As for the perfectibility of man, the Alliance and its assassin seek "a universe without sin," while Reynolds is bored by sermons and embraces human flaws. But those who might mistake the Alliance for a caricature of American religious conservatives should be reminded that traditional conservatism takes man's flaws for granted. It's modern liberalism that's driven by the belief in infinite human perfectibility. (See Thomas Sowell's A Conflict of Visions for a further explanation of this point.)
The creators have simplified matters considerably by not including aliens. The solar system in question was settled by colonists from Earth, and evidently didn't harbor indigenous intelligent life. Good. While some might lament the loss of stand-ins for "diversity," there's not much room for Vulcans in a story about fallen man.
As always with space science fiction, the special effects count for a lot. I only found myself shaking my head twice, once when the gas from the ship clearly clumped up as though it were encountering resistance in the vacuum, and another where the Serenity's hard landing reminded me more of a Dr. Who episode than a big-budget flick.
But these moments stood out only because the crew has gone to great lengths to get other details right. The ship's opening sequence for instance, features an atmospheric re-entry that actually remembers that there's heat and friction involved.
In fact, the movie's whole look smacks of realism. Whedon and his group have mastered the futuristic-grunge look, the one that started with Blade Runner and seen most recently in Minority Report - the one where dirt and disorder coexist nicely with nifty new technology. In one scene, the captain casually tosses a paper-thin video capture onto his chaotic desk. And believe me, I know chaotic desks.
And that's the real strength of Serenity, the reason that with any justice, it should run for weeks at the top of the box office. It's irreverent without being self-parody. It's deep science fiction that doesn't take itself too seriously, the way The Incredibles did for superhero cartoons.
Now, excuse me while I check the listings for the Firefly marathon.
Cross-Posted at View From a Height.
Article comments
1 - maurinsky
I got to see the movie at the June screening, and I loved it.
But I disagree with your political assessment. First of all, Thomas Sowell is not an unbiased observer. Secondly, liberals accept human flaws - that's why we want to make sure women have the right to choose, because we know that people have sex even when they aren't in the best circumstances. We support a strong social net because we know that people sometimes fall down and we don't want them to spiral completely.
If there is a political underpinning Firefly/Serenity, it is a left leaning libertarian political bent.