![]() 'Serenity' was among the first four HD DVD titles that Universal released in early 2006. So flop or not, 'Serenity' is something to cheer indeed. And it does it using the vast resources of the Hollywood establishment, yet playing by none of its ground rules. Like Lucas, Whedon asks us to imagine a galaxy far, far away, one that both looks ahead with its optimistic themes but also harkens back to classic genre conventions. It may be nowhere near as good (nor influential) as 'Star Wars,' but in one very important way, 'Serenity' genuinely invites comparisons to that George Lucas epic. 'Serenity' is filled wall-to-wall with scrappy archetypes and recycled pulp fiction plot contrivances we've seen a thousand times before, but to Whedon's great credit, he and his cast are so enthusiastic they transcend them by sheer force of will. It's easy to see why Whedon is such a hero to fanboys - he may now be a multimillionaire and a big-time TV producer, but in his heart he is Luke Skywalker, dreaming of fantastical worlds and mythic lands populated by Grand Themes and Big Ideas. Whedon is also taking no prisoners, even daring to kill off one of the major characters, which kept me pleasantly off-guard and genuinely surprised by the twists and turns of the plot.īut best of all is 'Serenity's scrappy attitude. Granted, I occasionally felt I was missing a bit of the in-jokes between characters and certain situations, but the story is tight enough it doesn't matter. But that tricky Whedon - he's crafted 'Serenity's plot and characters cleverly and carefully, so despite knowing absolutely nothing about the universe of 'Firefly,' I was quickly drawn in. I shouldn't have enjoyed 'Serenity,' having never seen a single episode of 'Firefly' (plus my general knee-jerk reaction against anything even remotely sci-fi and cultish). ![]() Reynolds and his crew may only be mercenaries, but when the true nature of the secret River holds is revealed, it just might transform the universe's greatest misfits into its most unlikely of heroes. Seems River holds a secret the Alliance and its psychotic chief operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor) want so badly that they're willing to destroy whole planets and civilizations to get it. But when the ship's new doctor Simon (Sean Maher) brings his his telepathic, traumatized little sister River (Summer Glau) on board, it plunges the crew into their most dangerous adventure yet. Constantly on the run from the Alliance (think 'Star Wars' evil empire), they rob and plunder for profit to pay their way through the universe. The story: Meet the crew of the "Serenity," a junky spaceship filled with bandits, outlaws and smart-alecky Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). However, perhaps owing to 'Serenity's strengths as a nifty little sci-fi potboiler, the film, like the series before it, has gone on to develop its own cult following. ![]() ![]() Whedon suffered his first high-profile flop, leaving the industry to snicker and Universal marketing execs to slink away battered by the film's box office failure. ![]() Sure, it was kinda crazy, but hey, it worked for 'Star Trek,' right?Īlas, fate was not so kind to 'Serenity.' Despite some good reviews, the film came and went in a flicker, grossing a meager $38 million worldwide - barely enough to cover its production budget. So Universal took the chance of investing $40 million in a movie version, hoping that if even half of the viewers who tuned into 'Firefly' every week showed up at the box office, they might have a cult movie franchise on their hand. So considering Whedon's loyal following, perhaps it's no surprise Universal greenlit 'Serenity,' a big-screen spin-off to his cripplingly low-rated but much beloved 'Firefly.' The show only ran for eleven episodes on the Fox Network back in 2002, but became a hot seller on DVD. Seriously - read any of the many fan forums and websites devoted to Whedon's creations, and you'd think this guy was the second coming, giving the likes of Sam Raimi, Peter Jackson or Ridley Scott a serious run as Hollywood's top cult auteur. With only those three low-rated TV series (none of which, on a good night, garnered even a fifth of the ratings for a 'Lost' or 'Desperate Housewives') this 44-year-old writer-director-producer has inspired the sort of fervent fan worship reserved for cinema mavericks with ten times the credits. The mastermind behind the cult phenoms 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer,' 'Angel' and 'Firefly' seems to know exactly what the fanboys (and fangirls) want. ![]()
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