While nowhere near the sci-fi masterpiece its rabid fans would have viewers believe, this big screen revival of Firefly—Joss Whedon's defunct TV space Western—is a fresh, bold, sharp-witted adventure with some surprising narrative depth. Set in a vividly realized Wild West aftermath of a futuristic war, the film picks up where the show left off, following a ragtag troupe of bitter defeated rebels (now smugglers) on the run after very reluctantly taking aboard a pretty, young, vulnerable yet unexpectedly dangerous telepath being hunted by the corrupt and totalitarian galactic government. A little too cheeky and ironically self-aware for its own good, Serenity is also a bit B-movie-ish thanks to overly mannered acting, clumsy exposition, and low-budget fight choreography/special effects, not to mention several suspension-of-disbelief hurdles, and moments in which Whedon succumbs to cliché. However, the writer-director (and creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer) deserves props for some daring storytelling choices and for creating a believable universe with such different cultural values from our own, while still suggesting a reasonable extrapolation of where humanity seems to be headed. A strong optional purchase. [Note: Available in either widescreen or full screen versions, DVD extras include a four-minute intro by director Joss Whedon, audio commentary by Whedon, nine deleted scenes with optional commentary (15 min.), a “Re-Lighting the Firefly” featurette about how the cancelled television show became a feature film (10 min.), the seven-minute production featurette “What's in a Firefly?”, six minutes of outtakes, and the five-minute featurette “Future History: The Story of Earth That Was.” Bottom line: a fine extras package for a better-than-usual sci-fi flick.] (R. Blackwelder)[DVD Review—Aug. 21, 2007—Universal, 119 min., PG-13, $26.98—Making its second appearance on DVD, 2005's Serenity (Collector's Edition) adds a number of new DVD extras to the originals from the first release, including a second audio commentary track (by director Joss Whedon and cast members Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, and Ron Glass), a “Sci-Fi Inside” 22-minute featurette with clips and interviews with director Whedon and cast members, “A Filmmakers Journey” behind-the-scenes featurette (20 min.), “Session 416” on the secrets of the character River's past (8 min.), seven minutes of extended scenes, a “Take a Walk on Serenity” walkthrough of the ship (4 min.), and “The Green Clan” featurette on cinematographer Jack Green (3 min.). Bottom line: a solid upgrade for a cult favorite.][Blu-ray Review—Jan. 20, 2009—Universal, 119 min., PG-13, $29.98—Making its first appearance on Blu-ray, 2005's Serenity sports a good transfer and a DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 soundtrack. Blu-ray extras are almost identical to those spread across the two previous DVD releases, including a four-minute intro by director Joss Whedon, audio commentaries (one by Whedon, the other by Whedon and cast members Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, and Ron Glass), nine deleted scenes with optional commentary (15 min.), a “Re-Lighting the Firefly” featurette about how the cancelled television show became a feature film (10 min.), the seven-minute production featurette “What's in a Firefly?”, six minutes of outtakes, the five-minute featurette “Future History: The Story of Earth That Was,” the behind-the-scenes featurette “A Filmmakers Journey” (20 min.), “Session 416” on the secrets of the character River's past (8 min.), seven minutes of extended scenes, a “Take a Walk on Serenity” walkthrough of the ship (4 min.), and “The Green Clan” featurette on cinematographer Jack Green (3 min.). New to the Blu-ray release are a visual commentary with the director and cast, an “Alliance Database” interactive featurette, a picture-in-picture track with interviews and behind-the-scenes footage, a digital tour of Serenity, “Mr. Universe's Compendium” feature (including data on organizations, weaponry, and personnel), and the BD Live function. Bottom line: a solid Blu-ray release of a fave with fans of the original sci-fi TV series.]
Serenity
Universal, 119 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.99, Dec. 20 Volume 21, Issue 1
Serenity
Star Ratings
As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
Order From Your Favorite Distributor Today: