At the time I'm writing this, Serenity has achieved a lofty 8.0 ranking on IMDb. This seems a little generous, given that overall this is just another decently-made sci-fi film.
Serenity shares many elements with sci-fi films you've seen before, but seems to take a lot of inspiration from Star Wars in particular. The captain of the Serenity is a Hans Solo type character, a true space cowboy. The plot revolves around rebels fighting an "evil alliance". Sound familiar? True to form, there are the requisite epic space battles. The Serenity is an out-dated, beat-up old ship but she always comes through when it counts. Sort of like the Millennium Falcon? All of the familiar, broad, sci-fi themes are explored: good vs. evil, truth vs. lies, freedom vs. oppression.
Despite the lack of originality, Serenity is far more successful than the recent Star Wars movies. The dialogue is occasionally snappy and doesn't take itself too seriously for the most part. We even have characters that are involving, likable and inspire loyalty. This is a sharp contrast to the wooden, over-written characters George Lucas has forced upon us in his recent films. The special effects are a little cheap looking at times, but at least they compliment the story rather than dominating it.
As for the plot, it's a mixed bag of sci-fi clichés. There's a mousy, psychic girl who's sort of a "chosen one" or "savior". The evil alliance wants her back because she holds a terrible secret that could destroy their carefully-controlled universe. The rebel crew of the Serenity must protect her secret because, well, there wouldn't be much of a movie if they didn't. There are also some space-zombie, barbarian-type bad guys called "Reavers" that end up playing a surprisingly key role in the plot. The idea of mindless zombies piloting high-tech space ships seems debatable at best, but I guess you can't force too much logic on a sci-fi story.
Serenity is worth watching, but don't expect genius or stunning originality. This is not an all-time, sci-fi classic like The Matrix or Aliens. It's just a nice, forgettable tale that will reasonably involve you for a couple of hours.
Serenity shares many elements with sci-fi films you've seen before, but seems to take a lot of inspiration from Star Wars in particular. The captain of the Serenity is a Hans Solo type character, a true space cowboy. The plot revolves around rebels fighting an "evil alliance". Sound familiar? True to form, there are the requisite epic space battles. The Serenity is an out-dated, beat-up old ship but she always comes through when it counts. Sort of like the Millennium Falcon? All of the familiar, broad, sci-fi themes are explored: good vs. evil, truth vs. lies, freedom vs. oppression.
Despite the lack of originality, Serenity is far more successful than the recent Star Wars movies. The dialogue is occasionally snappy and doesn't take itself too seriously for the most part. We even have characters that are involving, likable and inspire loyalty. This is a sharp contrast to the wooden, over-written characters George Lucas has forced upon us in his recent films. The special effects are a little cheap looking at times, but at least they compliment the story rather than dominating it.
As for the plot, it's a mixed bag of sci-fi clichés. There's a mousy, psychic girl who's sort of a "chosen one" or "savior". The evil alliance wants her back because she holds a terrible secret that could destroy their carefully-controlled universe. The rebel crew of the Serenity must protect her secret because, well, there wouldn't be much of a movie if they didn't. There are also some space-zombie, barbarian-type bad guys called "Reavers" that end up playing a surprisingly key role in the plot. The idea of mindless zombies piloting high-tech space ships seems debatable at best, but I guess you can't force too much logic on a sci-fi story.
Serenity is worth watching, but don't expect genius or stunning originality. This is not an all-time, sci-fi classic like The Matrix or Aliens. It's just a nice, forgettable tale that will reasonably involve you for a couple of hours.