A space opera with western sensibilities, Serenity is a continuation/swansong of the short-lived TV series Firefly, both from the brains behind Buffy the Vampire Slayer. One of the long-term passengers aboard the ship descends further into psychosis and endangers the whole crew, especially once an operative from the central government gets on the trail.
Serenity is a film I wanted to like more than I did, the premise is clever and features the same witty dialog and odd characters as the show, but the film suffers from having too much stuffed into it. The TV series worked well with the large cast because each crew member's story could play out over a number of episodes. The film tries to include everyone from the series, and the whole thing just seems crowded. The first few minutes of the movie are a rather clever introduction to the characters, but I suspect someone without a passing knowledge of the show would be slightly lost.
On the plus side, the bad guy is earnest and actually has good reasons for doing what he does, unlike most movie villains. The story moves along at a blinding pace, so at least the movie is not boring.
The preceding paragraphs sound rather more negative than Serenity really deserves, the film contains many fine scenes and some truly funny dialog. Recommended if you like this sort of thing
Excellent animation and an entertaining story make for a fun movie about a family of superheros who are forced to live as a normal family. The plot succeeds in working at many different levels, as a homily for kids about being different as well as slightly right-wing morality tale for adults (and there are all sorts of clever references to other superhero-themed works in the script).
Highly recommended