Serenity (DVD, 2005, Anamorphic Widescreen)

Here we go again, another Sci-Fi right?? Well, this time you are in for a HUGE surprise. Creator Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer & Angel) brings to life a new look at Sci-Fi with this story of space travelers on the run in deep space, yet no Aliens. The entire story has nothing but the humans of earth exploring space all alone.

The movie picks up from the short lived Firefly TV series that aired back in 2002 on Fox. The series itself is very well made and does have some really good episodes. Only aired for the Fall of 2002 because stupid FOX ran the show OUT OF ORDER!?!?! If you can believe it, they decided to run the Pilot episode that totally introduced all the characters in DECEMBER!!! What is with that??

Serenity was the completion of where Firefly was trying to go. The movie picks up right after the last episode of Firefly left off. Every member of the Firefly cast returned to play in the movie. There is not much to say about the quality of the movie, only that it totally took me by surprise. The story is so well written, and each character plays off each other so well that you can't help but enjoy watching them. Watching the TV series first does help with the understanding of the movie, but is in no way required. Watching the movie first is what made me want to watch the TV series. The choose is up to you.

So, stop reading this review, and go check it out. I am willing to bet that more than half the people that view this movie who love Sci-Fi will go out and buy it the next chance they get. You will simply not be disappointed.

This DVD takes place after the end of Firefly the series! Find out all that happened between, before and after! Loved it!! Be sure you have this ready to go if you are currently watching Firefly or you will be sad you didn't! FOUR PAWS WAY UP!!

When the movie came out there were but a couple of trailers for what looked like a B sci-fi film with a pile of special effects. Not having seen the Firefly series on the Sci-Fi channel, I didn't know what to expect.

The opening scene dropped into one of the best female-centered butt-kicking action sequences made in a long time -- and interlaced with some snappy humour. In fact, the entire movie was a great mix of sci-fi, shoot'em up western with a smirky sense of humour all tied together with a great storyline and script. It was the most unexpected fun I'd had at the movies.

And though based on a TV series, the movie stood on its own. I didn't even realize there was a TV show until weeks later and was I glad to find out Sci-Fi was re-running the cancelled show. Loved those, too and decided to buy the whole TV series on DVD (only one season) which had several never aired shows. It just blew me away.

The characters, the personalities, the writing, the Western/Chinese/sci-fi mix was thrilling and entertaining from begining to end. I laughed and laughed -- just smart humour, snappy dialog, well-developed and yet evolving characters.

I bought the movie on DVD from some South-American-named dot com website and didn't get the wide screen addition it said on the ad (and the box!) so I hunted down a copy on eBay and got exactly what I was looking for.

Been loaning it out to friends who now want to see the whole series.

By the way, they are smugglers in space, outlaws and former rebels always on the run, trying to make a buck without getting caught but getting caught up in doing the right thing. Who would've thought a gunslinging captain, a farmer's daughter ship's mechanic, a over-sized, over-sexed muscle gun-lover, a preacher, a doc with a kook-pshco-sister, a no-prisoners 1st mate and comic semi-whimp husband pilot and professional original-sinner would make for a terrific close-nit family sitcom in space that keeps you laughing and wanting more? Who makes a show like that?

There's an underground following trying to get more.

Did you know you can swear in Chinese on American television?

Check it out, the movie and the series are terrific. Serenity is the movie named after the spaceship they live on. Firefly is the name of the TV series and is the class of spaceship.

Two huge thumbs up, 4 stars, excellent flick.

This is one incredible movie. No, you don't have to be familiar with the series to enjoy it, but the familiarity will make several moments in the movie that much more tragic. The action here is incredible, and unlike several of the Star Trek movies, the characters don't deviate from their series personnas. The emotional impact of several scenes is so intense it was hard to stay seated (a crash landing sequence can almost give you motion sickness). This brings a satisfying end to the storyline the original series had started. It's a shame the show never got to tell this story in its entirety. You can see where some parts of the movie are rushed in a way. Something that could have been stretched over weeks in a series had to be handled in minutes, and that robs it a little. But you have to applaud Whedon for being able to tie up all the loose ends he started with just two hours. Shame on the network for cancelling this, but congratulations to Whedon for giving the fans--both old and new--the ending the show deserved. Heroes will shine, and some will fall, but Serenity will live on.

Now bring the show back!

In "Serenity" the "Firefly" series is given a beginning and an end. River comes into her own and the story is brought to an end. There could be a sequel, but there are things that have changed - I won't spoil it for you. It is so well written that you forget about there being actors; these are people you want to know, friends you could survive with throughout your own challenging days.

This was a movie that had to be made. The perfect ending for a great TV show. All the loose ends wrapped up. I like that. Leaves you wanting more.

This is by far one of the best Sci-Fi movies of 2005. Josh Whedon took his brainchild Firefly from TV to the big screen in a big way. This gutsy space western has it all. Adventure...humor..it has it all and does it in a way that will make you want to watch it over and over again. 5 stars and two snaps!

Joss Whedon <of Buffy and Angel TV fame> did a short run Fox TV series called Firefly. The series was well received, but Fox isn't much of a fiction channel unless you like their news reports, so the series was cancelled after one short season. But fan interest remained high and Whedon was able to muster support for a movie that both wrapped up some of the original TV story line and is very well able to stand on it's own. The original cast and premise were used for the movie, and the plot wasn't dumbed down for 12 year old adolescent boys like the later Star Wars movies.
Whedon works with the idea of a totally human <no aliens> frontier culture, and Captain Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) of the Firefly class transport "Serenity" plays a Gary Copperish war hero who has lost causes, a sort of overestimate of his own fighting skills, a humorous inability to tell the beautiful Morena Baccarin he wants her, and a moral conflict between right and the survival of the crew he feels responsible for. Excellent stunt work and actions scenes. From the movie review "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 stunt woman Ming Lu, as well as stunt coordinators Chad Stahelski and Hiro Koda, and as a resulted performed nearly all the stuntwork herself."
You don't need to have seen Firefly to enjoy this movie, but I had to turn the DVD sound up to get some of the low, almost mumbled, comments that explain whats happening, and use the reverse and slow speed button on the player several times because the editing used "flashes" to impart shock or sometimes assumed the viewer already understood what the item, view or scene portrayed.
Excellent bonus material and commentary. So view the section of full<not edited> scenes first in the bonus,listen to a little commentary to give you some background, and then enjoy the movie. My only disappointment is that there isn't a sequel.

Great SIFI. Great graphics. Based on sifi's series Foxfire, this movie has the same feeling as the tv shows. Even has some plot. :)

I liked it because it completed the end of the TV series "Firefly". I bought it because I have watched the season of Firefly and wanted to see how everything concluded.

This is a very good movie, it is the movie from the TV show Firefly.The movie will be a good movie all by it's on but it is better if you have seen the TV show.

I loved the tv show and love the movie even more. Even if you haven't seen the tv show its an enjoyable action/sci fi movie.

awesome...need i say more???........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................;

great movie,excellent follow up to sci fi series firefly. Love the story line and the acting. Would love too see a sequel to this.

Great DVD, it was just as described and arrived on time! Thanks-you!! I would buy from this seller again.

It is easy to lose yourself (and often the intent) in a pretty large catalog of Sci Fi movies and TV series that has been produced to date in this world, but none are so well written, acted, directed and produced as Firefly series and subsequent movie Serenity. Of all of the mediocre, waste of time, body of work that unfortunately all to often is modern day science fiction, I am at a loss why Firefly is not in it's 6th season today. The right mixture of tributes, with some aspects of Star Track, Star Wars and Red Dwarf, mixed in with truly thoughtful writing, produced an entirely original and probably for the first time actually feasible telling of the future in the genre. And it has emotional truth that we are looking for in any type art. I want more and there is none to be had and that is plain wrong :)

I loved that they made a "sequel" of sorts to the Firefly series. It was a good movie. I didn't love it but it was still a good movie. For some reason it felt like it was missing something. If you like the Firefly series you will like this.

I bought the Serenity DVD, which is the final continuation of the cancelled TV show Firefly. I think this DVD is a must-see for any sci-fi fan, especially if you're into Star Wars or other "space" stories. My favorite part of this movie was actually the bloopers, which are really funny. Something that would have made it better (though I don't think I've found this on many movies to date) is the Director's Commentary throughout the film captioned. When you turn on the Director Commentary and then hit captions, it captions the movie titles, not the commentary itself. But I can live without it.

I think this is a great movie overall, in the A- range. The special effects are especially good when you consider how small the budget was for this film. Long live Firefly!

I bought this movie because I watched the series and adored it. The movie is written and directed by Joss Whedon, who also wrote the series, so it keeps the same incredible tone. I very highly recommend it for anyone who like sci-fi, adventure, or just wants to see a good fight or have a good laugh.

Great movie, great story, sad that it could not last a little longer. If you are a fan of Firefly you obviously have seen this and love it to.

I really loved the firefly series. I use to own this movie, but i had a little accedent with the disk. :( Now that i have this movie again, i can have fun watching it over and over. Thanks very much for the buisness and I hope we can do more in the future :)

I was a big fan of Firefly back in the day. Never saw the movie until now. I loved it!! A mix of adventure and comedy just like the show. Highly recommended for all Firefly fans.

My husband really likes this movie. He likes the action. I bought it for a Christmas present and he was very happy.