clayhornik | Serenity

Last night, I saw a preview for Serenity at the mall. It's the big screen follow up to the cancelled tv show Firefly, which due to scheduling problems and the evil of the network, I never managed to see.
Wow.
I was worried I'd be lost with out the backstory from the tv, but Joss Whedon, creator-writer-director, was clever enough to realize he had to make it accessable to make it profitable.
Serenity was a tv episode on steriods, but unlike the Trek films, it was done as an act of love, rather than a studio project. And that was the whole point of the preview last night. Whedon introduced the movie with a short prologue- Get the word out, spread the faith.
This is part of why I'm writing this.
Serenity is an oddity in the science fiction field. No aliens. Space is quiet. No technobabble.
In fact, part of Whedon's vision was Firefly/Serenity as a western in space. It's the Frontier. Lawless rogues run wild, while savages run raiding parties on outposts.
The heros of Serenity ARE the lawless rogues.
These aren't the healthiest of people, psychologically speaking. They're all damage people who seem to be in it for the credits, but - like in so many movies like this- they discover purpose during thier journey.
Whedon's dialogue is one of the standouts in the movie. Many times in moviefutures people talk like we do- not here. First, the future is a Sino-Anglo melange, occasionally lapsing into Mandarin from English. Secondly, the captain's speaking is measured, the rhythm and cadences are slightly archiac... like something out of the old west.
This wasn't a rough cut, but it's rougher than what we'll see in September.
That's ok. Because once it's polished, Serenity will be a jewel.