Falling In Love Again
My dear, dear filthy readers, I have seen Serenity and I have deemed it good, but multiply "good" by, like, a hundred bazillion gazillion. Then you will have some minor fathoming as to how utterly fantaticamazingsuperawesomeorgasmicfilmexperiencecoolness that the movie was. I went in feeling that no matter what I would be able to enjoy the film, much in the same way that I enjoyed the Star Wars prequels while at the same time understanding that they were bludgeoning the beloved Trilogy into an unrecognizable mass of oozy black pulp. Plus I was getting to see it for free and just about a month before it is available to the rest of you dirty, dirty peasants. Really there was NO way I would not have enjoyed this film on at least some very base, primitive level.
I was literally blown away and all my expectations were not only met, but then blown into a bazillion gazillion tiny shards of undulating, passionate love. I laughed, I wept, and I maneuvered my ass in the seat with the subconscious belief that I was helping our heroes escape from their various predicaments, something I have never been made to do. There was gasping. There was shock and relief and by the end I left the theater with such a mixed bag of strong emotions that it felt as if I might pass out. Pass out! I feel I can almost speak for the rest of the audience as I can not tell you that I have ever heard the same level of excited banter as people left their seats. And the applause…there was thunderous applause!
As of right now, this has to be the absolute apex of Joss Whedon's story telling and writing talents. In my opinion it is obvious that he was able to focus all of his mysterious powers on this one project and, wow, does it show. Everything about this movie reeks, like the most divine incense, of concentrated Joss imagination, every aspect being a level or two above his previous work…perhaps Joss got turned up to 11? The dialogue is uber-snappy, the story ranges from extreme to extreme, being light hearted and endearing to being completely hard-nosed and frightening. You find yourself seeing the best and worst of humanity, often from the same characters.
All of our beloved characters are reprised by the original cast of Firefly and they do an excellent job of jumping right back into those roles. It's as if the series ended only yesterday, with the slight caveat that there is a gap between where the series ended and where the movie starts. I've only seen the series on DVD, so I'm sure if you've only seen the series as it was butchered by Fox there may be a bit more a learning curve. Even with the time lapse you quickly find yourself right back in the zone and I believe a lot of this has to do with how well the characters are portrayed.
The pacing is steady, and I never felt like there was a lull, the story is laid out so that those of you who are not familiar with Firefly should be able to become immersed into and understand what's happening fairly quickly. I'm hesitant to say too much, so as not to ruin anything in any way, but I will say that the film closes all the doors that the series never got a chance to close. But with that being said, I see the portal left open for what I assume is Joss' hope that the series will be picked up again by a network. Either way I am very contented if this does prove to be the end.
It comes out in wide release September 30, go see this film!