Serenity (15) (From The Wiltshire Gazette and Herald)

Serenity (15)

In Hollywood, there is such a thing as life after death. In 2002, Joss Whedon, the creator of the hit award-winning series Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel, debuted his futuristic sci-fi drama Firefly.

Set in the 26th century, the show revolved around the ragtag crew of a spaceship called Serenity, struggling to survive in a bleak future ruled with an iron fist by the Alliance.

Despite a loyal and, some might say, obsessive fanbase, Whedon's newest creation was cancelled after only 11 episodes had aired on American television.

A campaign to reinstate the show failed to reap rewards. However, Firefly took flight again on DVD, allowing Whedon to resurrect the characters in this film.

Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Fillion) ekes out a meagre living carrying out transport-for-hire aboard Serenity.

Rejecting the rule of order established by the Universal Alliance, Mal survives in the outlands by bending the law, and occasionally smashing it to smithereens.

He is aided and abetted by a loyal crew: feisty second-in-command Zoe (Torres), her pilot husband Wash (Tudyk), muscle-bound Jayne (Baldwin) and spunky mechanic Kaylee (Staite).

When Mal takes on two passengers young doctor Simon (Maher) and his telepathic sister River (Glau) he finds himself in even deeper trouble.

As the crew of Serenity attempts to elude the Alliance, they stray into territory controlled by the Reavers, cannibalistic savages with a passion for wanton destruction... and human blood.

Serenity is a slickly written and entertaining romp that bears all of the hallmarks of an old Star Trek episode (albeit with more snappy dialogue).

The plot is simplistic, hung on a series of set pieces, which are let down by a lack of imagination and crude computer generated special effects.

In the quieter moments, writer-director Whedon shines, seamlessly moving from a joke about the Rime Of The Ancient Mariner to Kaylee's saucy one-liner about her lack of bedroom action ("It's been more than a year since I had anything 'twixt my nethers that didn't run on batteries!") Characterisation in the feature film is scant to say the least, relying on an appreciation of the TV series to understand the relationships between the crew.

However, even newcomers to the Firefly universe will find something to keep them engaged for the two hours.

6/10

By Stephen Webb

SERENITY

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Cert 15, 119 mins

Showing at: Shaw Ridge and Greenbridge