If nothing else, Serenity will be one of the more bonkers films I see this year. It starts off like a modern day noir, perhaps inspired by steamy 80s thrillers like Body Heat, the Postman Always Rings Twice remake or The Big Easy. Matthew McConaughey stars as Baker Dill, a fisherman who makes a living taking out tourists from a small and remote island.
When his ex-wife (Anne Hathaway) turns up out of the blue with a proposition, he has a choice to make. Does he take her offer of $10 million to kill her abusive rich husband? This is a pretty basic noir plot, and for the first two acts, it mostly unfolds as you would expect. However, there is a stiltedness to the dialogue and the characters are no more than tropes. McConaughey in particular is way over the top.
Then the twist occurs. I don’t think that anyone could see it coming and writer/director Steven Knight has to be given credit for that. I won’t give any spoilers but once past the impact of it, the twist does nothing to elevate this mediocre film. In fact, it becomes less interesting because the stakes are lowered, and whilst some of the previous incidents make more sense, others no longer make any sense at all.
From that point the movie has nowhere new or interesting to go, though the very end does bring a modicum of satisfaction. A curio at best, Serenity is showing on some Cinema screens, but is also available on Sky Movies, Free to subscribers.
Rating: 4.5 out of 10