Serenity: A New Hope

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Move over Han Solo, here comes Mal Reynolds, the new conscientious space cowboy. You see, I have a secret theory to explain something that is patently obvious to most people. I call it the "Why the second Star Wars trilogy sucks so badly" theory. It goes like this...

No Han Solo.

Without the brash yet loyal captain who always ends up doing the right thing, the Star Wars universe putters to a halt and drops into a creative black hole. Who cares about heroes when the anti-hero is so much more appealing? Luke Skywalker is a namby pamby in dire need of therapy to resolve deeply seated childhood issues, Darth Vader is a walking psychotic dead-beat dad, and the Emperor is the ultimate caricature of the evil boss without his daily cup of coffee. Leave it to the smuggler with ethics to bind them all together into a cohesive story that makes you root deep down for the charismatic leader to win out over the isolated cynic. This is the hero of the space opera genre.

Joss Whedon, whose credits include such varied hits as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Toy Story, Titan A.E., Alien 4, and Roseanne, took the space opera concept and one-upped George Lucas in the Emmy-winning 2002 series "Firefly". This was a rich, comedic drama with great potential. As such, it was cancelled by Fox after a run of only a few weeks. Go figure. It was a major blow to a growing audience that reached beyond the expected core of fans who normally wear Vulcan ears or light sabers on weekends at fan conventions. Firefly had broad appeal to the ever-aging population segment that grew up watching Star Wars, Star Trek, and Battlestar Galactica episodes on tiny 13-inch B&W screens. Translation: the same population segment with liquid income and a desire for television entertainment that makes you think and marvel. Universal Pictures must have disagreed with Fox because they released this 119 minute film version of the cancelled show. Or they may have caved to Whedon's pet project in order to enlist his talents for future screenplays.

Regardless, the cast of Firefly must have been overjoyed to return to the familiar set. The chemistry and comraderie between the actors is obvious in the DVD extras; and even more so on screen. Whedon chose to continue the story line that was started with the series rather than reaching back to the beginning. A wise move, considering that the original fan base would have been bored senseless. But the result is that the casual viewer may have problems becoming attuned to the wide range of characters and tensions that drive the plot forward. Those who have not watched the 14 episodes of the back story will not appreciate the events that have bonded the crew of the Firefly-class starship Serenity into such a tightly loyal team.

So here's a synopsis of who's who. Serenity features a starship that looks like a bug, a captain with anger management issues and perpetual financial troubles, a first officer willing to kill for her captain, a pilot who gets funnier when danger looms, a supercargo geisha who is waiting for the captain to make the first move, a hottie engineer whose earthy sexuality smolders under a layer of grease and earnest naivete, a hulking and hilarious gun nut named Jane, a travelling preacher with a mysterious and violent past, a doctor who could make diamonds by swallowing coal, and last but not least, a 90-pound psychic teenage girl with a fragmented personality and the ability to turn people into hamburger with her fists. And let's not forget the horde of cannibalistic raiders who populate the fringes of known space, the coldly efficient assassins and agents of the central government, and the hubris of the researchers who want to "improve" humanity through science.

Set in a future 500 years out where the dominant cultural influences are European and Chinese, the film version is a bit dumbed down for mass appeal, but still enjoyable. I especially enjoy the continued seamless infusion of Chinese curses into the dialogue. But the Western gunslinger theme so prevalent in the television series is more muted in the movie, which focuses more on the technological hegemony of the core worlds than the independent stakeholders of the periphery. The movie also closes some plot lines that remained as unintended cliffhangers upon the series' cancellation. The film leaves some old strands and new themes open for future exploitation in a new thread, however.

Some reviews on IMDB predict that this movie probably will not make much money. I must concur. At best, it may spike sales of the DVD box set on Amazon. I hope this franchise continues. But I have serious doubts about its commercial success. We'll just have to wait for the box office returns first. So do me a favor and go drop 10 bucks and go see it. The original Star Wars film release was a surprise success... let's stuff the ballots on this one.

What other film would feature lines such as "Dear Buddha, I would like a pony and a plastic rocket..."? Go see it. Please. Above all, this film is stuffed with great one-liners.

 

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