Serenity

Okay, this is a crappy picture. I can't remember how I used a picture from the web before. It's small and blurry, but this is a picture from Serenity, unequivocally the most bestest movie of all time.

Now you're probably saying to yourself, "Surely, she jests. She's probably just overly-elated that the big movie producers-that-be took a cancelled television show that she pined over, and made a movie, thereby providing a much-needed relief from her painful withdrawals." Well, you would be right. But what kind of person talks like that...surely?...jest?

Yes it's true. Joss Whedon has done the impossible. He has taken a cancelled television that was (and I'm putting it mildly here) the greatest television show on earth, and made a movie that did not suck. How many people can do that. Let's count them. Hmmm...None! He took his beloved Firefly, and did not ruin it, did not compromise it, did not whore it. It's a nice change.

Serenity is not a science-fiction/western; it is a compelling story that happens to take place in the future, in dusty one-horse towns, and in space. The dialogue is clever, and intelligent and never makes me want to squirm. When things get too intense the movie has an amazing ability to laugh at itself without being ridiculous or without becoming a parody. It's as serious and as funny as life usually is; it doesn't disrupt this balance. The film has all the effects, music and violence that gives you that nice adrenaline rush without being superfluous or illogical.

The story continues from the series, so I would suggest you all go out and rent the DVD's before plunking down and seeing the film. I thought the movie did a good job at catching all the first-timers up, but since I've seen all the episodes it's hard for me to judge that. The story in the film reveals to us the mystery of River, which was just one of the many mysteries hinted to us during the ill-fated Firefly. There are still many mysterious, and hopefully many movies to come. Basically, the plot follows the exploits of a gang of very rounded and fleshy (I mean that as a metaphor describing the depth of their character development, not literally as in they're all fat) characters who are trying to make it in a universe of ever-increasing monopoly and imperialism. The captain, Mal, and his first mate, Chloe, are veterans of the Independent/Alliance wars (you can guess what side they were on). They and their crew and passengers eke out a mostly illegal living trying to dodge the Alliance, a feat that becomes all the more difficult when the Alliance discover that a young girl who escaped their clutches and who poses a severely great threat to them, River Tam, is one of Serenity's passengers. The question becomes why is this seventeen-year-old girl such a threat to the great intergalactic beast that is the Alliance.

I can't write a proper review because I love it so much all I can do is gush. And gushing does not make for good writing. But ignore it and go see the movie anyway.