By Kit-Kat
Truthfully I had never heard of Serenity until the movie was in the works. Clearly it is my loss. After watching the DVD I regret not being able to have seen the TV Series. Actually, I even regret not going to see this in the theatre. It was a quite unexpected and enjoyable movie. The humor mixed in with the action is very reminiscent of Whedon's previous projects and something I always enjoyed to see. I'll give you the jist of the synopsis below but, I strongly recommend heading over to read David Server's great movie review and even check out the Serenity Junket report to truly gear up for this fantastic DVD release
A passenger with a deadly secret. Six rebels on the run. An assassin in pursuit. When the renegade crew of Serenity agrees to hide a fugitive on their ship, they find themselves in an action-packed battle between the relentless military might of a totalitarian regime that will destroy anything - or anyone - to get the girl back and the bloodthirsty creatures who roam the uncharted areas of space. But, the greatest danger of all may be on their ship. From the mind of Joss Whedon (Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel) comes a new edge-of-your-seat adventure loaded with explosive battles, gripping special effects and fantastic new worlds!
We all know I love my bonus features and this DVD is no exception. There were so many Deleted and Extended scenes it was like a mini movie to me especially the wealth of Mal and Inara clips. Though I still wonder why they were cut, most of them should have been included in the movie as they added important information and crew interaction that people unfamiliar with the series could have used to understand things better. The Outtakes were hilarious; I always find those a special treat since you get a glimpse behind the scenes and see how the actors have fun while working together. The Future History: The Story of Earth That Was - this was a particularly cool bonus feature since Joss Whedon discusses how the storyline for the movie came about which gives you insight into the dialog and why you see a combination Chinese and American future society. It was interesting to get inside his head and see how his thoughts for this particular universe formed. What's in a Firefly discusses some of the effects scenes in the movie one particular one would be the whole hover craft chase scene - showing the animation and live action props used to bring the scene about. It also touches on other visual effects and the various crews employed to bring different aspects of CGI into play.
Re-Lighting the Firefly was the best feature by far as Whedon discusses the demise of the TV series. The fact that he wouldn't give up, and the fact that the fans and crew fought so hard to have it continue which eventually brought the movie into being was quite spectacular- a Cinderella story indeed! It was also rather neat to see the San Diego Comic Con intro with Joss Whedon where the five thousand people showed up to give a standing ovation just to see Joss and get a glimpse of the coming movie. Hearing how the cast was overwhelmed with the amount of fans brought a reality aspect and had you smiling on their behalf as well. A failed TV show becomes a hit movie - you cannot help but be proud of what they accomplished and though I never saw the series I would hope that perhaps another movie would come about or the series get resurrected as I find myself on the tale end of things and I would like to see more.
Serenity is a great movie in its own right and to have such interesting DVD features added it is a definite must have for all- Whether you're a Firefly fan or not, it will draw you into its world and keep you there with the heart that Joss Whedon put into the film and features. You can bet this will be going on the NKK coveted shelf.
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