Serenity (2005)

Elevator Pitch: The crew of the Serenity, a clapped out space craft are engaged in some possibly illegal activities to allow themselves to survive in an environment which includes the Alliance, the authority of the planetary system in which they work, and the Reavers cannibalistic ferocious humans, who predate the population of the outer planets. When they pick up a young woman with unusual skills and her brother, the Alliance sends out a super assassin after them. Can they overcome the representative of the Alliance and the Reaver attacks or die maintaining their beliefs?

Content: There is no sex or nudity, although some talk about it, and some drinking. However there is quite a bit of shooting with firearms and cutting and slashing with edged weapons, as well as some spaceship battles, bearing in mind that Serenityis virtually unarmed.  Quite a high body count, although no-one has bothered to total it up, and in a variety of environments a lot of smart dialogue. Many scenes within the spaceship, which appears to be bigger on the inside than the outside.

A View: This oeuvre won a few SF awards, rightly so, it is fun. The battles are not overdone and the super hero – yes there is one – is a surprise. If there is a weakness it could be that the Serenity is just not important enough for the attention of the Alliance, nor really is the “secret” that important to them, I would have thought. However, even though it was well liked by both professional and amateur critics and by the general public, it did not cover its costs and so a possible sequel has never materialised. Definitely a watch for the cost of a download if you are an SF fan.

Additional Info: Is it just me, or is Serenity a slightly enhanced version of Starbug. And when Nathan Fillion appeared briefly in Big Bang I did not know who he was, but I do now.