Serenity (movie review)

This is a solid representative of the genre science fiction. It hits the sweet spot, and not in a glitzy, over-budgeted kind of way. It's a well-told story, of the kind that would've bought Scheherazade another day's reprieve.

The Alliance has won, with defeated rebel non-believers living as outlaws in the outskirts. And then there are devils (the vampires of this world), and a Slayer. Joss Whedon tells it again.

This is high TV more than over-the-top big screen, in terms of props -- enough to fuel the imagination. The story and the acting make up for the only decent special effects. eXistenZ was in this same category, and likewise brilliant.

The Alliance has upset the balance of nature and doesn't want you to know -- has enlisted a blind fanatic to keep you from finding out. But the human psyche is unerring when it comes to unearthing secrets of this type, and responds with integrity.

Moral: human nature isn't easily improved upon by humans themselves. In a fiercesome furnace we were forged. Don't mess with us. And we love our psycho-warrior children.