Full Disclosure: I am a big fan of Joss Whedon’s work. I loved both Buffy: The Vampire Slayer and Angel. I liked Fray, and I really enjoyed Astonishing X-Men. Firefly remains, to this day, one of my favorite television shows ever. As anyone who has read this site in the last two weeks or so knows, I had very, very high hopes for this movie (so much so that I purchased tickets for three separate showings on opening day). I was worried that I might be disappointed.

I wasn’t.

After the opening sequence (which is entertaining, even for someone familiar with the universe, and should provide sufficient backstory to newcomers), we’re introduced to the crew of Serenity. The first fifteen minutes or so of that kind of threw me off, because this really isn’t Firefly. It’s the same universe, the same crew, and the movie is a worthy addition to the show’s mythos, but it’s not the show. The characters personalities seem to be cranked up a notch or three, and the timing of the story is considerably different than what you’d have in a television show. All of that is to be expected, but if you’ve spent the last week watching Firefly, the transition is jarring.

It’s obvious that this story is being told in a world that’s much bigger than what we’re shown, and it’s not justhe non-fans who will get that feeling. There are a few characters treated in exactly the same way Inara and Book are. Fanty and Mingo, for example, or Mr. Universe. Their relationships with the crew aren’t fully explained, but the relationships are explained enough to understand the movie without any confusion. Like I said in an earlier post, I love this sort of thing, but I understand that other people don’t, so consider yourself forewarned.

Those minor caveats aside (and one or two minor changes I would’ve made — see the extended entry), this was a truly spectacular movie. The universe in which it exists is large and complex, but the story flows logically from what we know of the characters and the situation they find themselves in. Struggling to stay one step ahead of their pursuers, the crew suddenly finds themselves with a task much more important than survival, and seeing how they deal with that is quite a ride. I’m giving this one 9.5 out of 10.

A few more points (and some spoilers) below. Don’t read on unless you’ve seen the movie.

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I mean it!

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