Serenity (2005) [Blu-ray]

This film is a continuation of the Firefly TV series, axed in its prime by TV network executives who just didn't get it. For details about the series, search for the Firefly DVD set here on Amazon, and read the reviews (mine first, of course!) Buy them both, but watch the series first! You will enjoy it more that way. The story line is about a spaceship full of interesting characters squeaking past the law, trying to live free and do the right thing whenever possible. This film picks up a short time after the last TV episode, Objects in Space, and follows on very nicely with the story arc of the series. To go into the story very deeply would give away too much. Suffice it to say that many of the smaller story arcs from the series (avaliable on Amazon in a boxed set) are resolved, and the series put to rest with a finish that would have made a beautiful season ender. There is an opening for more movies/projects based on the same "verse," (short for Universe, show slang for the extremely interesting world/society/galaxy Joss and company created for the series). This 'verse consists of a blend of the old American West, Chinese culture (people speak Chinese and English interchangeably), old West technology and future space travel and related technology. One would think the blend would simply not work, but it does work, and it works unbelievably well. The characters draw you in instantly, and hold your attention through the entire series and movie, leaving you wanting more. I have watched Serenity (the movie - the first section of the DVD series set is also called Serentiy, but is different) so many time I have lost count (not as much as Howard Hughes watched Ice Station Zebra, rest assured, but lots). (Which reminds me - the recent movie about Hughes is also great.) In the movie you will see some things clarified, some things teasingly dangled in front of you and then buried (for future projects?), and at least two primary parts of the story arc resolved. It will make you laugh and cry, be happy and angry, leaving you feel very much a part of the lives of the characters. I won't give you details about the story line because that would take too much of the fun away. Great surprises and twists in store! I haven't been a Joss Whedon fan before, but I sure am now. I am going to go back and visit his previous series and see what I have been missing. I complain frequently that there is little or no good TV being made, but Joss proves me wrong. I just haven't found enough of his work. I am also going to keep an eye out for the actors in other projects, as they are all great as well. Remember, I recommend you get this movie with the Firefly series and watch the series first. This movie really ought to be packaged together with the series, and I would love to see a boxed set with both, and some new featurettes. The extras included with the movie and the Firefly series are also interesting and leave you wanting more.

A great wrap up to the Firefly series too bad it didn't go on much longer

All Firefly fans must see this. It's the sequel to the TV show, most likely the only one we're going to get. It expands upon some of the characters' back stories that we didn't get much of in the show, especially River. The bad thing is, it only gives just enough on some of them to keep you hooked- it still leaves things unexplained, such as Shepherd Book's whole history. Very little about him was told in the show, same here. Oh well, at least we get to finally see the Reavers, and they don't paint a pretty picture. The Blu-ray has several extras that explain the whole story about the Alliance and those who refused to join, which led to the war that Malcolm and Zoe fought in. Takes awhile to go through all that, but it's worth it. One scene in particular will make you wonder why the Serenity never had weapons mounted on it before now. Anyway, great movie.

I don't want to give too much away because this is the type of movie that is better enjoyed not knowing what's to come so I will try and keep this a very general review and set up the premise. This movie had me literally enthralled from the opening scene to the last image on screen. The story had something for everyone, scares, screams, laughter and intrigue. In some cases you were laughing one second and gasping a second later. The characters are richly written and you really feel connected to each and everyone of them, including the assassin! The lead characters, Mal & River, are two totally different people but caught up in the same web by the overly controlling alliance government. River, a teenage girl, was falsely lured away from her family to attend a school for "gifted" children. But it was a cover for the government to use children with psychic abilities, enhance those natural gifts and use them for their own purposes. River's brother, realizes something isn't right and rescues his sister and they end up on Mal's ship named Serenity. Mal is a soldier who fought against the Alliance but was on the losing side and has made every efforts to live on the outskirts of civilization. But, he feels an obligation to protect River and fight the Alliance assassin that has been sent to hunt her down and kill her. Every character in this movie is interesting and fun to watch. If you are a fan of the series, you'll already be familiar with the crew of Serenity but you do not need to have seen the series to enjoy this movie. Joss Whedon does an excellent job of introducing the characters in the beginning of the movie and getting on with a roller coaster of a story. The villain is one of the best villains I've ever seen in a movie and if there ever is a sequel they could probably spin off something with this guy alone (but I hope not because I want more of the crew of Serenity). I highly recommend this movie. I'm a huge sci-fi buff and I've seen all the Trek movies and all the Star Wars movies but this one, in my opinion, is the next level of sci-fi entertainment. Star Wars was a great franchise and really introduced the world to fantastic big screen adventures and Star Trek took a beloved TV show to the big screen and it was a joy to see but Serenity is the best of both these worlds and manages to be that big screen sci-fi adventure that is richly character driven and a blast to experience.

Me and my husband love this movie, I'm just sorry it didn't last longer. It's really good, especially with the younger girl taking out all the bad guys.

I've always enjoyed this movie and will watch it again

ITS A GOOD MOVIE

Good quality of product. Good delivery service.

Riverファンに嬉しい特典映像が沢山あって画質も綺麗です。

Después de haber visto del tirón toda la serie de Firefly me quedé con ganas de volver a ver la película de Serenity (la había visto en su día, pero hace ya tiempo), así que decidí comprarla. Hay que decir que aunque es la versión inglesa está en castellano, tanto voces como subtítulos. Me ha sorprendido la cantidad de extras que tiene, sobre todo los comentarios de parte del equipo de la película, al cual puedes ver en una pequeña pantallita mientras ves la película. Muy recomendable sin duda.

I watched Serenity in the cinema without having seen Firefly. Very simply, Serenity is an outstanding Sci Fi film with a great storyline and laced throughout with wry and gritty humour. Characterisation is very good, indeed, and melds superbly with the aforementioned storyline and humour. Basically the characterisation depicts real people and this makes the difference. Serenity is also an example of the Sci Fi genre making relevant social comment but sadly this probably contributed to the cancellation of the tv series from which it is derived. Joss Whedon (the series creator) has made a space saga set 500 hundred years in the future. With undertones of the Old West, Mankind has been colonising other planets and moons. A bitter civil war between Separatists and the Alliance Government has recently finished, resulting in the victory of the Alliance. This government tends to interfere in every day life, is ultra politically correct, and seems to be in hock to mega corporations..... (Hmmm I wonder what the parody there could be?!!). Eking out an existence among the many worlds, is a survivor of the Separatist forces - Captain Mal Reynolds (played well by a wry Nathan Fillion). His command is an old spaceship called Serenity. Mal Reynolds and his crew smuggle and deal in contraband etc. They also take on passengers on a 'no questions asked' basis. Recent additions to the crew of the Serenity include a young doctor - Simon and his telepathic sister - River. Both are fleeing from the Alliance, and River was a test subject for drug research on psychics. This testing was carried out by the Alliance and the mega Corporations, and both want her returned swiftly. Hunting River and Simon, is an Alliance elite officer/assassin known as an operative. Superbly played by Chiwetel Ejiofor, he is a glacially calm, reflective, and totally ruthless individual, determined to catch River and Simon by any means possible. Apart from the Alliance, the crew of the Serenity have to face other dangers including the Reavers who are horrifically deformed space cannibals who hunt the cosmos, looking for victims to be eaten alive, dead not being to their taste (so to speak). Serenity is a brilliant film from start to finish and will keep the viewer wholly engrossed. I was surprised and delighted with how good it actually was, and went back for a repeat viewing at the cinema. I also bought the dvd when it came out, and again it makes for terrific viewing on the home cinema system. Sound and picture are both superb on an HDMI picture and multi channel sound. I also bought the dvd of the tv series Firefly and really enjoyed this too. In fact I am glad that I saw the film first because if I had seen the tv series first, then I might have had some unrealistic expectations for the film version. Like many other reviewers on here, I am amazed that the tv series was cancelled but there do appear to be a number of reasons for this, and I intend to look at these in more detail when I write my review of Firefly the tv series. The film, however, ties up many of the loose ends from the tv series. Good news for fans is that Whedon and Universal apparently have another two films of Serenity in the pipeline, and I for one cannot wait to see them.