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Science fiction fans will recognize in this pleasantly old-fashioned space opera the basic plotline and characters of Firefly, the short-lived 2002 television series by Joss Whedon (creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel). It takes place in a faraway solar system dominated by an overbearing Alliance that's being challenged by rebel upstarts with varying agendas. Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), captain of the spaceship Serenity and its ragtag, smuggling crew, takes aboard a psychic named River Tam (Summer Glau) and her brother Simon (Sean Maher), fugitives from Alliance mind-washers. Reynolds may come to regret the decision, as his passengers are being pursued by the most tenacious and deadly of Alliance agents, a man known only as the Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor). There's nothing terribly innovative about the plot; Whedon's Alliance is another of those bureaucratic, Big Brotherish entities that offers freedom from discontent while subverting civil liberties and stifling dissent. The Serenity's motley crew typifies the rugged, rough-edged, anti-establishment individualists that naturally reject societal structure. You can guess who comes out on top. But writer-director Whedon isn't interested in breaking new ground, and his half-hearted attempt to tinge Serenity with political satire falls flat. Whedon's strength is character delineation and interplay, and the movie is most enjoyable when its principal characters are jousting verbally. Mal's crew -- Zoe (Gina Torres), Wash (Alan Tudyk), Jayne (Adam Baldwin), Inara (Morena Baccarin), and Kaylee (Jewel Staite) -- banter with aplomb, speaking in a peculiar combination of futuristic jargon and pseudo-hip Chinese slang. Some of Whedon's dialogue is a little too cutesy for our taste, but it's generally snappy and well delivered by a relaxed cast that's obviously having fun with the material. The surfeit of talk, however, doesn't mean that Serenity stints on action -- far from it. There are lots of energetic confrontations, both in space and on the ship, and if you blink at the wrong time you're liable to miss plenty. Ed Hulse

All Movie Guide

A band of renegades on the run in outer space get in more hot water than they anticipated in this sci-fi action-adventure adapted from the television series Firefly. In the 26th century, the galaxy has been colonized by a military force known as the Alliance, but its leadership has not gone unquestioned. The Alliance was once challenged by a league of rebels known as the Independents, but the Alliance emerged victorious after a brutal civil war, with the surviving Independents scattering around the galaxy. Also wandering the edges of the galaxy are the Reavers, who have won few allies due to their violent behavior and habit of ripping apart their enemies and eating them before they're dead. Capt. Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), who fought as an Independent in the galactic war, is the head of Serenity, a rogue frieghter ship whose crew includes Mal's first mate, Zoe (Gina Torres), who fought alongside him in the war, her husband, hotshot pilot Wash (Alan Tudyk), sunny but dependable mechanic Kaylee (Jewel Staite), and hard-nosed gunman Jayne (Adam Baldwin). The crew of Serenity wander the galaxy, taking on whatever work they can get, from criminal activities like smuggling and stealing to legitimately offering transport to travelers. Passengers aboard Serenity include professional "companion" Inara (Morena Baccarin) and holy man Shepherd Book (Ron Glass), but the real trouble aboard the ship comes with the arrival of Simon (Sean Maher) and his teenage sister, River Tam (Summer Glau). In time, the crew discovers that River has remarkable psychic powers and was being held captive by Alliance forces until Simon came to her rescue. Now the Alliance is hot on the heels of Serenity and its passengers, with The Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor), a sinister Alliance tracker, leading the chase. Serenity was written and directed by Joss Whedon (in his directorial debut), creator of Firefly, which only lasted 11 weeks on the air but gained a powerful cult following who rallied to get the show released on DVD after its cancellation, leading to impressive home-video sales and and an eventual motion picture deal. A couple of months prior to Serenity's theatrical release, reruns of Firefly were picked up by the Sci-Fi channel, adding even more fans to its cult following. Mark Deming

Product Details

• UPC: 025192037597
• Source: UNIVERSAL STUDIOS
• Time: 1:59:00