Keepin’ It Reel: Serenity

If you like movies that send your mind down a rabbit hole, like “The Matrix” or “Tron”, then “Serenity” is definitely the movie for you. It was certainly not the movie for me. Going into the theater I thought that due to its lack of publicity, “Serenity” would be a mysterious hit. But, I was terribly mistaken. This movie disappointed me in so many aspects that I can’t even begin to describe how much I regret wasting my money and time on this movie, which surely brought shame to a few good actors’ careers.

The movie begins by introducing us to Baker Dill, played by Matthew McConaughey. Dill is an army veteran living out his days as a tuna fisherman on Plymouth Island. Dill does the same thing day in and day out: taking tourists out on his boat while they watch him try to catch a seemingly Jaws-like tuna fish that Dill has named Justice. When Dill begins to think he’s making some progress with his life, his ex-girlfriend, Karen, shows up with a proposition that shatters his once quiet life. She offers Dill $10 million if he will save her – and their son – from her abusive husband. She wants Dill to take her husband on a fishing trip in the middle of the ocean and drown him.

Karen’s story throws Dill back into memories he’d rather leave buried as he takes time to reflect on this tempting offer. But now, he must decide between right or wrong on an island where the line between the two is normally blurred.

This is a seemingly normal motion picture about a man’s struggle with right and wrong for about an hour. But soon after, Dill is approached by a gentleman who claims to represent “the rules.” You soon realize that things are not always as they seem on Plymouth Island. The bizarre things that Dill has seen finally start making sense, like the bird that always shows up when Justice is near or the fact that struggle as he might, Dill can never get out of his bed before his alarm clock goes off at 5 a.m. every morning. As “the rules” begin to reveal more hints, Dill starts to realize that he does the exact same thing every day of his life and that it’s not normal. The audience soon discovers that Dill was a solider in Iraq who never came home and now lives his life as a character of a video game designed by Patrick, his son.

The movie gives you no time to process such a wrench in the plot, as it continues on with Dill’s struggle with his morals as if nothing happened.

Serenity had very few good things that could be said about it, but one was surely the cast. These actors were thrown a horrible puzzle of a script, but they did the best they could with it. If it weren’t for the acting skills of Anne Hathaway and Matthew McConaughey, this movie probably wouldn’t have attracted so many moviegoers in the first place. I, like many others, watched the movie because of the unique casting of good actors. But also like many others, I was sadly disappointed in how this movie turned out.

Honestly, I hated this movie. I would never recommend this movie to anyone, even my worst enemy. I’m sure that some people enjoyed watching a movie that left them completely clueless of the plot after they left the theater, but I was not one of them. After witnessing this turmoil of confusion first-hand, I rate this movie about a 4 out of 10, due to its lack of clarity, plot line and other important features needed for a motion picture.

For someone who enjoys movies with a hint of science fiction like me, “Serenity” just didn’t hit the mark. I know that I will never waste my time or money on such a disaster again, and I hope no one else will either.

After leaving the theater from watching this box office failure, only one word came to my mind, “What?”