Serenity (15, 119 mins)
Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Chiwetel Ejiofor
Written & directed by Joss Whedon
 TO say that Joss Whedon - erstwhile creator of TV hits Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel - has a cult following is something of an understatement. Google his name and you will find a legion of devoted fans, and this devotion has led to Whedon's first big screen directorial debut. Serenity is based on Firefly, a short-lived TV show created by Whedon that was so extraordinarily messed about by the American TV network supposedly showing it, that it was broadcast out of sequence and then abandoned part-way through its first and only season. But taking into account its huge fan-base, enormous DVD sales and the fact that Whedon is without doubt, one of the most creative and talented writers working in film or TV today, Universal decided to take a chance to fund a feature film.
It could have been a disaster. It is notoriously difficult to make a successful transition from small to big screen (Dukes of Hazzard anyone?), but thanks to a stylish irreverently witty script, fantastic cast, bold visuals and gutsy, passionate attitude Serenity is light years ahead from the glut of overblown so-called summer blockbusters thrown at us this year.
Five centuries into the future and mankind has colonised the stars. The benevolent Universal Alliance oversees peace and stability - oh yes, and declares war to destroy anyone who opposes them. But there are a few rebels left. Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) is a hardened war veteran (on the loosing side) who commands a motley crew of such outsiders on board his ship, Serenity (think very low-tech Millennium Falcon). This ultimate dysfunctional family: Second in command and battle-ready ex-soldier Zoe Alleyne (Gina Torres), her good-natured pilot husband Hoban Washburn - aka Wash (Alan Tudyk), happy-go-lucky engineer Kaylee (Jewel Staite) and self-seeking mercenary fighter Jayne Cobb (Adam Baldwin) make their living stealing from the Alliance for profit while keeping a low profile. They are joined by new ship's doctor, Simon Tam (Sean Maher) and his emotionally unstable 17-year-old sister, River (Summer Glau). But the latest additions to the crew are hiding a secret. Simon has given up his fortune and his career to rescue his sister, a child genius from a secret Alliance weapons research facility. She has been the victim of horrific medical experiments, which have left her almost insane. As a natural psychic, she can read minds and now can switch quite frighteningly from a state of fragile helplessness to terminator-esque acts of extreme violence in the blink of an eye. But there is a darker secret buried inside her head and the big, bad powers that be want her back, whatever the cost. | 
