The crew of the spaceship Serenity must deal with a government operative intent on doing whatever he deems necessary to capture a member of their crew hiding a terrible secret deep within the labyrinthine corners of her wounded mind. When this secret is finally revealed the entire crew must come to grips with the fact their future, and maybe the fate of the entire galaxy, will never be the same again. Based on the popular (and short-lived) television series Firefly.

CRITIQUE

By now, everyone already knows the story behind Serenity coming to be a major motion picture for Universal. Two years later I still scratch my head in wonderment as to how writer/director Joss Whedon actually made this all happen, the story of this film the complete opposite of what normally passes for creative impulses in a profit-driven Hollywood.

Needless to say, it’s pointless to go into that whole story again. For me, re-visiting Serenity in this new two-disc collector’s edition what is interesting is just how well my early observations of the picture have all held up. In my original September 30, 2005 review I called it the best science fiction film since the original Matrix, an assessment two years later I am happy to say I still cling to. A fusion of genres and ideas, Whedon has crafted a space opera that’s both immediate and retro, and whether you’ve watched the series it is based on or not it is still an entertaining epic virtually impossible to grow tired of.

If anything, Serenity has only gotten better. The filmmaker’s ideas about conflict and people and governments now seem almost prescient, and like sci-fi at its best the worlds and characters are sometimes uncomforting mirrors to many of the things currently going on around us in our everyday lives. It is about the best and the worst humanity has to offer, the picture serving it all up in a tasty smorgasbord of action, comedy and melodrama so richly satisfying (and so breezily intoxicating) a person can’t help but want more.

There’s really no more reason to go into any more than that, but if you want more feel free to read my original theatrical review of Serenity by clicking here.

THE VIDEO

Serenity is presented in its original 2.35:1 widescreen aspect ration. To my untrained eye, this looked like the same transfer from the previous release meaning it is quite excellent.

THE AUDIO

Audio is presented in English DTS 5.1 Surround Sound and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound as well as both French and Spanish Dolby Digital Stereo tracks with optional English, French and Spanish subtitles.

THE EXTRAS

Most of the extras (including Whedon’s wonderful audio commentary)

are lifted straight from the previous release so there isn’t really too

much of a reason to go into them (that said, if you really must know,

the majority are only strictly okay). The new features for this

collector’s edition are as follows:

Feature Commentary with Director Joss Whedon and Cast Members

Nathan Fillion, Adam Baldwin, Summer Glau, and Ron Glass

Extended Scenes (6:45)

Take A Walk on Serenity (4:00)

A Filmmaker's Journey (19:49)

The Green Clan (3:03)

Sci-Fi Inside: Serenity (21:41)

Session 416 (7:52)

Unfortunately, the majority of these are every bit as uninspiring (and uninformative) as the majority of the features on the previous disc. That said, “A Filmmaker’s Journey” certainly offers some fascinating tidbits of information, while the creepy (if remarkably low-tech) “Session 416” shorts dealing with River’s (Glau) interviews with an Alliance therapist (an amusingly deadpan Whedon) are definitely worth a look or two.

The others aren’t anything special. “The Green Clan” is a far too-brief featurette on cinematographer Jack N. Green and his family, while “Take a Walk on Serenity” feels like a rehash of the returning shorts found on the previous release. Worst of all is the anemic Sci-Fi Channel doc “Sci-Fi Inside: Serenity.” A lot of people sometime wonder how a film this good could have died such an ignominious death at the box office. While I can’t really say what the answer is, a part of me can’t help but think it had something to do with unbelievably crappy promotional materials such as this.

The true highlight is the new commentary with the cast, everyone seeming to have a grand old time reuniting and discussing both their thoughts on the feature and on the television show that started it all. These people love working together and it shows in the way they joke, prod, reminisce and recollect, the longing in their voices at the thought they may never reunite again to continue the story touchingly palpable.

FINAL THOUGHTS

I love Serenity. I have never made any secret of that fact. It is one of the best science fiction films released over the past decade and has, after multiple viewings of both it and the every episode of Firefly, easily become one of my absolute favorites. The bottom line is that it is an absolutely great and borderline classic motion picture and if I could think of anything bad to say about it – which I can’t – I promise you I would.