Serenity Review: Teeming with an overwhelming amount of integrity, heart, soul, and well-developed characters. by Spence D. Quick recap for the uninitiated: The short-lived television series Firefly, which was jostled about erratically, never fully aired, and more or less suffered a fate not befitting such a well-crafted, expertly written show, has miraculously spawned none other than a full-length feature film. Such is the wonder of a seriously rabid fan base (it doesn't hurt that series creator and subsequently the film's director is none other than Joss "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Whedon, either). Those who reside outside the Whedon sphere of influence may, not surprisingly, find themselves feeling a mite bit timid about the prospects of queuing in line to see a film that is based on an already established and intricate universe. Fear not. While having seen the television series will most certainly provide oneself with a deeper connection to the characters, it's not crucial to the enjoyment of the film. In fact, Serenity, unlike the bulk of the more expensive, and ultimately more forgettable sci-fi and fantasy films that have left their marks on the public consciousness thus far in 2005, succeeds on entirely different levels. The film is teeming with an overwhelming amount of integrity, heart, soul, and some of the best written characters to invade genre fiction in quite some time. The main thing Whedon has going for him is a cadre of rich and memorable characters. Much like the old Star Trek, which is an obvious influence, Whedon overcomes the lack of eye-popping special effects by creating genuine tension and emotion via the time honored tradition of actually scripting interesting, intriguing, and real characters, characters you not only identify with, but end up caring a great deal for. For those new to the fold, these characters include Mal (Nathan Fillion), who is very much cut from the same cloth as the more nihilistic western heroes James Stewart portrayed (think The Man from Laramie and you're pretty damn dead on) as well as a bit of roguish Han Solo tossed in for good measure, the leader of a band of merry renegades that includes Zoe (Gina Torres), Wash (Alan Tudyk), Inara (Morena Baccarin), Jayne (Adam Baldwin), Kaylee (Jewel Staite), Simon (Sean Maher), River (Summer Glau), and Shepherd Book (Ron Glass). Yes, Whedon does succumb to cliché when creating his dysfunctional family: there's the father figure (Mal), the mother figure (a cross between Zoe and Inara), the deceptively innocent daughter figure (Kaylee), the bad son who really has a heart of gold figure (Jayne), and so on. Then of course there's the obligatory unresolved sexual tension issues (Inara and Mal/Kaylee and Simon), which have become the standard of soap operas and sitcoms since the days of Shakespeare. Thing of it is, Whedon takes these familiar elements and actually does something with them; turns them from lifeless, standard, everyday clichés into living, breathing characters who think, feel, and act like real individuals. The bulk of the film centers on the aforementioned core characters who go about their business of smuggling and generally avoiding the prying hands (and eyes) of the Alliance, but new characters (actually only two) are introduced in such a manner that they feel just as familiar as the already established ones. Both The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Mr. Universe (David Krumholtz) are rendered as if they were old nemeses and/or friends. Granted one of them (Mr. Universe) seems a bit forced, a bit too cartoonish, if you will, in comparison to the rest of the denizens of the Serenity universe, he's still no less an essential element to the story. Speaking of which, the storyline of the film does pick up where the series ended, but again it's done in such a way as to not make newcomers feel as if they've missed some crucial elements of the story. To wit it's unveiled in a chronological order that seems both natural and easygoing. In many ways it feels a lot like watching the original Star Wars, where you are brought in during the middle of the action, but within minutes you are completely immersed in the story as if you've know the characters forever. Furthermore much of what made the series so great is still intact. The overriding western motif is still fantastic, taking the whole "final frontier" elements of Star Trek to another level entirely. Additionally the mixture of dated language, made-up slang, and intermittent Asian inflections (although those are kept to a minimum as compared to the often excessive usage in the series) creates an intricate vocabulary that sucks the viewer in without much effort. Granted, the film is missing some of the Old Testament moral thematics that made the television series so compelling, but the depth of character quality coupled with the engaging storyline is still very much intact. The dialogue is crisp and clean, characters emitting lines at a pace that is both natural and keeping in tune with the overall speed of the film. Pith is doled out in large, dare I say, heavy doses and does wonders to create a joyously aloof vibe that is never condescending, but rather leaves the audience feeling as if they are privy to the innermost jokes of a tight-knit clan. Whedon also has a wonderful way with pacing. To say that Serenity is an exciting, emotional rollercoaster of a film, one that has plenty of action is not an overstatement in the least. The film comes out of the gate with a nice, disconcerting swerve and continues to stay several skips ahead of itself the whole way through. In fact, you'd be hard-pressed to find an action, sci-fi, or other genre film (hell, any kind of film really) that has crossed the Cineplex screens in recent years that has such watertight pacing as this. Films like Spielberg's recent War of the Worlds may be wallowing in top-of-the-line, jaw-dropping special effects, something which Serenity is rather light on. But that doesn't really matter. Here the writing and characters and pacing are so great that you don't mind the lack of eye candy. In short, this film has oodles of what so many films in recent memory have been lacking: heart and passion and aside from The Devil's Rejects, this is easily the best genre film of 2005.