I've always said that Firefly is the best Sci-Fi show ever put on the small screen.
And now it's the best Sci-Fi movie to have hit the big screen; if not ever, certainly in a very, very long time.
Over a year ago, I first published news that Firefly was gonna be a movie even though the series was cancelled by Fox without even running a full season. It seems sales of the DVD were stong enough to convince Universal there might be something there. It was scheduled to be released in April.
Then there was news of a delay and despite reassurances, I began to wonder if it would really happen.
Now it's here. And it is great.
Writer and director Joss Wheadon does a great job of not excluding noobs to the series. While providing the necessary backstory for people who are unfamiliar with Firefly, he provides delicious new information for the fans.
As with his prior series' Buffy and Angel, Joss writes in season long arcs while providing self-contained episodes. Quite obviously he never got to complete the arc of Firefly on television. And while I'm sure Joss would have preferred to take his time completing this arc (by not getting cancelled), Serenity satisfyingly completes the season for us fans.
More importantly Serenity represents a new direction for Sci-Fi films (assuming it's successful).
It's a Western set 500 years in the future, taking place primarily on the wild and gritty outskirts of the settled universe.
With no aliens.
And like Buffy and Angel, Joss has no compunction against killing off characters you've come to know and love which in many ways makes the bravery of everyone more poignant. It also makes the resolution more bittersweet.
This is a witty, action-packed adventure which brings Sci-Fi movies back from the dead.
And don't take my word for it. I took my 22 year old son with me to see it. He had never seen the series. His reaction?
"It kicked ass."
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