SERENITY: Collector's Edition

In 2002, BUFFY THE VAMPIRE SLAYER mastermind Joss Whedon created FIREFLY, one of the most original, entertaining and captivating TV shows ever made, a western set in outer space, a fusion of sci-fi whimsy, American Civil War allegory, and old-fashioned adventure, one that immediately recalls STAR WARS for its layered construction, realistic environment and enthralling characters. Following the relationships of a band of smugglers on a freighter ship called Serenity, the series was a terrific character-centric drama that showcased an ensemble cast of nine characters, all finely developed, written and portrayed. Alas, as unlikely as such a unique and intelligent show appearing on TV was, it was not surprising to see it destroyed. Butchered at the hands of FOX, the first season of FIREFLY was quickly cancelled, and not even all the episodes shot were aired. Fortunately the show had garnered a cult following, and when released on DVD the series became a best-selling hit. Whedon, crushed by Fox's destruction of the series, was determined to continue his story somehow, and when the DVD sales showed a strong afterlife, the unthinkable happened and the cancelled show was reborn as a major motion picture. Swallowed up by the hype of REVENGE OF THE SITH, the film was released in 2005 as a much darker, intense and all the more satisfying conclusion to the TV show that ultimately did only so-so box office business. All the terrific writing and acting is on display even more powerfully here, and the stakes are raised much higher as the film, essentially, is the remainder of the FIREFLY series compressed into two hours. The film moves quickly but never lets the characters be overwhelmed by the story or effects; FIREFLY and its feature film are at their heart human dramas, and that is all the more apparent in the touching story portrayed in the film. For those who have never had the pleasure of watching FIREFLY, SERENITY was constructed with the dual-purpose of introducing newcomers to the world and characters but I strongly recommend viewing the series beforehand to get the full and proper enjoyment of this film. The entire FIREFLY-SERENITY experience is as good as sci-fi adventure gets. The Video: The stunning cinematography of Jack Green is displayed in a top-notch transfer here. Sharpness is excellent and I noticed no edge enhancement or compression artifacts, even in the action scenes. I suspect this is the same transfer from the 2005 release. The Audio: A solid mix that sports some terrific atmospheric touches in the scenes onboard Serenity, while also accomplishing some terrific bass effects in the action scenes. No complaints here. The Extras: The original release of the film featured some decent extras in its single disk and thankfully every single one of those are ported over here. That includes featuretts on the rebuilding of the Serenity set, outtakes, deleted scenes and a feature commentary from Whedon. So whats new? A second disk's worth, but one thats not nearly as jam-packed as some would like. You do however get a few more extended scenes, however brief, and an excellent featurette on the making of the film and how it developed from the TV show. Additionally, there is a great featurette on cinematographer Jack Green, the "Session 416" web shorts that showed River's experimentation, plus other small goodies such as a television special on the making of the film. The biggest stand-out is a second feature commentary featuring Whedon and most of the cast, which is as terrific as it sounds. While these additions are not anything too incredible, for fans of the film they are more than enough for a second purchase, and for those who didn't get the first release its all the more reason to buy this one.

rating:4