Can't Stop The Signal

Tonight I had the pleasure of viewing something that I have anticipated for a long long time. Ever since I finished watching the Firefly box set, I have been anxiously awaiting the return of Joss Whedon's space western back to the screen (of indeterminate size). Today, my wish came true, as Heather and I visited our local cineplex and let our visual senses be taken for a ride.

*MINOR SPOILERS BELOW*

After a little bit of exposition, to get the non-Firefly fans caught up to speed, the movie kicks into gear with a great little heist which has just hilarious interactions between the crew of Serenity and the people they are holding up. The Reavers cut this little hold up short when they decide to make an unexpected appearance and we're treated to a tense hovercraft chase that almost makes it look like the crew is toast, only to be saved at the last possible moment by the firefly class cargo ship we all love.

From there, Simon, the brother of psychic-ass-kicking-biological weapon River Tam gets into a bit of a word scuffle with Mal Reynolds (the 21st century's Han Solo), the pair decide to go off on their own. This doesn't last long, as River gets into a bit of trouble when some of the subconcious conditioning the evil Allegiance is triggered and she proceeds to kick every single ass in a cantina. Even hilarious Jayne gets his clock cleaned.

After this little incident, the "Operative", a truly evil (admittedly so by the way), gets a hold of Mal's prostitute girlfriend to set up a trap for the crew, but the crew of Serenity, being the rapscallions that they are, manage to fool the Allegiance's errand boy in clever form, and manage to get out with Inara, the aformentioned prostitute. They pay a visit to Shepherd Book while they try to figure out what to do next, and then head out to the planet Miranda. A mysterious planet stuck in the middle of Reaver territory.

They manage to slip past the Reavers by using some truly greusome tactics after they find some of their friends struck down by the Operative's men. What they find on Miranda is something that could bring down (or weaken considerably) the hold that the Allegiance has over the galaxy, so they decide to broadcast the signal. A massive space battle ensues, with the crew of Serenity using their wits instead of brawn (but they bring brawn in tow just in case) to get past a fleet of Allegiance battleships and get to Mr Universe's (sadly no Schwarzenneger cameo) relay station to distribute the message to every corner of the galaxy. Just a little bit of info on this space battle. George Lucas should take notes on how to direct space fracasses. The battle is much shorter than the one in "Return of the Sith", but is much more intense and fun that the latter's.

After getting through, we get a truly brutal firefight where everyone ends up with a new bodily orifice and we get to see a display of River's battle prowess. All in all, this movie had me riveted to my seat (except for when I had to urinate 32 ounces of Diet Coke) for the whole 1 hour and 59 minutes. I recommend if for non-Firefly and Firefly devotee's (I believe they call themselves "Browncoats") alike. This movie doesn't hold back at times, with some unexpected happenings that shocked me a bit. But, it leaves it open to sequels, that would let us explore this universe that Whedon has created in greater depth. You hear that Universal . . . help us explore this universe. Please. Don't suck like FOX. They pulled the show after 9 episodes and you stand to make a lot of money of off this filmed venture. Let's just hope that this cinematic outing makes a good amount of money this weekend so that the bean counters don't get scared.