The story behind the creation and eventual completion of Serenity is astonishing. A follow-up to the canceled Fox TV series Firefly, the small group of hardcore fans pushed and fought along with creator Joss Whedon to get the film made. Amazingly, it happened.
With $40 million in tow, the film's sharp eye for foreign planets serve as a gorgeous backdrop to space drama heavily influenced by Star Wars. This film looks well beyond its budget, with CG effects that rival films that cost twice as much. It's as engrossing to look at as it is to follow the story.
Even with no prior knowledge of the TV show, Serenity does a fine job of standing on its own. It's completely self-sustaining. All the characters are fleshed out through nicely woven dialogue and excellent pacing. Obviously for fans, the back stories are known and add that extra touch non-followers will miss.
Serenity follows the story of River, a government experiment on the run. On board a slowly crumbling space cruiser, she sticks with her brother and the crew as they make every attempt to save her from the Alliance conglomerate. Her uncontrolled nature creates some impressive action sequences in the final half hour, and another fantastic bar brawl earlier in the film.
Nathan Fillion leads and plays Mal, a direct descendant (or knock-off) of Han Solo from Star Wars. His banter and tirades are enormously entertaining. His character is able to go deeper than his Star Wars counterpart though, creating a stronger air of emotion when thing look bleak.
While trailers portray nothing but action sequences, this falls into the drama category first. Action is widely spread thin to focus on the storyline first. It's beneficial to the overall production and to allow time for newcomers to the universe to understand what occurred before they arrived. It can be slightly overlong in spots, but then the script rapidly picks up pacing and pulls the viewer back into its grip.
Serenity holds up through repeat viewings. In fact, it's a film that nearly requires a few plays to appreciate what went into creating it. It's a film any space-loving science fiction fan should have on their shelves. 
Serenity has some light video problems for its transfer to HD-DVD. Solid backgrounds are littered with grain, particularly in the opening moments. Compression is well contained. Black levels are consistent, and explosions are stunning with the rich color that's a step above the standard DVD. Details on the ships remain solid without aliasing issues.
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