Released: 9/30/05

Viewed: 8:05pm 10/1/05

Starring: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Alan Tudyk, Morena Baccarin, Adam Baldwin, Jewel Staite, Sean Maher, Summer Glau, Ron Glass, Chiwetel Ejiofor

Directed by: Joss Whedon

So the show got cancelled. No big surprise. The world is never really going to be ready for a Space Western on a weekly basis. Especially on a Friday night. But the fans did what they could. Growing in numbers. Converting everyone that would listen, to the church of Firefly, and God bless 'em, it worked. Nerds united can make anything happen. So you bet your ass that Joss Whedon's (creator of Buffy and Angel) big budget continuation of the critically acclaimed television show pretty much had to deliver ten times over. Because those fans would not stand for anything less. And on October 30th I don't think anyone was disappointed.

Serenity is, pound for pound, the best movie since Batman Begins and the best sci-fi movie of the summer. Yep, better then Episode III. Star Wars was great, but Serenity was the fresh dose of adrenaline and the reality wake up call that sci-fi adventure pics have been waiting for. A History of Violence, which was released on the same day, I'll admit is a better use of filmmaking on all accounts. For pure excitement and joy, Serenity crushes all the pretenders of the weak summer season.

Going into this, you were one of three people. 1) The Avid Fan: You own Firefly on DVD, have watched each episode at least twice, and once with commentary. You bought the "Serenity" comic book miniseries that bridged the gap between the TV show and the movie. (Was it worth it?) You drove 6 hours and paid 30 dollars to see one of the limited advanced screenings of the film back in July and you loved every second of it.

From what I can imagine, most of you were going to love this movie no matter what. The good news is that you're in your every right to do so. It's a brilliant, fast paced, action-packed adventure that you never want to slow down, let alone stop. For you the most satisfying thing has got to be concrete resolution of so many unanswered questions the television show presented. The movie steps up and answers a good number of those. There were some elements in the storyline that could have easily been inconsequential to the plot, but everything is relevant. And the way the movie wraps up some of these loose ends can only be described as "Satisfaction".

2.) The Casual Newcomer: You heard about the show but never saw it. After a few months of pestering you borrowed the Firefly set from your friend, or set your Tivo to record it off of the Sci-fi channel this last summer. Even though you were skeptical you came to love the show as well. But you still never joined the brown coats message board.

I'm proudly one of you. I had refused for the year to get caught up in the hype. I was going to see the movie for sure, but I wasn't going to freak out about anything. I did start watching the show on Sci-fi and it took me an episode and a half to admit that I was very hooked on every little aspect of the show. I haven't seen all the shows, (missed the last 2 or 3) but I knew enough going in to feel confident I'd understand what's going on.

For us it's just as satisfying. Maybe more so because we haven't actively sought out spoilers online. It's all fresh and new. But I admit, I do want to buy the series now.

3.) The Tag Along: There are two types of you tag along people: the willing and the unwilling. Really, you are the biggest test of the movies success. You have a show that is SO involved and SO complicated on SO many levels. Is it possible to do a continuation of that on a larger scale and have it relate to people going in blind?

I'm pleased to say that everyone really enjoyed the movie, even those that went begrudgingly. It's a true testament to how well the entire movie is put together. Everything that's important is presented quickly and clearly. Everything that's not important is mentioned but not forced. It's there as a nod to the fans, but if it doesn't move the story along then it vanishes like any other distraction.

The best examples of each: the introduction of Serenity and its crew. The movie starts elsewhere but when we first see Serenity we get a wide shot of the ship sailing through space as the camera slowly swirls around it and closes in on the cockpit. We enter there and meet the captain, and pilot. They have a brief conversation that establishes the ship and those two characters. The captain has much to attend to so he moves back into the ship, the camera moving with him.

Over the next 10 minutes we meet the entire crew and see every part (except the shuttles) of the ship in one steadicam shot. It was a BRILLIANT way to start the movie. Everything we needed was clearly laid out.

Like I said, the stuff we don't need was quickly mentioned and just as quickly dismissed. I quizzed Yeo after the movie, asking her things like "Did you know Inara was a prostitute?" "Did you know she used to be a passenger on the ship?" "Did you know the Shepard used to be a passenger on the ship?" She answered no to all of them, but we realized it's because it wasn't important. There are clues in the movie that point towards it, but it's not obvious or spelled out - because it's not relevant at all to the plot. Well done.

Serenity trumps Star Wars on almost all accounts. The visuals were one exception. I mean - Firefly looked great. Look at those ships? it's amazing. I was somehow expecting it to be grander in the movie, but was disappointed that I was only in awe twice. 1 ? River's escape. 2 - The Reavers emerging from the clouds. OOOoooOO I just got goose bumps!

And the fighting could have been cleaner. Yeah, River kicked ass, but a little clarity goes a long way. I thought after The Matrix and Kill Bill that every action movie would look amazing. It's not horrible. There are definitely moments where you cringe with Mal as he gets punched in the kidneys. But there was nothing there that wowed me.

Regardless, Serenity makes up for all of that with its charm. Remember how everyone in Star Wars talks like they've never pieced two words together before in their life? Well this is the exact opposite. These people say something and it's so fancy and elegant you want to write a song about it. It's the old west influence. People spoke properly as a sign of respect. That little touch adds an incredible dimension to the movie.

The whole spin that Whedon ...spun on the world is so great. It really is Star Wars meets Mad Max... but dirtier and with 10 times the awesome.

So are you 1,2,3? Whatever you are, do yourself a favor and go see this movie. I'm sure all the 1s have, although the 10 million dollar box office tells me differently... 2s, get off the fence and jump in. You won't be disappointed. 3s, just see it. There are so many crappy movies out there. Trust me, I know. It's the most satisfying movie experience I've had all year. 9.5 out of 10. Those little nit-picks I had are just that. Little inconsequential nit picking that is as relevant to the situation as Inara being a professional companion. You'll have fun, I promise. Just go see it.

The reviews gone on long but there's more I'd like to discuss. You can expect a continuation with more about the characters and how they translated to screen, as well as some spoilers and how those spoilers affect a possible rebirth of the show and the movie franchise itself. Expect that in about a week.

DVD Worthy?: Definitely. I'm secretly hoping for a box set with the movie and the Firefly series combined, but I may cop out and by the series before then. Christmas is right around the corner!

Trailer Hitch: I was peeing.

I missed the trailers because I was peeing. The only one I did see was DOOM which I've already talked about. I could talk about it again if you wan - Fine. You asked for it.

I love The Rock. I think he's made some brilliant choices over the past couple of years, but this is a mistake. He's been building a resume of smart action and this seems just the opposite. Resident Evil but more gimmicky. It won't work. It shouldn't work. I'll just say that The Rock needs a Terminator. The Rock needs a Rambo. This isn't even a Commando. Today's incentive is from an actual conversation Yeo and I had right after the movie. I swear, she loved the movie so this little bit tickled me.

For those that have been voting: Thanks guys. Seriously, you've kept JLCM alive. For those that love the incentives for each movie I have some good news. Over on the Digital Pimp message boards we've created a special Members Forum for (among other things) the archiving of these images. In the members-only area, you'll have access to exclusive previews of art, guest comics, archived incentive images and more. You'll have the inside scoop to all things Digital Pimp.

The only catch is that you've got to be a member of the board to access this section. There are no tricks involved. We don't spam our board members or anything. This is just all in the spirit of broadening the community. So If you're interested, sign up on the boards and join the fun. Thanks guys!

Edited for the web by BrandonJ Carr.