Movies - Serenity

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	Movies - Serenity

:For other uses, see Serenity.

Serenity is a film written and directed by Joss Whedon. It is set in the universe of the cancelled Fox science fiction television series Firefly, taking place six months after the events of the last episode . Like the television series that spawned it, Serenity is a science fiction Western, using elements of both genres. The film was released in the US on September 30, 2005.

Set 500 years in the future, Serenity is the story of the captain and crew of a transport and cargo ship. Their lives of petty crime are interrupted by a psychic passenger who carries a dangerous secret.

Story

The resources of Earth have been depleted. Humanity has moved to another star system, terraformed many of the planets. All the planets are controlled by the supposedly peace-loving, but actually authoritarian, Alliance. But a frontier justice still holds sway farther from the "core planets", where outlaws like the crew of Serenity can scrape out a living if they keep clear of Alliance forces and the Reavers, savage and cannibalistic humans who dwell beyond the outer planets and raid the Alliance worlds around the rim.

In order to earn her continued passage onboard Serenity, a fugitive from the Alliance, the telepathic River Tam (Summer Glau), accompanies Captain Malcolm Reynolds (Nathan Fillion), Jayne (Adam Baldwin), and Zoë (Gina Torres) on a mission to steal the payroll of an outer planet security company financed by the Alliance. During the robbery, the crew narrowly avoids capture by a Reaver raiding party when River is able to telepathically sense their approach. Wash (Alan Tudyk), the ship's pilot (and Zoë's husband) brings the ship to intercept the crew's surface vehicle, saving the crew from a grisly fate.

River's brother Simon (Sean Maher), the crew's doctor, angrily reacts to the captain's willingness to put his younger sister in such grave danger. Captain Reynolds responds by suggesting they leave at the next planet they land on, Beaumonde, where the crew plans to sell their loot. Simon agrees. The Tams do indeed disembark at Beaumonde, though joining the crew at the bar where the captain will haggle with their clients. River suddenly attacks the bar's patrons. Despite being a 90 pound (41 kg) girl, she manages to incapacitate everyone, including Jayne, and is about to shoot Captain Reynolds when Simon arrives and shouts a phrase in Russian, causing her to fall asleep.

Simon explains to the captain that, during her captivity by the Alliance, she was trained and conditioned to become an assassin. The only thing (short of death) that can stop her once this conditioning has been triggered is the "safe-word" he uttered. Despite knowledge of this new danger and his anger at not being told about the possibility of carrying a potential living weapon, the captain allows Simon and River to continue traveling on Serenity.

The crew contacts Mr. Universe (David Krumholtz), a reclusive techno-geek who dwells with his robotic wife on a planet surrounded by an opaque ion cloud. After watching the security camera footage of the bar on Beaumonde, Mr. Universe discovers that River's outburst was triggered by a subliminal message in a seemingly harmless cartoon advertisement that had been broadcast all over the Alliance during the previous weeks. He tells the crew that before her attack, River had whispered the name "Miranda." He also notes that the footage has been viewed by someone else with high Alliance clearance.

Fearing Alliance pursuit, the crew takes refuge in the Haven mining colony with Shepherd Book (Ron Glass), a priest who once traveled with Serenity's crew. Book warns Mal that the Alliance agent pursuing River is likely to be an "Operative," and very dangerous. Shortly thereafter, the captain receives a call from Inara (Morena Baccarin), another former passenger. Their conversation is awkward but pleasant enough — with no arguing — leading Mal and Zoe to the conclusion that it's a trap, but they decide to visit Inara anyway. Mal's fears are realized; Inara is held hostage by a ruthless and nameless Operative (Chiwetel Ejiofor). The Operative offers to let the captain go on his way if he turns River over to him, but thanks to Inara's quick thinking, she and the captain escape the Operative and return to Serenity, which takes off undetected.

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Movies - Serenity

Story

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