A short review of Serenity

Serenity is not the Firefly that fans know. Serenity is the Empire Strikes Back of the Firefly saga. It is dark, gritty, bloody, sad and revealing.

As the movie begins, we are treated to a flashback that artfully explains both the origin of the planets in the Firefly 'verse, and shows us how Simon Tam freed his sister River Tam from a facility where she was being tortured by cruel experiments at the hands of scientists working for the ruling body, the Alliance Parliament. We are also introduced to the man who must hunt down River Tam before she can damage the Alliance with what she knows (Chiwetel Ejiofor).

We then meet the crew of Serenity, captained by Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), a very dark soul who will do anything to make sure his crew can keep flying. Mal's ship, Serenity, is named for the battle of Serenity Valley, where the Independents lost their last great battle against the Alliance in the war for Unification. Since then, Mal has kept to the fringes of the Solar System in his ship, pulling jobs both honest and dishonest, as far away from the Alliance as he can get and still keep flying. For viewers of the series, this is a slightly different Mal than the Mal we knew - his heart is heavy, and dark, and his dealings with the crew are sharper than we're accustomed to seeing.

Through the course of the movie, we meet Reavers, an underground broadcaster named Mr. Universe (played artfully by David Krumholtz, of Numb3rs) and the mysterious Miranda, who holds the key to River's insanity.

The journey through the movie is intense. The Alliance is hell-bent on getting the girl back, and will kill anyone and everyone who gets in their way. Thrilling space battles will make you cheer, character moments will make you laugh, incredible fight scenes will make you gasp, and the pain you see will make you cry. It is an emotional roller coaster.

The acting is wonderful. I'd especially like to single out Morena Baccarin's (Inara Serra) performance. There is a moment where she silently exhibits three emotions in the space of two seconds, a touching moment in a role that otherwise isn't explored in detail in the film.

Serenity premieres in theaters on September 30th. I highly recommend it. However, I can't honestly promise that it will have the same impact on first-time viewers as it will on fans. I would have to see the movie again to evaluate it from the standpoint of a viewer new to the story. I can promise that you won't have to be a fan to follow the story and be entertained.