Okay look I liked RE4 I thought it was a good game and was fun, a bit long winded and repetitive sure, but still generally fun.... It wasn't a RE game though. The story was rubbish, worm infected illuminati wanna be's kidnapping the US presidents daughter to infect her send her back home to infect him and then they take over the world? In the words of Albert Wesker, poor performance indeed. The game play was also to big budget action heavy, to many insane set pieces, Leon was to much of a one man army, your arsenal; was too big and the game often relied on standing on the fire button to get out of sticky situations far too often. So okay RE4 great game bad RE game.

This brings me to RE5. Same system of doing things same general game play same action heavy situations, but thanks to subtle tweaks to pacing and flow and massive nods to the previous RE storyline RE5 is a RE game. No RE5 is not scary, and yes Sheva's AI can be annoying and having her around takes some of that isolation away from the vibe, but the game design is more sound, levels aren't to big or to small and don't drag out beyond their sell by date like they did in sections of RE4, item drops from enemies don't produce ridiculous amounts of ammo, weapons for the most part must be found instead of bought, and despite Sheva being a pain in the butt sometimes having her around added a much need survival aspect to the game play. Taking care of two people added strategy to the game which is something RE4 lacked. So lots of similarities with RE5 to RE4, but tons of subtle tweaks make it the better RE game.

Still the real star of the show is the story. RE4 as has been admitted by the games producers was more or less a side story. RE5 is the real deal, its directly related to the pre existing storyline, answers many questions, asks some new ones, and ultimately wraps up the Umbrella area of the RE universe quite nicely. It offered us classic RE fans the satisfaction we so longed for with RE4.

In the End RE5 isn't my favorite RE game, but I can at least say that it is a RE game albeit very action heavy, and lacking in the scares department but RE none the less. RE6 will be a reboot, the question is will they take the series further back to its Survival Horror roots or go full action game. I'm hoping for the former.

That's my rant. 

 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...

  Serenity Recap part 2

Spoiler warning #2: If you really REALLY don't want to know more stop reading as the main story events all come together here. As usual if your still interested please read the "My take" sections for rough incite on the scenes.

Secrets revealed: Once planet side they don't find an uninhabitable rock they find cities, oceans, clean air and an infrastructure that could support millions but no power save a faint beacon signal. More disturbingly everyone is dead. The images of bodies that have haunted River throughout the whole movie now make sense; she was seeing these people who all seemingly died doing everyday tasks. As the group discuss and try to figure out what could have done this River begins speaking in Chinese and what may seem like gibberish at first quickly begins to make horrible sense. She says "Make them stop! They're everywhere. Every city, every... every house, every room they're all inside me. I can hear them all and they're saying nothing! Get up, (she says crying falling to her knees) Please get up ... She mutters more Chinese before ending with "Please God make a stone."  Jayne responds "She is starting to damage my calm". Zoe goes to chastise him, but he's actually agreeing with River for a change barking back "She's right! Everyone's dead, this whole world's dead for no reason". The group moves on to the beacon which is coming from a crashed research rescue ship. Inside River activates a holographic recoding that explains that there was no war on Miranda and that the terra forming held, what happened on Miranda was the government's attempt at making people better, weeding out aggression through the use of a chemical called PAX that they dispersed through the atmospheric processors into the air. It's explained that at first it worked, but pretty soon the people stopped doing anything, working, breeding, talking, eating, they just allowed themselves to die. The horror however comes from a tenth of a percent of the population that had the opposite effect. They became hyper aggressive killers exceeding the bounds of madness; the Alliance had made the Reavers by accident and started the stories of people going mad on the edges of the verse to help cover it up. Wash stops the recording as the woman on it is attacked by Reavers and ripped to shreds. River becomes sick/ When Simon reachs down and says her name. She replies "I'm alright" looks back at him "I'm alright"  My take: These are a series of very poignant scenes that suddenly make Rivers visions and what we thought was gibberish make crystal clear sense after all. The revelation of what happened on Miranda explains it all, the reason River saw the visions of the dead, and the Reavers in her nightmares, the reason she said the Reaver after the heist at the beginning didn't lie down: it all comes togather. It also perhaps explains the reason why the Alliance was doing what they were to River. The last shot in the scene where River tells Simon shes alright is also important because it is meant to imply that she really is alright not jusy phyically but mentally, and she really is more sane now. I think it's the fact that now not only does she know the truth behind this fragmented memory that has been tormenting her but she has done something about it and others know aswell. DVD note: Summer reveals that the  "Make them stop" scene was another she had a hard time with saying she was so embarrassed because it was just her doing all the acting and everyone was there watching her. She reveals that her vomit was actually a protein shake mixed with Oatmeal.

Aim to misbehave: Armed with this new knowledge Mal asks the crew to help him speak for these people. He acknowledges that without River no one would have ever known about any of this and that it's up to them to get the message out knowing that if they don't the Alliance will try again "To make people better" He says with a smile towards River, and that he will not hold to that. Jayne in his always amusing way says "If you can't do something smart then do something right", and its agreed that they need to get back to Mr. Universe who can use the data disc they have to play the message on every screen for 30 worlds. But standing between them is an army of Reavers and the Alliance who know about Mr. Universe and have already laid a trap. Mal however has a plan. While sneaking back through Reaver space a Reaver ship begins following them as they prepare to clear the armada Mal uses the gun they mounted atop Serenity earlier to destroy the Reaver ship and Serenity takes off with the entire Reaver armada in pursuit. The Operative meanwhile has a Armada of Alliance ships waiting to greet Serenity as she breaks through the ion cloud surrounding Mr. Universes planet. Serenity breaks through but so does the entire Reaver Armada forcing the Operative to change his plan from destroying Serenity to attacking the Reavers. A huge space battle ensues resulting in the Operatives ship being destroyed but not before he escapes on a "Dart" escape pot and heads for the relay on the surface. Meanwhile Serenity makes a B-line for the relay station on the planet's surface, but is shot out of the air by a Reaver ship and is forced to crash land. Someone dies but I'm not gonna say who. My take: I think this marks the 1^st time Mal actually smiles at River in a caring way, and I think represents a bit of a turning point in his understanding of the girl. It also goes to show that he is willing to risk all for a higher purpose which we have known all along given his somewhat reluctant at times protection but protection none the less of River.  

Doing the right thing: The crew now stranded on the surface with a ship full of Reavers about to attack, barricade themselves by the lift tunnel that leads to the uplink. Mal heads up to do the job while the rest stay behind to buy him the time he needs. During the Reaver attack River can't fight her mind is to cluttered by the unbridled rage of the Reavers and stays huddled in a corner. Meanwhile Mal discovers that the Alliance has destroyed all of Mr. Universe's equipment and killed him, but before he died he programs a robot he built to say that there is a back up terminal down in the reactor core which he heads for. Back at the lift things are going poorly. The Reavers are now breaking in from all sides and the crew starts taking injuries and is forced to fall back into the lift tunnel where they hope the blast doors will protect them only they don't close all the way... Above the Operative has also discovered Mr. Universe's hidden message and confronts Mal in the core; a fight ensues. My take: Part of the direness of this scene is portrayed by the simple fact that everyone is armed as they leave what's left of Serenity even River who it is typically made a point by the crew not to arm has a pistol though as stated she never uses it and is instead taken by Jayne when she drops it on the floor as she tries to block the Reavers out from her mind. 

Simon and River Pt 2: The crew is in a bad way Jayne is shot, Zoe is stabbed and Caylee is poisoned. Caylee insists that she can get the doors to close the rest of the way from the outside but Zoe knows full well that it would be suicide to go out there. Caylee begins to lose feeling; Simon reaches for his med bag but realizes he's left it out side. He stands up and is shot in the stomach. Simon calls River who comes to her brother's side and apologizes to her saying "River... River I'm sorr". River replies "No" shakes her head "No" Simon says "I hate... I hate to leave" River replies "You won't, you take care of me Simon, you've always taken care of me" She stands up says "My turn" and runs down the tunnel; dives through the opening knocks a few of the Reavers back and activates the doors before throwing Simons med bag through the opening. The last we see of River is her being drug away screaming by the Reavers. My take: This is another of my favorite scenes that is powerfully emotional, and chokes me up every time. The actors' performances are real (Literally as revealed below) and truly tug at the heart strings. It also marks the 1^st time River shows signs of choice, and is the 1^st time she reverses roles with her brother and becomes the protector instead of being the protected. To me this is the 2^nd moment where River shows signs of waking from her nightmare (the 1^st was on Miranda) and is taking charge of her mind. Remember earlier she was crippled by the rage of the Reavers, staying huddled in a corner as they attacked, but now her love for her brother and friends overrides that, she can block them out and makes a choice to help in the only way she knows how. DVD note: Director Joss Whedon, Nathan Fillian and Summer Glau explain that the exchange between Simon and River was so emotional that Whedon says they almost couldn't use the audio from it because of Summer sobbing. (You can hear her sniffling in a few of the shots)  In fact they had to film the two actor's lines separately because she simply couldn't stop crying when they tried to film it together and even then she needed time to recover between shots. Actor Nathan Fillian also says this scene makes him choke up every time he sees it saying the scene tells a lot about Simon and how he's been so devoted to River that even after he's been shot in the gut no less that the first thing he thinks of doing is to apologize to his sister. 

Job done: As Jayne and Zoe have a quiet moment asking if Mal got the message out they listen to the Reavers beating on the door River sacrificed herself to close. Above Mal is getting thrashed by the Operative who is faster and more skilled then he is. Mal is stabbed through the stomach with the Operative's sword, but Mal gets the upper hand after the Operative uses a paralyzing hit on Mal (The same he uses on the doctor in the beginning) that has no effect due to a prior injury to that nerve cluster. He hits the Operative in the throat before he can deliver the killing blow and dislocates both his shoulders before pinning him against the railing and uploads the message to the link. He doesn't kill The operative because he wants him to see the "Better world" he was willing to kill River to protect. As he watches the feed he begins to tear up as Mall activates a bridge and leaves. My take: This is the ah ha moment of the movie where the antagonist comes face to face with the reality of his own believes and discovers he was wrong all along. River was never the real threat the Parliament and the Alliance were. They were the ones who caused the horror on Miranda they created the Reavers and this girl was subjected to the torment she was all to try and cover it up.

River Awakes:  The next scene shows a Reavers blood soaked face screaming in rage just as Rivers fist collides with it knocking it away. Turns out the beating on the door Jayne and Zoe thought they heard was actually River annihilating the Reavers in hand to hand combat. The scene shows her punching and kicking away dozens of Reavers disarming them and using their own weapons against them. It's great stuff because just a few minutes earlier everyone was sure she was dead. (Including the viewer) The music in this scene is also top notch and takes the usually melancholy River theme and amps it up to a level where you know she means business. As the scene closes River is thrown against a wall just as a large spike retractor punches through from the other side. Mal emerges from the lift stumbles forward and says the jobs done before asking his crew to report. They all just look back and he scans the group before asking about River. Everyone just looks sadly back at him, and Mal knows what that means. He is startled however when the blast doors at the end of the tunnel open the music swells and the Films money shot is shown. A backlit River holding a sword in one hand an axe in the other surrounded by mounds of dead Reavers. Suddenly the wall behind her (now filed with three retractors) is pulled away and Alliance troops flood in taking aim at River and the crew. When River doesn't comply and begins to squeeze the handles of her blades the Soldiers begin pulling their triggers but are cut off by a stand down order by the Operative who realizes they are finished and there is no need to kill the girl now. My take: This series of scenes is interesting to me because it makes me think that River was being experimented on by the Alliance in order to make her a Reaver killer and would have been used to help cover up there secret had Simon not intervened. The irony of it all is she has been portrayed throughout as a victim and anything but a hero but ends up being the hero by exposing the sins of the Alliance. Also rather than being a mere puppet who when given an order goes off like a machine to do a job this scene further reinforces the notion established in the "Simon and River pt. 2" scene that even though she is troubled she does have choice and free will and she chose to use her abilities to help her friends. DVD note: Director Joss Whedon tells us that the whole set for the "money shot" was built exclusively for that one shot and they got it in a single take.

Goodbyes and Rebuilding: We start the scene with a close up of holographic images atop grave markers for the friends, and family who have died during the movie. The moment is very somber as River places a note on a firework rocket and slowly walks out of shot. The next scene has a slightly more upbeat musical score and shows Serenity being put back together and repainted. Inside members of the crew are busy working even River who is rewiring some cable connections. Simon and Caylee finally get it on after years of speculation while River kind of curiously sneaks a peek from an access panel above them. As Mal prepares to enter the ship the Operative has a brief talk with him explaining. "It's not over you know? I can't guarantee that they won't come after you... the parliament. Your broadwave about Miranda has weakened there regime, but they are not gone and they are not forgiving". Mal replies "That don't bode especially well for you... Giving the order to let us go, patching up our hurt" The Operative says "I told them the Tams were no longer a threat, damage done. They might listen, but I think they know I'm no longer there man". Mal concludes "They take you down I don't expect to grieve over much. I'd sooner like to kill you myself I see you again". The operative ends with "You won't because there is nothing left to see" and walks away. Mal enters the ship and Zoe gives him the green light for lift. He walks up to the bridge takes his seat at the helm and begins powering up Serenity before saying "I suppose you're going to ride shotgun, help me fly the ship?" The camera switches to River sitting in the Copilot seat flipping on switches and replies "that's the plan" Mal starts saying "Think you can work out..." but no sooner does he start saying it then River has the ship off the ground and flying. A little taken aback Mal says "Okay... Clearly some aptitude for the..." pointing awkwardly at her console before he takes the reins and looks out the window. "It ain't all buttons and charts little albatross". River glances at him. Mal continues "You know what the first rule of flying is?"  He pauses. "Well I suppose you do since you already know what I'm about to say".  River Replies with a smile "I do, but I like to hear you say it" Mal looks at her as she pulls her knees up to her chest. "Love, you can learn all the math in the 'verse, but you take a boat in the air that you don't love... shell shake you off just as sure as the turn of the worlds. Love keeps her in the air when she ought to fall down. Tells you when she's hurting before she keels. Makes her a home" River smiles and looks out the forward window as the rain patters against the glass. "Storms getting worse" she says. Mal replies "We'll push through soon enough" as the camera pans back the last we see of them is sitting side by side looking up out the forward windows. Serenity breaks through the cloud tops into the sunshine does a barrel role and flies off into space. Roll credits. My take: These last few scenes help bring about a sense of conclusion to the Firefly saga in some ways. Sure there is more then enough room that if by some miracle Whedon got the backing he could easily make a Serenity sequel, he along with the cast has said on numerous occasions that they are more then up for it. However if it's not to be then this movie ties it up in subtle ways. Even though the Tams are technically no longer fugitives you know they will still be pursued at the same time however we know those pursuing them aren't as powerful or dangerous and I'm sure they've made more than a few new friends which leads me to belive that they may be for the first time be safe or atleast much safer from the Alliance. Another subtle way of tying it up is when the Operative says "You won't, because there is nothing more to see" in my view is a way of telling the audience that this is the end. I also see River working and having a purpose on the ship (Copilot in training) as helping reinforce the idea that she has achieved some measure of peace after all and that she finally has a home which is something fans have been wondering since the show started. Its also quite obvious that Mals talk with River about love is a message to the fans of whom without there love for Firefly would have never allowed Director Joss Whedon the oppertinity to bring his vision of Serenity to the big screen. The very last shot of River and Mal on the bridge also brings about the idea that the two understand each other are now friends and that she is finally part of the crew / family of Serenity. DVD note: In the outtakes section the last scene showing Mal and River looking out the forward windows is goofed up when Summer and Nathan start mimicking each other's movements. When summer pushes a button Nathan does the same. They go on like this for a bit getting more and more animated as they do. Finally the two are pretty into it and Nathan gets carried away picks up one of Wash's toy dinosaurs he has mounted on the control console and toss's it at Summer hitting her in the head. She recoils and Nathan  jumps up still strapped to his seat and waddles over seat and all with arms out stretched in a hugging motion while Summer laughs and Whedon yells cut.

The origins of Serenity, Firefly continues below...       

 Currently Available on Blu-ray and DVD

To be precise the short lived but much loved TV show Firefly and its Spinoff feature film Serenity. In this first ever non rant I'll cover my thoughts about the show Firefly and who my favorite charcters are in it. My next post will be Part 2 and will Recap the 1st half of the Movie Serenity followed by part 3 which will Recap the last half. I really don't know if anyone will even care that I'm posting this but I just feel compelled to say how much I love this show and the Movie now. That said on we go.

I admit I'm a late bloomer to the Firefly phenom having only recently picked up the box set and feature film Serenity. In truth I owe Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (watch it Monday nights at 8 on Fox) a great deal of gratitude for both buys considering I would have probably never heard of either had it not been for the actress Summer Glau who plays key roles in all 3. As my avatar indicates I've become a fan of Summers (not in a creepy way I assure you) mostly as a result of her chilly portrayal of the "good" Terminator in SCC, and she's a mite cute which don't hurt. In any case I wanted to see what other works she had done and came across this little FOX show called Firefly that was cancelled in less than 1 season, and a movie called Serenity which I would later find out were one and the same. In any case I picked em up the other day brought em home and started watching. After viewing most everything there is to view of both I can't help but ask if the execs at FOX didn't have more holes drilled in their collective heads then poor River for cancelling this genuine piece of entertainment.

Firefly: 

I mean sure the idea of what amounts to a western in space may sound odd to some, (even me) even silly what with gunslingers and shootouts in horse corals with space ships flying overhead but oddly it worked. The past meets future mix actually made the show feel more like present day then anything. Who'd a thunk? What really impressed me the most about Firefly however was the fact that there was no big budget or tons of fancy effects. Firefly relied on what really mattered and that was great story telling and developing characters you could really care about. I mean for a show that only lasted 11 episodes on air (14 total) the actors played their roles with so much enthusiasm and offered up such natural performances I couldn't help but be enthralled. Even the pilot episode was more natural feeling then some shows I've seen that have gone on for 6 seasons and still haven't got it right. Add to that the diversity of the crew and your left with a recipe for good times. My favorite characters are..

 Captain Mal: (Nathan Fillian): I like him because while he's certainly not a bad guy by nature he operates in a lot of grey areas and is just doing what he has to in order to keep his ship flying, food on the table, his crew payed and so long as what he's taking isn't hurting people who are hurting more them him it's okay. I also love the fact that in one breath he will say quite adamantly that he wants Simon and River off his ship because of the trouble they've brought down on "Him and his own" with the Alliance. Yet every single time the opportunity presents itself he just can't do it. He always scoops em up and takes em away to safety. I think of Mal as a reluctant protector of River, like her he didn't bring the trouble on himself, she was smuggled aboard by her brother after all, and in that sense that is something they share. Still he knows what will happen to her if she ever fell into the hands of those who harmed her in the 1st place and his overriding sense to do what if right instead of what's smart is enough for him to justify risking his ship and his crew to protect this wayward girl, and there's something noble about that.

  Jayne: (Adam Baldwin) I just like this character. He's rough and tumble, your typical gun maniac shoot first ask questions later. He serves a lot as the comic relief often saying some goof ball line at just the right moment to break the tension of a situation. One of my favorite Jayne quotes comes from the Movie in which he says "I'll kill a man in a fare fight... I'll kill a man if think he gonna start a fair fight" That right there tells ya a lot about his character. Jayne also serves as a bit of an antagonist. He's a merc by trade so often times he's willing to cross the crew if someone is willing to pay more, but he always ends up doing the right thing in the end. He's not at all fond of having Simon or River onboard and thinks River is dangerous in more ways than one which is often displayed by the fact the River usually ends up beating him up in some fashion quite often which is a running gag I think.

  Simon Tam: Simon is a fish out of water for the 1st few shows and has no place aboard a ship like Serenity. He's a highly educated man a Trauma surgeon and quite wealthy, but when his younger Sister River decides to go to a special alliance academy for gifted children things change. Things seem normal enough at first but he begins receiving disturbing letters one contains nothing but jibber but he recognizes it as a code that says they are hurting her. He spends his entire fortune buying contacts that can get him the info he needs get his sister out which he does. I like Simon because he's completely selfless. He gave everything he knew up to save his sister which is something even the crew of Serenity admire, and he is now completely devoted to taking care of her and healing her damaged mind. In a roundabout way Captain Mal finds his way of keeping them aboard despite the dangers by way of Simon being a surgeon and Serenity needing one.

  River Tam: (Summer Glau) The severely troubled younger sister of Simon is the tragic character of the show. 2 years at a special academy has left River borderline schizophrenic, paranoid, and troubled by terrible nightmares parted by moments of savant like brilliance and feats of amazing skill. (She shoots 3 armed soldiers with her eyes closed just by memorizing their positions with a 1 second glance). Its also later revealed that she had her brain surgically altered and is a "reader" another term for psychic.  As far I'm concerned River is the real star of the show and serves as the crews obvious driving force. In fact without River you don't have Firefly simple as that. Ironically she doesn't have many speaking roles, and when she does talk a lot of what she says is almost coded gibberish especially in the earlier shows, but Summer gives the character her own voice with facial expression and with her eyes. As a result River adds a hauntingly alluring presence to just about any scene she is in. To be honest Summers portrayal of River makes her portrayal of Cameron look stale. While the two characters share certain traits where they differ wildly is the fact that Cameron feels nothing while River sadly feels everything including what others are feeling and her portrayal of that is just so good and feels so real. You can't help but almost cry for her as a character because when Summer turns it on you can feel the poor girls pain. I mean oh my gawd! That girl had me welled up more times then I dare mention for sake of ridicule, but you can't help it if you have any sort of heart at all. She's such a tormented and innocent person just a 16 year old girl who's had her mind ravaged by experiments. She never did anything wrong, and never deserved any of it. Her only sin was being born special.

While all the above are my favorites I like every character and every one of the actors offers up the most genuine performances I've seen on a TV show period. For that matter Firefly's writers deserve mad props for actually engaging you instead of landing a pile of wood putty in your lap for an hour and expecting you to make sense of it. Seriously ask yourself how often do TV shows really make you laugh or cry or get angry? Probably not many but Firefly does/did all the above, and ya know what it may not have had the fluff, but it had the soul and was a good show indeed. Bad thing for me is the long time fans of the show are content with its passing now, (going on 6 years) they've "gotten over it" so to speak but for me being a new fan I'm like to heck with this I want more, I want to know what Captain Mal gets himself into next I want to know if River ever does get better or if Jayne will ever lighten up, but sadly I know I'll likely never get those answers to which I might say sucks pretty bad.