Review: Serenity

5/10: McConaughey doesn’t Hathaway of saving this mess

When I first started watching Steven Knight’s Serenity, I was confused as to why I had heard absolutely nothing about a film starring Academy Award winners Matthew McConaughey and Anne Hathaway, released less than a month ago. Unfortunately, the reason became quickly apparent: it’s terrible. So terrible, in fact, that its promoters gave up on marketing it. However, Serenity is a train wreck you won’t want to take your eyes off.

McConaughey plays Iraq veteran turned fishing-boat captain Baker Dill, who lives on the tropical Plymouth Island. Baker spends his days taking rich tourists out on fishing trips, when all he really wants is to finally catch a giant tuna he alternately calls “Justice” and “the Beast.” Enter Karen, his ex-wife, played by Hathway, a femme fatale in the wrong genre. She needs Baker’s help, and what she asks of him will force him to question right and wrong. In the interim, a mysterious businessman tries and repeatedly fails to contact Baker. This is about all I can give away without ruining this…uh… experience. If you followed the absolute trainwreck that was 2016’s Collateral Beauty, all I can say is that Serenity is similarly insane. 

Would I recommend Serenity? Honestly, yes. The film falls squarely into the ‘so bad it’s good’ category, and is extremely entertaining for that reason. While I fear that this could mark the end of the McConaissance, Serenity could become a drunken movie night staple nonetheless.