 1966, and was cancelled in its third season, but grew to unimaginable popularity while in syndication. This persuaded Paramount to produce a motion picture just as the success of the DVD has persuaded Universal to back Serenity.

The series occurs in 2517, when the Earth’s resources have been depleted and space has become a frontier for a new generation of pioneers. Hence, the show implements the structure and setting elements of Westerns, while also incorporating more modern projections—the pervasive influence of Eastern cultures and philosophies. In the tradition of Shakespeare and many playwrights who followed, the episodes and this movie center on a class conflict between the hardscrabble residents of outer worlds and the imperial-minded Alliance.

Malcolm “Mal” Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) is the captain of Serenity, a Firefly-class starship that, well, looks like a giant firefly. Zoe (Gina Torres) is Capt. Reynold’s first mate. Hoban “Wash” Washburne (Alan Tudyk) is the pilot and Zoe’s husband. Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) is a mercenary of sorts—not a very bright one. Kaylee (Jewel Staite) is the ship’s engineer. River Tam (Summer Glau) and her brother Simon Tam (Sean Maher) are refugees aboard. Simon rescued River from a facility where she was being programmed to… I don’t know what, exactly, but she’s apparently very dangerous.

In a flashback to the mind-control programming, one of the scientists says, “She’s not just a psychic… she’s a living weapon.”

Yes, sadly in a movie based on an otherwise reasonably intelligent series (as science-fiction goes), there exist such moments of Bruckheimerian dialogue. However, they are smatterings… Mostly, the dialogue isn’t any more melodramatic than any other sci-fi, but the actors approach it with enough humor and enthusiasm that it grows on you in the same way that Captain Kirk’s two-second pause has attained the de-facto status of a common-law copyright–recognizable throughout the universe.

In part of her escape, in a scene seemingly engineered exclusively for trailers, she braces herself against the ceiling with her legs. Isn’t it convenient that in any movie requiring a covert escape of some sort, the hallway’s always just wide enough for the protagonist to straddle?

A Parliament operative is researching the archives of the facility that trained River. Don’t ask me what Parliament is or who it represents in the context of this movie, they never explain it. However, I respect the Operative character who views his dedication as simply that which he must do. There’s echoes of Karma Yoga (in Hindu philosophy, “the path of action”) between the lines as he states, “What I do is evil. I have no illiusions about it, but it must be done.”

The operative is the quiet-but-dangerous type. You know he spends so much time meditating or ruminating that he saves all his energy and concentration for battle. This is part of the Eastern/Buddhist motifs throughout the film.

Says he of the staff whom River eluded in her escape, “When men failed as entirely as you have, they would fall down on their swords.”

The Operative just happens to have one, too.

Back on the Serenity, they’re about to crash land on a planet—one of several that aren’t identified, which some viewers may find confusing. I figure from the laughter of the knowledgeable fans at the screening I attended that there must be a running joke in the series about the ship having all the structural integrity of a garbage scow.

Simon has issues with his sister being their passenger, as harm of one sort or another always seems to come their way. However, the gung-ho, yet insecure, Mal tries to exude confidence. This is the point in the film where I realized how much I miss the original cast of “Star Trek” (two of whom, James Doohan and DeForest Kelley, have passed on). William Shatner, so often satirized in popular culture for his dramatic pauses, had an overconfidence and melodramatic flair that was believable. Nathan Fillion lacks that quality, but then he hasn’t had a span of some 30 years over which to perfect his delivery. Still, I think either the acting or the direction was slightly lacking in terms of establishing character—a failure exhibited all too often in sci-fi. Some people are going to hate me for not handicapping my review with the sci-fi genre in context, but then we’ve seen great dramatic characterizations in shows like “X-Files” and films like “Dark City.” Why should we lower our expectations here?

The landing party escapes a group of Reavers—humanoid cannibals with bloodied, creepy faces. The Reavers look like they were beamed over from another sci-fi movie, “Event Horizon.” The landing ship makes a narrow escape back to the Serenity. However, a very fast Reaver ship follows them.

On their way to see a couple of black market buyers, Fanty and Mingo, River has an episode, of sorts, when she sees an advertisement that causes her to have a flashback that sets her off into a violent rage where she beats the crap out of just about every bystander in the room. Somehow, Simon turns her “off” by uttering what he calls a “safe word”.

To understand what just happened, they go see a young geek known only as Mr. Universe (David Krumholz). There’s always a geek when you need one… but I suppose that is science fiction’s way of honoring the benevolent-yet-unwieldy intelligence of its most devoted of fans. I admit I’m a geek, too. Were it not so, I wouldn’t have immediately zeroed in on the guy in the audience wearing the “INFOCOM” t-shirt.

Mr. Universe, upon hacking into some security tapes that recorded River’s outburst, asks, “Do you know what it is you’re carrying?”

This is the crux of “Serenity.” It reveals some secrets about River that, I presume, the series has been building toward. As I’m writing this, I have to note that the first half of the film seemed very muddled to me… but it’s the kind of movie that pulls you in despite its flaws. They may be minor quibbles, really. I don’t know.

On the one hand, I realize I may not appreciate it the way fans of the series do. On the other hand, I do love science-fiction considerably, and have since childhood. Thus, I may be far more critical than the average viewer because I have seen enough sci-fi that doesn’t stand up to normal dramatic standards and I’d like to see more that does. Though it takes some time to get there, this movie arrives closer to that benchmark than any other science fiction I have seen this year.

The characters, their relationships with one another, and the colorful and quirky incidents along the way that help establish the camaraderie become clearer and more endearing as you venture along. The movie ultimately reaches a point where, when Wash delivers the poetically-corny line, “I’m a leaf in the wind, watch how I soar,” you aren’t so much laughing at him as you are revelling in the cheerful and whimsical attitude of the Serenity family. Suddenly, you discover you’ve become part of that family.

One quality that is often ridiculed but I think is to be admired of the most devoted sci-fi fans is their fervent dedication to an ideal. They’re genuinely committed to this philosophy that, I think, was first realized through the imagination of Gene Roddenberry but has become the template for most popular science-fiction, as counterpoint to the pessimism of Dick and Bradbury. That is, Roddenberry believed that striving for equity, celebrating diversity and working toward peace were all worthwhile goals. Sci-fi has become a platform for progressive social commentary, and its greatest emissaries are the fans.