Serenity (DVD)

...dominating the universe, and so Serenity finds itself caught between the unstoppable military force of the Alliance, the horrific, cannibalistic fury of the Reavers and another danger lurking at the very heart of the spaceship.


Verdict on the story:

Only thing I can say about this story is that this is the best science fiction film I have seen for a long time and yes people better than Star Wars as I hated that. ...
...take board on the ship Serenity and the ship looks brilliant and during the film me, my boyfriend and my sister have all said at one point 'I want a ship like that'. Most of the sets are very fun looking to keep with the witty feel of the film but then there are some sets that are toned down and they too are brilliant. It is so hard to get over to you how brilliant everything is to do with this film without giving spoilers away.

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I am a big science fiction fan and one of my favourite all time shows is Buffy the Vampire Slayer. When that finished I was a bit fed up but then fast forward to a few years later and I heard that the creator of Buffy had made a movie called Serenity. I could not wait and I hadn't even heard of the TV series Firefly that it was based on when I went to see it with my boyfriend. We loved it and now I is out on DVD I am extremely pleased and as you can tell by the five stars that I have given it, I think it is brilliant.

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What is the film about?

(Reading from the back of the box)
Captain Malcolm Reynolds, a hardened veteran (on the losing side) of a galactic civil war, now ekes out a living aboard his ship, Serenity. He leads a small, eclectic crew, but when Mal takes on two new passengers - a young doctor and his telepathic sister - he gets much more than he bargained for. The pair are fugitives from the coalition dominating the universe, and so Serenity finds itself caught between the unstoppable military force of the Alliance, the horrific, cannibalistic fury of the Reavers and another danger lurking at the very heart of the spaceship.

Verdict on the story:

Only thing I can say about this story is that this is the best science fiction film I have seen for a long time and yes people better than Star Wars as I hated that. The story is unbelievably interesting more than anything and although there is only one key storyline there seems to be so much going on that every minute of the story you are entertained and there is not one second that you spend thinking ok come on storyline quicken up.

I think that Joss Whedon is fantastic in the way that he has made a sci-fi movie that you do not have to particurarly be a sci-fi fan to enjoy. The story is one that you cannot help but love because all of the way through there is the underlying story of doing right and wanting to expose the bad guys and this is what everybody can identify with as everybody wants to just do right in the world.

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Cast and Characters:

Nathan Fillion - Mal
Summer Glau - River
Gina Torres - Zoe
Alan Tudyk - Wash
Morena Baccarin - Inara
Adam Baldwin - Jayne
Jewel Staite - Kaylee
Sean Maher - Simon

Verdict on Cast and Characters:

I think that when you first look at the cast you think that you do not know any of these actors, well I did anyway. When you watch the film however you find that you start noticing people. For many of them they have just been in TV shows but trust me you can trust them all to act well and you will not find any bad acting in this movie. As this is quite a fun and action packed film I think the actors have been challenged and enjoyed that and then couple that with the fact that they are reprising their roles from a cancelled TV show that they believed in and you get actors who are truly enjoying and giving their all into making this film.

The characters are fantastic in every way because they are witty and touching and the best thing is that they act like humans i.e. when they get punched they do act as if it has hurt. You can identify with the characters because they want to do right in the world and just earn their way and I think that most people will agree that they all interact with each other really well and you can see exactly why they all need each other as much as they do.

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Verdict on set and special features:

This film is filled with special effects and believe me it is just amazing to watch. As this is a futuristic sci-fi film you can expect spaceships, hover crafts and some amazing looking scenes that require fantastic sets and a lot of clever computer work to make them look real. The great thing about this film is that there are no bad effects and you can believe that this sort of stuff could actually happen right now because you are watching it.

The sets themselves are great and tie into the futuristic space theme. Many of the scenes do take board on the ship Serenity and the ship looks brilliant and during the film me, my boyfriend and my sister have all said at one point 'I want a ship like that'. Most of the sets are very fun looking to keep with the witty feel of the film but then there are some sets that are toned down and they too are brilliant. It is so hard to get over to you how brilliant everything is to do with this film without giving spoilers away.

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Things to know:

Price - £14.99 in shops but just £11.99 on Amazon.
Runtime - 1 hour and 54 minutes.
One disc DVD.
Certificate - 15.

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The DVD Features:

Ok the actual front cover of the DVD is very appealing as it shows the main characters River, Mal, Jayne, Inara and Zoë and then a huge explosion in the background. The colours are bright so it looks quite happy and fun but the fact that they are carrying guns and River has a sword and an axe shows you that this is an adventure film and you will see some fighting.

The actual DVD disc has the same picture that is on the front cover. The DVD menus are quite fun as they show a picture of a planet and then the characters faces pop up from time to time. There is quite action type music to accompany the menu and it is in a very appealing orange colour with each of the menu options in each corner.

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Verdict on the Special Features:

This DVD has some great special features and the first are some deleted scenes. There are nine in total and each only lasts for a few moments. A few of them are just extended scenes but they are all pretty good to watch as they are witty like the film and very entertaining. What I think though is that the producers were right to not include any of them as the film dos not need them but I enjoyed going through them.

Next are the outtakes and these are my favourite feature on every DVD when they are included. Especially look out for the one with Summer and Mal in the cockpit of Serenity as it is just hilarious. I love outtakes because you can see a bit of the actors making mistakes and I just find them extremely entertaining to watch and I get so jealous as I just want to go and make a move with these people. This feature lasts around six minutes and is brilliant.

Future history: the story of earth that was is fun as it gives you a little bit of an insight into what it is like to write a science fiction film and much of the feature features Joss Whedon which is good to watch. I enjoyed this one as I like hearing about what Whedon was thinking when he thought of ideas for the film. Lasts around four and a half minutes.

Whats in a firefly is a great feature and gives you an insight this time into the various kinds of ships and hover crafts that are used in the film. I really enjoyed this as it went into detail about my favourite chase scene in the movie which is at the beginning when they are being chased by the Reavers. Lasts around six minutes and is brilliant.

Re-lighting the firefly is interesting as it is showing you how a TV series that is cancelled can then be made into a fantastic hit movie. It makes you glad that Whedon believed in the characters and actors so much that he did keep ideas for the movie. Lasts around nine minutes and I cannot stress to you how interesting this feature is to watch.

The Joss Whedon introduction is literally how it sounds and shows Joss Whedon giving an introduction to the film and is actually good to watch before you watch the film so if you have just bought or rented this DVD then watch this before the film. Lasts around four minutes.

A filmmakers journey is quite good because you can see a little bit of what it is like from the filmmakers point of view and how they believed in the TV show and needed to make this movie great. This lasts around twenty minutes.

The final feature for the DVD is the commentary with Joss Whedon and this is one of the best commentaries I have watched. He is witty and tells you how it is that this bit was hard to film or that this bit was so emotional because of the end of the TV show and so on. What a fantastic watch and I only bought this DVD yesterday and watched the film and now I have just finished the commentary. I am obsessed.

I have found an easter egg on the main menu which I will not tell you where it is but if you really want me to then I will email you as I don't want to spoil it for others who want to try and find it for themselves.

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Final Verdict:

This DVD is one of the best ones to come out to buy in a while and I recommend that every single person who enjoys sci-fi or action with a side order of wit then I think you will enjoy this.

The story of this film is excellent and I cannot fault anything about it. I think that Whedon has made sure that the film has exactly the right amount of drama, horror, romance, action, comedy and fun. He seriously should be very proud of this story as it is great from beginning to end and I think that every question is answered and it does not leave you feeling disappointed in any way possible.

I love every character in this film and my favourite has to be River purely for her madness. I have never seen a character like her that is so loveable but so scary at the same time. A close second though would be the captain Mal because he is so funny and is the lead character after all.

Something that many people may be worrying about is if you can watch the movie without having to see the TV series Firefly that the film is based on. Well my simple answer to that is yes because I hadn't watched Firefly before watching the film and I loved it. I have to say though that having watched the series I do think it gives you a better insight into all of the relationships between the characters so if you do like the film then give the series a go.

In conclusion I am definitely giving this film five stars as it is excellent and although I have watched it three times already, twice this week already I could watch it again right now as I enjoy it that much. If you want something that is entertaining to watch due to comedy and action but with a bit of a dark side then you will love this film.

Thanks for reading.

xxx
p.s. this is on other review sites by me. x 

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