SERENITY BY BROOKE HOLGERSON

119 MINUTES | APPLE VALLEY + FLAGSHIP + HOLIDAY + PROVIDENCE PLACE 16 + SHOWCASE

The Internet has been buzzing for months about the nerdy joys of this big-screen adaptation of cult writer/director Joss Whedon’s short-lived TV series Firefly, and damn if the geeks aren’t right. Set in a future where Earth is a distant memory and the universe is governed by the ominous-sounding Alliance, a group of petty thieves find themselves the target of a government hitman when they pick up a young psychic and her brother. That’s a bit high-concept for a TV show, which could be one reason it failed, but on the big screen it works, as does Whedon’s idiosyncratic sense of humor. The entire cast from the series appears in the film, and at least a few seem poised for breakout status, especially Nathan Fillion as the tortured ship’s captain and Summer Glau as the psychic River. The word on the Net is that if this film is a big enough hit, there may be a sequel. Let’s hope the geeks are right again.