‘Serenity’ is better than ‘Star Wars’
OK, I bow down to all the Joss Whedon fanatics. Manohla Dargis of the New York Times was spot on when she said Serenity “is more engaging and certainly better written and acted than any of [George] Lucas’s recent screen entertainments.” In fact, I’ll do her one better: It’s better than the original Star Wars.
Like most people, I’m now wondering what I missed when Whedon’s Firefly ran for fifteen episodes way back in 2002. (Lucky us, we can find out on DVD. Slate’s David Edelstein, for instance, is now a self-confessed Firefly freak.)
Serenity’s only flaw is that it’s sometimes too clever for its own good. Other than that, it’s a space opera of the highest order. It’s smart enough to honor genre conventions even as it subverts them. It’s familiar, but not predictable. It might be the movie of the year — so far.
Now I’ve just gotta borrow my buddy Phil’s Firefly DVDs…
Area showtimes [DDN]
‘Serenity’ is No. 2 at box office [AP via DDN]
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Movies
Comments
By Mike Goheen
October 2, 2005 9:38 PM | Link to this
I thought the way this movie subverts genre convention is its best point. Every time you think “x will happen because George Lucas does it that way”, Serenity does y. Or at least x+1. Go see it.By Todd Birdsong
October 3, 2005 1:03 AM | Link to this
One of the best things about this film (and the series) is the writing. The script is smart and the dialogue seems relaxed and honest. Also, it’s filled with memorable one-liners: “She’s disturbing my calm” and “I aim to misbehave”. It’s definately fun.By rollie
October 3, 2005 9:59 AM | Link to this
um … the best movie of the year so far… really? i mean, i’m sure it’s good…By Brenda Crank
October 3, 2005 10:50 AM | Link to this
We found Firefly earlier this year and watched the DVDs. We fell in love with that show so we were in line Friday night for Serenity. It was everything we expected and more. Plus the friends that went with us, who had NOT see Firefly were equally impressed with this fabulous movie. OK, now we need sequels, or Firefly II on TV. Who do I need to write to?By Carrie Landers
October 3, 2005 3:38 PM | Link to this
I wasn’t a big fan of the series, but I liked where Whedon was trying to go with it, so I was game to see the movie. I agree, it was the best movie I’ve seen so far this year. But, I disagree with Brenda — we don’t need Firefly back on TV … the story is better suited for a feature length film rather than an artifically drawn-out, over-dramatic, one-hour-a-week series. It might have worked (atleast for a few seasons) for Buffy, but it didn’t work for Firefly.By Hillary
October 4, 2005 12:56 AM | Link to this
I’m not even remotely a fan of Sci-fi flicks and/or shows (aside from that slight love affair with SeaQuest — but I was young and thought Jonathon Brandis was cute, plus it was fun, witty and easy for anyone to follow, but I digress), but I liked ‘Serenity’ quite a lot. Even if you haven’t seen ‘Firefly’ — which I haven’t —, you can still follow the movie and more than appreciate it. It’s pretty gosh darn great!By Mike Goheen
October 4, 2005 3:57 AM | Link to this
It sounds like Mr. Rollins is commenting on a work he hasn’t seen…