Zub Tales

Serenity was sharp. One review I read after I came back from seeing the film called it “the best season finale ever” which it kind of is. A big budget blow out of a season ender. As always, fun dialogue and good character dynamics.

As I expected the stakes are higher and plot threads from the TV show are wrapped up, which is gratifying and sad at the same time. I would’ve loved to have watched the story unfold bit by bit in episodes with more character time and that amazing mixture of fun and adventure they had in the series. Here we ratchet the whole thing up a few notches and darken the atmosphere of the show, which totally makes sense but does leave the Fun-Western-Sci-Fi elements a bit behind. I wanted more time to see the cast in their ‘prime’ on TV… and now with some characters dead and others changed forever, it’s not the same. I left the theatre excited and sad at the same time because of that. But if they don’t make any more movies or head back to TV (which is unbelievably unlikely) then Serenity is a decent ending to a show that deserved more.

Without the TV series to build from, the average movie goer may not get a chance to tap into the emotional core of who these characters are. There’s a lot of ground for them to cover and they spare little time before they dig into it. For a fan of the TV series, it’s a dynamic whirlwind of cool stuff and character evolutions… for someone coming in cold to it all, I’m not sure.

The show’s underdog quality and resurrection from TV cancellation is amazing, where ever it goes from here. I don’t want to go all fanboy crazy and over hype it because it is worth seeing, but not worship worthy. It’s not perfect, but it is entertaining and delivers where it counts.

I’ll be curious to see what the box office numbers are like for this weekend.