In what is quite possibly the worst "piece" I've ever written, here are my thoughts on Serenity. Hopefully I'll get the gusto to spice it up a bit (yes, I did just say that and no, I don't ever plan to again) sometime when I'm a bit more conscious tomorrow. This was primarily written as a reply to this crap review from this thing I call a school.

I'll admit it from the get-go: I'm a big fan of Firefly, and have been since the day my friend thrust a DVD in my hands and said "Watch it, or die." Being of the living and intending to stay that way, I did as I was told. I thank my friend to this day for it. The TV series was refreshingly intelligent in its writing, incredible chemistry between the nine central characters, and special effects well above the typical bar for TV. The formula was a bit trite, with each of the series' fourteen episodes following a fairly similar equation, but the rest of the show more than made up for this.

I went into Serenity with fairly large expectations. I'd watched each episode a couple times over the course of a couple years, so I'd grown a bit attached to the characters over time. The trailer for the movie, also, filled me with a less-than-spectacular feel for the movie. It all stunk of a "Haven't we seen this before when it was called Star Wars?" kind of emotion.

Then I went and saw the movie with my mom and sister (who I had forced to watch the series, much to their delight), and we left the theater giddy with excitement, yet still in shock from a few of the more jolting events in the movie. I'm not going to lie: It's a pretty intense movie. By far one of the most violent PG-13 movies I have ever seen. After I had a bit of time to digest everything in the movie, though, I simply came away thinking that Serenity was the Star Wars for a new generation; because, let's face it, Lucas' prequel trilogy left MUCH to be desired. Serenity flies in a few months after the final chapter in that abysmal trilogy with memorable characters (even if only two of them possess any kind of development arc), great writing, stellar action, and a universe that defies its science-fiction roots.

Serenity most certainly isn't a movie for everybody — that much is certain. I would argue that it is a fairly accessible movie, even for people completely unacquainted with the Firefly universe. It's a movie which is strongly rooted in its moral values and a movie which is filled with more heart than any other theatrical release I've seen in the last couple years. It's a genre-crossing adventure with a cast of actors who, other than Alan "Steve the Pirate" Tudyk, are not overly familiar with the silver screen but still manage to deliver very believable and strong performances. And it's the kind of movie that really needs to be experienced with an open-mind. For people willing to give the movie a shot though, Serenity is a sure fire winner.

If you're still unsure about Serenity, the first nine-minutes of the movie can be seen here: http://video.vividas.com/CDN1/3929_Serenity/web/index.html. I would've preferred that they show the scene directly after these introductory nine minutes, but that's just me. Still a good glimpse into a fantastic movie.