This lively and clever sci-fi feature is based on Firefly, a series that ran on Fox network for eleven episodes before it was cancelled. At the screening we attended, there was a large number of very enthusiastic fans of the cult series who responded very favorably to witty lines by the characters and telling turns in the storyline. Written and directed by Joss Whedon, creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, this saga takes place 500 years in the future, where the Alliance has taken over the solar system and left nothing for the Independents to do except pick up odd jobs as the vagabond cowboys of the galaxies. Blending the elements of old Western movies with science fiction motifs works well in this movie.
River Tam (Summer Glau) is a seventeen-year old intuitive who has special powers known only to elite members of the Alliance, who are using her as part of a secret weapons project. When her brother Simon (Sean Maher) rescues her, they are immediately the targets of the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a skilled and devious tracker sent out by his superiors to retrieve River Tam. The two runaways wind up aboard Serenity — a rattletrap outer space transport ship under the command of Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion). They are given sanctuary despite the obvious danger they bring to all on board. Mal's crew consists of a motley group of eccentrics including his capable first mate Zoe (Gina Torres), her creative husband Wash (Alan Tudyk) who is also a pilot, musclebound gunslinger Jayne (Adam Baldwin) who's always looking for trouble, and ship's mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite) who is a farm girl. Even cowboys have their love interests — in this case it's Inara Serra (Morena Baccarin) who keeps Mal guessing as to what she wants.
The crew of Serenity find themselves in grave difficulties as they are relentlessly pursued by the shrewd and driven Operative and his forces. The antiheroes also have to contend with the Reavers, cannibalistic savages who do not take kindly to strangers (they'd just as soon eat them). Fans of the Star Trek movies will find similar pleasures here, especially in the interesting foibles of Mal and the surprising shadings given to the arch-villain.
DVD features include deleted scenes, outtakes, audio commentary with writer/director Joss Whedon, and three featurettes: "Future History: The Story of Earth That Way, "What's in a Firefly," and "Re-lighting a Firefly."
