The crew of the Serenity is getting desperate. They have to protect their crew against the Alliance.

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #768 in DVD
• Released on: 2006-02-27
• Rating: Suitable for 15 years and over
• Format: PAL
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 1
• Running time: 114 minutes

Amazon.co.uk Review
Serenity is a film that, by rights, shouldn’t have been made. For starters, it’s spun out of the short-lived and quickly-cancelled TV series Firefly, which has only itself got the full recognition it deserves on DVD. It then marries up two seemingly incompatible genres, the western and science fiction, has no major stars to speak of, and pretty much has ‘hard sell’ written all over it.

Perhaps that explains its modest box office performance back in 2005. What it fails to reflect, however, is that this is one of the most energetic, downright enjoyable sci-fi flicks in some time. Not for nothing did many rate it higher than the Star Wars movie that appeared in the same year.

It follows renegade captain Mal Reynolds and his quirkily assembled crew, as they work on the outskirts of space, trying to keep out of the way of the governing Alliance. That plan quickly changes when they take on a couple of passengers who have attracted the attention of said Alliance, and thus the scene is set for an action-packed, cleverly written movie that deserves many of the plaudits that have rightly been thrust in its direction.

What’s more, Serenity works whether you’ve seen the TV series that precedes it or not. Clearly fans of the Firefly show will be in their element, but even the casual viewer will find an immense amount to enjoy.

The only real problem is that given the film’s box office returns, further adventures of Reynolds and his crew look unlikely. Unless Serenity turns into a major hit on DVD, that is. It’s well worth playing your part in making that happen.--Simon Brew

Synopsis
Beloved television cult director Joss Whedon ('Buffy The Vampire Slayer', 'Angel') makes a spectacular first foray onto the big screen with 'Serenity', the cinematic adaptation of his wildly popular but short-lived sci-fi series, 'Firefly'. A mix of space western, comedy, and drama, 'Serenity' follows captain Malcolm Mal Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his ragtag crew as they trade their way around the edges of civilised society. Of particular interest are two passengers they take on, Simon and River Tam (Sean Maher, Summer Glau), a brother and his telepathic sister on the run from the corrupt governing Alliance. As notorious former members of the anti-Alliance opposition, Mal and his crew make it difficult for Simon and River to stay hidden. Everything goes completely awry when a government assassin is sent to retrieve River. As Mal is forced to choose between his close-knit crew and the brother and sister newcomers, it becomes apparent that River harbours both a dangerous secret and astounding fighting powers, and Mal decides that discovering the truth about what she knows might just be worth his time. Many of the film's action sequences revolve around Summer Glau's martial arts skills in her portrayal of River. Glau prepared for her role with Hong Kong stuntwoman Ming Lu, as well as stunt coordinators Chad Stahelski and Hiro Koda, and as a resulted performed nearly all the stunt work herself. In addition to the stellar stunts, realistic graphics, and an often haunting score, the film's actors display a rare chemistry that brings viewers both into their lives and into a possible version of humanity's future.

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Customer Reviews

Blows almost every other scifi movie out of the water
"I'm not going to say it's the best science fiction movie, ever. Oh wait, yes I am". The words of Orson Scott Card himself, author of the award winning scifi novel "Ender's game", and many others.
Not only is this a very fine movie, made on a fraction of the budget of any other scifi film I can think of, it also captivates those who have previously had no interest in science fiction before. Which is far more than I can say about almost any SciFi movie I can think of, the only other being Ridley Scotts 80's classic Bladerunner.
Why is this you might wonder? Well, a director can throw about all the money they want to create dazzling special effects, huge space battles and the like, but if the characters don't feel real, if you don't feel any empathy for them, if the script is clunky, and the story somewhat tired and predictable, then what is the point in creating it?
Even if you've never seen Joss Whedon's critically acclaimed series "Firefly", less than a quater of the way through this movie you'll suddenly realise, I care about these people, I care about what happens to them, so rich are their characters. They have flaws & insecurities just like we all do.
You can do alot more in a 14 Episode TV series regarding character developement than you can in a 2 hr movie, so the focus here is mostly on 2 main characters. The captain of the cargo ship Serenity, 'Malcolm Reynolds', and 'River', the extremely intelligent but mentally traumatised teenage sister of Dr Simon Tam who Reynolds agreed to give sanctuary aboard his ship some eight months or so earlier. Having said that though, all the characters are here, and they all do a fine job. The script is very whitty, clever and often very powerful.
The soundtrack in Serenity quite wonderous in it's self, with beautiful melancholic strings, echoing piano, and western and oriental influences. They work perfectly with Whedon's stunning camera work and lighting.
There are special effects in this movie a' plenty, and they look fantastic, infact they completely belie the fact that this film cost less than $40m to make. They really are quite beautiful but they are there to further a strong story, not to overcome it.
So emotionally powerful is this film that it has been described as 'art', and I really do think that it is, but will everybody like it? In the words of O.S.Card, "Not a chance...... it really is too strong for some people. Plus the storyline is 'smart enough' and 'mature' enough that some people just won't get it. Can't be helped".
Serenity was indeed voted film of the year 2005, did it deserve the top spot? Possibly not, but it did deserve to be very close to it. It was certainly the "only" Scifi based movie that deserved to be anywhere near the top ten movies of 2005.
Serenity is a very unusual film, a tiny film that went by almost unnoticed and was a difficult film to market. There are no big names in the cast, and it is based on a short lived TV series that sadly too few know about. So when you see it for the 1st time, nay, the 2nd, 3rd and 4th time and so on, you'll feel privileged that you did..

Excellent Sci-Fi Movie
I have had a funny relationship with this movie and its predecessing series. I was interested in seeing the movie when it hit cinema's as i had read all the great reviews and liked the look of the movie. Due to commitments to work and university, i missed the movie on the cinema, which i was dissapointed about. I was shopping one day after the movie had gone off and saw the Firefly DVD for only twenty pounds. After much deliberating i decided to buy it, fancying something new. Needles to say i was skeptical when i put that first disc in and watched the pilot. But within 10 minutes of watching, i was enthralled, i couldnt stop watching it, and began to curse myself more and more for not seeing Serenity at the cinema. So i had to wait four months for the Serenity DVD to come out.

By the time i bought Serenity, i had watched each of the 14 Firefly episodes 3 times. So my expectations were fairly high for the movie, but, Serenity took my expectations and blew them into the black. The movie really is great, and you wouldnt have to have seen Firefly before it to enjoy it, though it would help with some character interactions.

Everything strong from the series is here, the characterisation (which is brilliant, you WILL love every character), humour, action (though it is bigger and better in the movie) acting, and the excellent music. The movie also has the unique ability to make you laugh out and cry at the same time.

It really is a great ride of a movie. The story focuses mostly on Mal and River and the secret River carries that is a threat the ruling government The Alliance. The cannibalistic Reavers(men who have grown wild on the edge of space and like to eat people alive) also play a big part in the story. There are some great action set pieces, from the hovercraft chase at the start, to the spectacular space battle between the Reavers and the Alliance, with Serenity in the middle, to the climactic stand off within a planetary facility.

This is a movie that should be seen by every Sci-fi fan around the world, and it at least warrants and rental from casual movie viewers. Highly recommended and one of the best movies from 2005.

Not stop entertainment. - A must see.
The first 5minutes imediatly intice you into the film, begining with a story from the not so distant past, of a war for power. Straight from this Joss Whedon has murged this story into the thoughts of a girl in the present and the action begins here and doesnt stop throughout. We are shown into the characteristics of the crew and the people they deal with thus light hearted humour as well as 'kick ass' action scenes. You will not be dissappointed by any action, acting or story line in this film. it all fits perfectly thus creating a great film and looks the part also. It is by no means a cheap film and has been a perfect start in the film industry for Joss Whedon. A must see!!