Baker (Matthew McConaughey) is the captain of a fishing boat known as Serenity. He daily takes tourists out on fishing trips, but he has a mission of his own to catch a giant tuna fish that keeps escaping from him. Baker soon finds his ex-wife in town (Anne Hathaway) and encounters her. She offers him a large sum of money if he kills her husband (played by Jason Clarke) who has become unbearable to live with due to his consistent abuse. There is also a man in a suit who is continually trying to catch Baker in person but always misses him just by the nick of time. What does he want with Baker? And who is he? These are just some of the many questions in this film.
As the film progresses, Baker soon has to make some rather challenging choices. Along with this, the things that surround Baker in his everyday life aren’t actually what they appear to be. This review will be brief, as for the sake of spoilers, there’s not much I can share about Serenity.
If you’ve seen the film’s trailer, I advise you to ignore it simply. I found the film’s trailer misleading as to what this film is actually about. If you ignore the film’s trailer, you will find Serenity tries to give the audience the set-up to a significant twist. The only problem with this is that I found the considerable twist incredibly predictable with the film giving it away far too early. Once the twist comes into play, we have to suffer through the leading characters adjusting to what the audience already knew. This hurts the rest of the film, with the twist dragging and becoming dull (not to mention extremely hard to accept).
Matthew McConaughey does well on a performance level, but there is nothing new or exciting here from the actor. He fishes, smokes plenty of cigarettes, makes love to women and says a small amount of dialogue along with frowning and thinking deep thoughts. That there is nothing new or exciting from the actor could also be said about Anne Hathaway, who I feel is here more for star power and looks than being used for her real talent as an actress. As far as the film’s visuals, sure there are some points to praise, but this is only a minor element of the film. The film mostly feels bland, dark and gritty.
Overall, Serenity is a complete surprise and sadly, not of the right kind. This is a film that sets up a hugely predictable twist that is filled with flaws. Brilliant actors such as Matthew McConaughey & Anne Hathaway are simply wasted on the screen. The film’s trailer is also misleading as to the end and final results. The whole movie is simply a major disappointment considering the cast.
3.8/10
28th May 2019
Written by Peter Walkden
WALKDEN ENTERTAINMENT
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