Okay, nothing so dramatic. But I needed a nice opener to follow up on Colin’s comment about perhaps having found a new Browncoat. It isn’t quite so epic, but I did indeed go to see the pre-release screening for Serenity last night, and I did indeed enjoy it.

Having said that, let me add that the reason I enjoyed it had very little to do with the plot which, although very nicely put together, was hardly original. It also had very little to do with special effects, although these were nice too. Very nice indeed.

I could say that to one as jaded as I, Joss Whedon must have found his thousandth monkey for his thousandth typewriter to bang out Hamlet. Or I could be truly kind and say only that the writing was very well-paced and the story well-written. That’s about as far as I can go, since “Joss Whedon is a hack” has been a precise quote from me. Sorry browncoats, I repent. Somewhat.

Perhaps the best aspect of the movie, however, was the acting. I looked up all the actors from the series ‘Firefly’ and the movie. Not one has had a spectacularly prolific or incredibly well-publicized career in film, and yet all were professionals who really made their characters enjoyable, believable, and likeable. Maybe it was that much more enjoyable for the relative anonymity of the actors, as I focused more on their performances and the movie itself than what lines a star would spew out. Even the villain was memorable, truly evil. And yet he was a sympathetic character.

I highly recommend seeing this movie. I’ve seen a lot of crap at $9.50 a ticket. Even though I didn’t pay for this screening, knowing how good it is, I would have. If you need an endorsement to see ‘Serenity’, just think that it converted someone who hated Buffy more than he hates smelly cheese. And I really hate smelly cheese.