review

one of the things i like about my job is the fact that occasionally i get to see films before they open. last night i got to see serenity.
the film is based on the failed tv series by buffy creator joss whedon.
i was not sure if i was going to enjoy the movie - i was never a big buffy fan, and all i had seen of the serenity tv series looked awful.

i was pleasantly surprised, but then i am a sucker for decent science fiction movies.
basic plot is that the crew of serenity are rogues who occasionally do bad stuff. they are comprised of people who were on the losing side of a galactic war against the alliance. one of their crew is an escapee from the alliance. the alliance wants her back partly because she is a killing machine and partly because she might have a secret that will severely damage the alliance. the alliance are going to do their best to get her back. the crew of the serenity are going to do their best to stop them.
if this had been the tv series i reckon the ending might have been in doubt, because you can keep them coming back week in and week out. because it was the film you knew the semi-good guys were going to win.

what made buffy a good tv show (even if i wasn't fan) was the snappy dialogue and ensemble cast: both are in evidence in the serenity movie.
there are some great scenes between the various members of cast who have all grown to know each during the making of the series so there is an ease of acting from them. there are some great action sequences and there are some good effects.

equally there is a feeling that this is a tv movie - not in the sense that it is made for tv, but in that it is the tv cast, the tv crew and the tv sensibility was all part and parcel of making the movie. you could see the same thing with the x-files movie and the star trek movies.
this isn't necessarily a bad thing - it just gives it a different feel to a movie that has been made as a movie movie.

for those of us who remember blake's 7 there will be echoes of the past in this movie. the "western" feel of the characters gives it a nice frontier vibe, although the cod "western" dialogue from one or two of the characters does get a little wearing after a while. but they are minor quibbles.

not a classic, not even a great film but all in all a fine and fun night of viewing.