Finally saw Serenity last night. Ian was sweet enough to go see it with me. I wasn’t sure if he’d enjoy it since he hadn’t watched the series, but he said he really liked it.

It’s a shame this hadn’t been a great four or five year run sci-fi series, THEN a movie. I’ve watched the 10 episodes Sci-Fi Channel re-ran before the movie aired, and between those and the movie I’ve come to know and like all the characters. I feel jipped that I don’t get to see more stories with these characters. Also, it felt like (for a watcher of the series) that the movie accelerated a lot of plot threads that would have unfolded much more slowly in a tv series.

Joss Whedon did a fantastic job with a future that is a jumble of American and Asian cultures, high-tech, and practically gun-slinging Western low-tech. The actors who all played their characters on the series did an excellent job stepping up to the big screen. It’s a dual-edged sword: they’ve already got experience in the role and character interactions are more comfortable, but sometimes small screen actors just don’t convince you on the big screen. The only one I had a minor complaint with was Morena Baccarin as Inara. She didn’t come off quite as exotic, fragile, beautiful, and graceful as she did on the series.

Whedon’s climactic scene is jaw-dropping in the intensity of what has happened to so many people. I won’t give away any more than that. If you enjoy sci-fi, or a good action/adventure movie, you’ll enjoy following the crew of Serenity, a group of thieves with a code of honor, as they fight the Alliance and attempt to figure out what is buried in River Tam’s brain in sci-fi meets Western. Four and half stars out of five.