Taking to that sky

by Leigh Drew

I’m one of a lucky handful of Australians who got to see a preview screening of Serenity in April. And I can’t say how lucky I am – I had only joined Universal’s Serenity board, and given myself a shiny Browncoat badge, the week before. I can’t remember the movie as clearly as I’d like, but I can remember every emotion that it stirred in me, and that’s why I’m writing this now.

I didn’t see “Firefly” in it’s (thus far) only run on free to air Australian television. I received the dvd set as a gift in late February, and by the time I found myself at the second last episode, at 7am, having watched them all night, I knew I was a deep down Browncoat.

“Firefly” took me to a whole new world, one that had been around for 500 years, one that I had seen glimpses of before (it’s hard not to see Blade Runner in the blend of Asian and anglo cultures, hard not to see the origins of Star Trek in the frontier gunslingers of “Firefly”, hard not to see Han Solo in Captain Mal Reynolds) but never so realised, so clear, so lived in. “Firefly” gave me a family, a dysfunctional, loyal, sometimes brutal, always loving, family. “Firefly” gave me tears, of laughter and of pain. “Firefly” gave me hope – because, hell, the DVDs I was watching came about because of the fans, because of the tremendous groundswell of support, because those damn Browncoats never gave up.

Did I have high expectations of the movie? You’re gorram right I did.

Were they met? Hell yes. And then some.

I don’t go to the movies much any more. I don’t trust them. The trailers promise so much shiny and then deliver dull. I saw the trailer for Serenity on the morning that I was going to see the preview, and my heart sat in my throat all day. Please, god, let the shiny in the trailer be the shiny of the movie.

Arriving at the cinema, waiting for my friend to turn up, I chatted to some other Browncoats. They weren’t hard to spot. Some, like me, were wearing home made tshirts. Some just had badges. Even those without identifying tshirts or badges could be spotted as Browncoats because of the mixture of anticipation, excitement and just a little nervousness on their faces.

We didn’t get the message from Joss that lucky folks in the US did. Not that I’m complaining, mind, because we got to see the Big Damn Movie, and that’s all that counts. So for us, it was straight in, straight onto the ride, straight into that world. An unfinished print, still a little shaky on it’s legs, still occasionally trying to pull me out of the story with “Unfinished sfx�? flashing up on the screen.

The introduction to Serenity and her crew is beautifully handled. And doesn’t Serenity herself just look wondrous up on the big screen? Everything’s just a little bit bigger, just a little bit more, than it was on Firefly. The crew are mostly there, still holding on, still holding together, just like Serenity. There’s Wash’s dinosaurs!! There’s Kaylee’s flowers painted on the kitchen walls! Honey, I’m home!

The film is strong and fast paced, the plotting intricate and mostly clear. The colour palette and lighting are a lot darker than the series, to match the tone of the characters, especially that of Captain Mal. His character has returned to Joss’ earlier imagining, a man of honour and belief who has lost all hope, lost all belief, who is grieving and angry at the ‘verse. His relationship with the rest of his crew is fraught with this anger, though they are still as unflaggingly loyal, and there are still those moments of humour in which you see the love they all feel for each other.

The movie is mostly bereft of the “western�? part of the space western concept of “Firefly”. It’s retained in the language and lilt of conversation, in the six shooters carried by the Captain and his crew. Most of the action takes place in a definite sf universe, and even the unfinished special effects are commanding and impressive, especially considering the budget.

The second half of the movie is very dark, a very brave step by Joss. The emotional ups and downs of this film are amazing and jolting and constant, and you sure as hell don’t want them to stop, even when you’re wishing they would, because much more and you’ll think you’ll break. This is raw, this is pure, this is character driven sf as I haven’t seen in years, and I can’t wait to see it again and again upon it’s official release.

And take as many people with me as I can. This is the movie that rose from the ashes of a failed tv series, because of the love and dedication of Joss Whedon, of his cast, of the fans, because of the support of Universal, and damned if I’m going to let there only be one movie. We, as fans, can help Joss to make a trilogy, can help him to spin this epic tale.

Beg, borrow or (preferably) buy the “Firefly” dvd set, watch it with those you love, and their friends, and their uncles and nieces and catsitters and lovers and mothers and best friends. Get the signal out, get the passion out there, and then we can all gather together on September 30 to celebrate the birth of a new path for “Firefly” and it’s fans – the movie, Serenity.

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