Join Mal and the crew for one last job.
Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion) and his crew have been harboring the escaped Alliance secret science experiment River (Summer Glau) and her brother (Sean Maher) rather successfully for a good amount of time. That streak of good luck is about to expire however, as a nameless Alliance assassin (Chiwetel Ejiofor) manages to catch up with them.
The TV show Firefly only got one season’s worth of life, so director/creator Joss Whedon gave the fans a final going away present in the form of this film to tie up the loose ends. Since the series was probably written to accommodate at least a few more season runs, cramming all of that business into two hours—as well as catching up viewers who have never seen the show—is quite the feat. As a matter of fact, without giving anything away, I was actually a bit shocked at the difficult decisions made to wrap things up.
The key to this film, and the series that preceded it, is in the characters. Whedon instilled a terrific sense of humor into his creation, fed by the interpersonal connections between the crew members. The special effects in places may look shaky, but what it lacks in production value it more than makes up for with heart.
I should say that those interested in the film that have not see the series should probably do so first. It’s not required to enjoy the film, but if you do enjoy it and want to watch the series for more, I can’t say how well 14 episodes would translate when you already know the conclusion.
Not every show that is prematurely cancelled is given a second chance, no matter how excellent it may or may not have been. (Don’t even get me started about Deadwood.) Firefly did, and it made the most of it.
