Currently available at most any retailer or online in standard DVD, Collectors edition DVD (shown above) and Blu-ray flavors. I reccomend the Collectors edition or Blu-Ray versions for the extra content. 

Foreword:

Unthinkable: This movie is the rather unheard result of a short lived, cancelled TV show turning into a Feature film. That folks just doesn't happen, but thanks to fan support and tons of DVD sales of the show a movie they did make, and boy what a movie it is. Just like the show all the same quirky humor and angst is in place, but on a much larger scope and scale. The film is full of clever writing great acting a fantastically moving musical score and genuine emotion. There is death, sadness, joy, humor, fear and intrigue all at play. I think anyone who is a fan of not only Sci-Fi but just great movie experiences needs to watch this movie. It is a true gem that shines brightly against the dull high budget gut rot that is thrown up on film screens these days and deserves to be seen. Serenity may not have been a box office hit, but that is not a testament to the films quality. With that said on we go. Authors note: If you have the attention span of a fruit fly you should probably just pass on this series of blogs as they are rather long and involving, but on the same token give them a chance if you will as I spent a great deal of time and research writing them. Obviously this is part 1 of 3, the other two parts follow in order below. Please enjoy reading this write up as much as I enjoyed writing it. 

Warning: Movie spoilers ahead. If you haven't seen the movie then be warned that what lies ahead is basically an abridged recap complete with quotes from my favorite scenes, and snippets of DVD features. If you are still interested but don't want details skip ahead to the "My take" portion near the bottom of each section. Its here you can get a rough feel for the events that transpired without too much detail. If you have seen the film then please enjoy the memories and compare my thoughts of certain scenes and events with your own. Commernts are welcome. My goal with this Recap is not to ruin the film for those who haven't seen it but to pique the interest of those who might be interested to pick up a copy. It also serves as an outlet for me to show just how much I love the film.

River emerges: Unlike the show where River served as the driving force for the crew of Serenity as they tried to stay one step ahead of the law and protect her. In the movie she is the driving force guiding the crew to where they need to be and their ultimate goal. Director Joss Whedon tells in the DVD extras that River is more or less the narrator of the film and that its the story of Mal as seen through her eyes. While I agree with the narrator part of his vision in my view she is more then that and is the real star of the film. Before River was always sort of just tagging along and though she still plays very much the same type of role here as she did in the show i.e. always very quiet, always in the back of shots rarely taking the limelight and still troubled she does have many "moments" that make you realize she is more than just a damaged child, and is in fact someone or something very important. These and the fact that most of Rivers scenes are the more emotionally driven ones are the main reasons so many of my favorite scenes involve her and why the bulk of the recap focuses on her.

Start with a start: The movie begins with a brief recap of why Humans left Earth. Simple back story type stuff but the brilliance of Whedons directorial skills become clear pretty quickly via a series of switches that make you wonder if what you are seeing is real or not. In any case we then see a teacher talking to a class of students one of which is a young River Tam. It's clear the teacher is an Alliance teacher as she paints the Independents (those who fought against the Alliance during the unification war) in an unsavory light and asks why the independents would resist Alliance control. River responds "Because we meddle". The teacher approaches River as she goes on to say we try to make people do and say and think what the Alliance wants. "River" The teacher replies "We're not trying to make people think what we want, we're only trying to teach them how" something shocking happens that's transitions us to the next scene. We see River as we know her strapped to chair as doctors perform tests on her. A man in military garb is hovering close by asking questions and after gleaning some info about how and what they are doing asks how she is physically to which the lead doctor replies that all their subjects are conditioned for combat but "River is a creature of extraordinary grace". The soldier says "Yes, she always did love to dance" before he detonates a charge that knocks everyone in the room out. The soldier as it turns out is Rivers older brother Simon in disguise. He disconnects River from the equipment and tries to wake her but she doesn't respond. As the details of the escape are shown we realize that what we are seeing is but a recording of the events being viewed by a government Operative who in the next scene is introduced as the main antagonist of the movie and spells out his goals in very simple terms. His purpose in Serenity is not to return River for further experimentation as was the goal of the Alliance in the show but to kill her outright because she might know a terrible secret. Meanwhile back on Serenity Mal is planning a heist and insists against Simons wishes that River start earning her keep by coming along and helping. By this point in the time line River is 17 and somewhat better but still traumatized. The robbery goes well enough and River does her part by reading the minds of the hostages, but the situation changes quickly. She looks startled for a moment and sees visions of bodies. Outside a young boy and his mother think they heard gunfire. The mother tells the boy to go get the law man and as she turns is slashed across the chest by a Reaver.(Think feral humans) Inside the bank River telepathically feels the attack herself, screams and falls to the floor. Jayne runs over to her asking whats wrong. River simply replies "Reavers". The Reavers attack the town while Mal, River, Zoe and Jayne have to make a hasty retreat. Narrowly escaping and getting back aboard Serenity River rather calmly says "I swallowed a bug" during the chase before as a Reaver that managed to get aboard jumps up and is promptly shot by nearly everyone in the room. In any case Simon and Mal have a heated confrontation and Simon decides its time to leave the ship. River meanwhile sits atop a supply crate and says "He didn't lie down, they never lie down" as she looks at the body of the dead Reaver. My take:  I like the beginning of the movie because it shows something we never saw in the show and that's how Simon got River out of the academy and gives us a taste of the torment she had to endure which helps us understand her more. I also really like the way it unfolds with the progression of not knowing if what you're seeing is actually real or not, and the amazing thing is Whedon pulls off the trick several times and I never suspected it. The later scene after the heist where Mal and Simon confront each other may seem unrelated but turns out to be a major moment that sets the rest of the movie in motion as things get interesting shortly after they arrive at Maidenhead. Also Rivers line "He didn't lie down, they never lie down" may comes across as more of her impromptu gibberish, but makes tons of sense later DVD note: Adam Baldwin says he loved shooting the heist and chase scenes because it was hot, dirty and nasty while the outtakes clips and commentary from Whedon and Summer detail how one of the devices attached to her in the escape scene kept falling off her.

Miranda: While Mal does his dealings on Maidenhead River roams the bar they are in and notices a sign board running a commercial. She focus's intently on it as there is a brief message that looks like a flicker that awakens a memory her. The word "Miranda" cross's her lips before she proceeds to completely decimate every single person in the bar including Jayne. Things could have been much worse however as River armed with a pistol she obtained near the end of the fight faces off against Mal, but before either can shoot Simon shouts a series of strange Russian words that cause River to collapse. Mal looks on puzzled but picks up River and carries her out. Back on Serenity the recent events have forced Mal to handcuff River to the floor grates of a supply closet. Meanwhile Simon reveals that the contacts that helped him rescue her learned that the subjects were being mentally conditioned and taught him a safe word that would put River to sleep in the event of trouble. Mal confronts Simon about bringing his time bomb of sister aboard knowing she could blow at anytime and wonders what will wake up in the closet, River or the weapon. Simons insists that he thought she was getting better while Jayne asks why they haven't gotten off which was the plan before hand, and when he asks Mal why he brought her back aboard Mal has no answerer. Simon asks if he can see River and Mal lets him by. Jayne makes it clear that if she freaks out on them again that they might have to shoot her, and Mal agrees that the thought had crossed his mind, what they don't know is that River is awake and hears their thoughts. The crew decides they need new bearings and some info about what just happened at the bar with River so they go see a friend called Mr. Universe a hacker who can jack into just about any signal in space. They have him play back the footage of the fight and hear River say Miranda as well as discover the Alliance message hidden in the advertisement that triggered her. My take: I like this series of scenes because this is where the crap starts to hit the fan and the emotional qualities of the movie start to come to light it's also where we get our first look at exactly what River can do which was only ever hinted at in the show. I also got the impression that Mal wasn't at all keen about handcuffing River in the closet, his expression during the scene and in a following scene where he's checking in on her says it all. It's also clear that despite his outward distain for having the Tams aboard his overriding desire to do what's right in this case protecting River takes precedence even if it doesn't settle with certain members of his crew hench the reason he brought her back aboard. In the words of Director Whedon It never ovccured to him that Mal would have done anything other then bring River back aboard. She was helpless and thats not how Mal works. DVD note: There's a scene during the bar fight where Jayne gets a hold of River and tries to calm her down, but River instead grabs his family jewels.  There's a funny bit in the extras commentary where Adam Baldwin told Summer during the shoot to just go ahead and grab em but she wouldn't do it, while one of the other cast members jokingly says that's harassment. Summer is also asked by one of the cast how long she trained for the fight scenes and says she spent 3 months at fight camp and 9 months total preparing while Nathan Fillian she mentions  jokingly would occasional show up for an hour two once in awhile.

Simon and River: Mal decides they need to lay low for a bit taking refuge on the planet Haven where they meet up with an old friend Shepard Book who gives Mal some guidance. It's here that Mal admits he could have been rid of the Tams saying "I had every reason in the 'verse to leave her lying, and haul anchor", but Book insists that's not his way. (This next scene is one that chokes me up every time I see it and is perhaps my favorite for the sheer emotional quality; it really is almost too much to bear.) We see a close up of River with blood from the bar fight on her face and Simon gently washing it off. She says "They're afraid of me" and Simon quietly apologizes for it. River goes on to say "They should be, but I'll show them. Oh God... Show me off like a dog, old men covered in blood. It never touched them but they're drowning in it". Frustrated she says "I don't know what I'm saying. I never know what I saying". She starts crying. Simon consoles her and asks if she remembers what she said just before she was triggered she replies "Miranda". Simon asks who Miranda is and River replies "Ask her". Simon confused asks if he is speaking to Miranda which River makes clear the answere is no. Simon goes on to say that he thinks the triggering brought this memory up and River freaks out a bit saying "It isn't mine, the memory it isn't mine and I shouldn't have to carry it, it isn't mine." She then begs Simon "Please don't make me sleep again" which he promises he won't. Crying, River tells Simon "Put a bullet to me, bullet in the brain pan, squish" Simon tells her "Don't say that, not ever, we'll get through this" River tells Simon that "Things are going to get much much worse" and he wipes a tear from her lip. My take: Good stuff and probably one of the more powerfully emotional scenes in the movie. Also at the time some of what River says doesn't make sense, but if you think a little it actually does. Showing her off like a dog and the old men drowning in blood but never touched it are references to the fact that she was displayed to the parliament who were the old men whose hands were clean but had the blood of many on them. It's also obvious that the memory that isn't hers to carry is one of the high level parliament member's knowledge of Miranda that was alluded to at the beginning by the Operative. DVD note:  Summer admits that this was probably one of her hardest days of shooting because being admittedly very shy she had to put so much emotion into it. She says it felt like it took all day though in reality it's revealed that it actually only took about 3 takes

Miranda Pt 2: River is jolted awake by a voice telling her to "Cut them down" while the crew outside in the mess hall are talking about who River poses a real threat to. Mal knowing he can't make the Tams leave the ship struggles with Jayne who questions his command decisions, and why he's so concerned with the well being of these two strays. He concludes its Mals way of getting back at the Alliance for what happened during the war, and Zoe makes him leave the room. Meanwhile River awake is having visions of her classroom when she was young, a planet, more bodies and finally is attacked by a Reaver which after snapping her out of her vision looks very angry. Speaking of angry Jayne is royally peeved following his argument with Mal, and decides to make a rash move. He pulls his gun and goes into the closet where River is saying they are going to take a shuttle ride. What he doesn't know is River has gotten loose and is perched above him. We hear a gunshot and the crew sees that River is out, Jayne is down, the mess hall locked, and worry that River has full access to the bridge. Mal orders everyone to find her but not to engage and sets about making his way through vents to the bridge. Only Simon is left outside the mess hall door and looks inside the port hole as River pops up and unlocks the door. She steps out and as Simon begins to says "it's going to be okay" she punches him in the throat before knocking him out and stares down at him with the pistol. Mal emerges from a floor vent and makes his way to the Bridge. He sees River sitting at a console looking through stellar files and begins to rush in as River raises her pistol and takes aim at him without looking. This is where we FINALLY hear Mals true thoughts about River, and the reason why he's been so reluctant to abandon her. He tells her "The government's man, (The operative) he said you're a danger to us, not worth helping... Is he right? Are you anything but a weapon? River responds with a glance back at him. He then goes on to say. "I've staked my crews life on the theory you're a person, actual and whole and if I'm wrong you'd best shoot me now." River responds by cocking the hammer of her pistol, but never fires she instead brings up a picture of a planet which catches Mals attention. She touches the screen and looks back at Mal before saying "Miranda". It's revealed in the next scene that Miranda is a planet that no one knows about. River in her quiet way also explains her actions telling Simon that "I had to show them. I didn't know if you were going to make me sleep" It also turns out she only knocked out Jayne with a can of beans. My take: These scenes for me help personalize some of the characters even more. We now know that Mal cares about Rivers well being more than we originally thought we also for the 1^st time question Rivers motives and wonder if she really has gone bad especially after she attacks her brother, yet the revelations at the end of the scene bring it all together and we understand what she was doing. DVD note: The gun River was holding in the bridge scene was a real 40 cal. pistol that was modified to look futuristic. Summer admits that it was quite heavy and with the strange angle she was holding it at needed some help after awhile so a C clamp stand was brought in to hold it up for her which explains why the gun is so stable when she clicks the hammer. She also admits she accidentally hit her Costar in the throat during the break out scene in the mess hall.   

Deaths door: Returning to haven for safe harbor again the crew is devastated to find the town completely destroyed and everyone dead including a friend. The attack was from the Alliance and they quickly realize that everywhere they go for safety after heists was in danger. They try to warn them but are too late. Mal on the bridge of Serenity sees images of their ports of safety destroyed friends dead, and the Operative appears on his screens explaining "When your quarry goes to ground you give them no ground to go to" Mal asks why and if he even knows why he's hunting River. The operative says "It's not my place to ask" and goes on to explain that he's a monster and the things he does are evil, but he's doing them to help build a better world. When Mal says "So me and mine have to lie down and die so you can live in your better world" the operative says he has no place in that world anymore than Mal, but every minute  he keeps River Tam away from him more people will die. Mal tells him if he thinks he cares which the Operative responds "Of course you do. You're not a Reaver Mal you're a human man..." Mal cuts him off by turning off the feed and walks out. Following these mournful series of events Mal decides it's time to find out what the Alliance is hiding on Miranda problem is the planet lies deep in Reaver space, and so Mal orders the crew to disguise Serenity as a Reaver ship, and sneak through. What they find on Miranda is not what they expect. My take: We see a little more of how the Operative works in these scenes. He's willing to kill children for the sake of an order he hasn't questioned, and doesn't even know why he is really after River; he is blindly devoted to what he believes even if he doesn't fully know the facts behind what he believes. Meanwhile we see a turning point in Mal's personality. Up till now he's always hated the Alliance having fought them during the war, but was content to just stay out of their way. He was also keen on the idea getting the Tams off his ship to ease his troubles, but after what the Operative does he realizes he can't and won't allow the Alliance to get their hands on River again.  DVD extra: The man who plays Sheppard Book (Ron Glass) revealed that he paid his niece 20 dollars to braid his hair 2 days before the shoot, and after it was done went home and cut them off himself... 

Recap part 2 below...