This has been a year full of great, dark movies: Batman Begins, Sin City, Kingdom of Heaven, even Star Wars lost its innocence. The fast-paced, lightly entertaining films have been not so great (Mr. and Mrs. Smith, for example). Luckily, Joss Whedon's Serenity is a combination - fast-paced, hilarious, action-packed, and above all, it's actually good. I never watched Firefly, and hate Buffy The Vampire Slayer, but this movie blew me away. Seriously. It was like the best roller coaster ever, with outstanding action, brilliantly timed one-liners, elements of mystery, classic Western conventions, and spectacular visual effects. Its only weaknesses are completely subjective and are mostly the result of Whedon's inexperience directing a feature film: a few shots are framed a bit awkwardly, and a couple sequences cut too short. This adds to the frenetic pace, but I would have liked to enjoy the excitement of the opening escape scene or the massive, epic space battle for a few moments longer. In short, go see it if you're a fan of Whedon, Firefly, science fiction, action, or simply being entertained.
