i have yet to see firefly so my viewing of serenity is based strictly on the movie in itself. i remember when it first came out it got rave reviews but left the theatre as quick as it came. i then watched it on vd for the first time in oh, let's say 2008. i liked it but a wasn't stark raving mad about it. then on boxing day of last year i picked up a rather nifty box of this movie and firefly for a combined 15 bucks. i guess it was time to revisit this film and that time came but a few hours ago. this time around i really enjoyed this film. it looked amazing, it whizzed by at a frantic pace and it was filled with great performances and laugh out loud humour. nathan fillion plays the lead and man is he likeable. he's like a eastwood-ish han solo. the story ispretty solid, the ideas and messages are strong and the reliance on characters and their actions that drives the story forward is refreshing and very very well done. there are glimpses of trek and wars as influences and a whole slew of other references but it still feels mighty original. the bad in this film, while not much, still brings it down a notch. bad is maybe the wrong word, perhaps the not as good stuff would be more apt. the not so good stuff would be referring to some performances taht are a tad tv-ish, and the fact that if you haven't seen firefly then you kind of just jump into the story and this world as if you've been here before. it's a little jarring at first but you get over it. i for sure will watch this again, as the more i think about what i just saw the more i like it. twists and deaths you don't see coming and fillion is just awesome, fucking awesome. i'll give it another go after i watch firefly and perhaps the rating will increase (based on what i feel now i think it will). 82/100