7/23/2023 0 Comments Serenity cast imdbIf he does it, she’ll pay him $10 million. As film noir femme fatales tend to do, Karen has tracked Dill down to offer him an unsavory proposition: Take Frank out on the boat, pretend it’s a fishing trip, ply him with alcohol and push him overboard to let the sharks devour him. Karen is now miserably married to the man she left Dill for: Jason Clarke’s Frank Zariakas, a monstrous man of shadowy wealth who abuses her verbally and physically. One day, a chic blonde from Dill’s past comes sauntering through the door of the island’s only bar: Anne Hathaway’s Karen, his ex and the mother of the couple’s teenage son, from whom Dill has become estranged. Djimon Hounsou is his dutiful and pious first mate, Duke, a black character who’s such a pure voice of reason and so willing to sacrifice his own well being for Dill’s greater good that he borders on magical. Dill is obsessed with an elusive, behemoth tuna he’s nicknamed Justice (in a not-so-subtle bit of symbolism), a quest so famous, it’s a constant source of conversation wherever he goes. Matthew McConaughey chews up the sunny scenery as the improbably named Baker Dill, a chain-smoking, rum-swilling Iraq war veteran who spends his days as the captain of a fishing boat for hire on the idyllic, tropical island of Plymouth. ![]() It all starts out as a seemingly straightforward neo-noir, full of damaged characters and desperate circumstances. What Knight does as his game becomes clearer, however, only raises more questions than he answers – and some of those questions are downright icky. But what ends up happening is that he partially pulls the rug out from underneath us about halfway through, then yanks the whole thing out by the end, then waves the rug around in the air as if to joyfully shout: “Ha! This is the rug you were standing on! See? It’s not underneath you anymore!” Giant twists like the ones that ultimately come to define “Serenity” often can be thrilling, and can provide some enjoyment in trying to go back in your mind and search for clues. Writer/director Steven Knight, whose 2014 Tom Hardy drama “ Locke” is a compact marvel of precision and suspense, once again tries to dazzle us with narrative daring. But it’s also such a wildly ambitious roller coaster ride that it must be experienced, preferably with friends, to laugh together at its cheesy dialogue, over-the-top performances and multiple, major plot twists. But as River observes, "Some people don't like to be meddled with.“ Serenity” is terrible and insane, and will surely end up being one of the worst films of 2019. Like Brave New World and 1984, the movie plays like a critique of contemporary society, with the Alliance as Big Brother, enemy of discontent. River is in possession of a secret about this process that the Alliance would do anything to suppress. Turns out the Alliance was simply trying to bring contentment to its crowded planetary system, by distracting them from their problems and making them feel like they had a life. "Serenity" is made of dubious but energetic special effects, breathless velocity, much imagination, some sly verbal wit and a little political satire. What a crock, especially considering that Joss Whedon, the TV series author (and writer-director of "Serenity") earlier created "Buffy, the Vampire Slayer," and so deserved the benefit of the doubt. ![]() ![]() Science fiction fans will recognize the plot line and most of the characters from a short-lived Fox series named "Firefly," which (I learn in a letter from Stephen McNeil of Sydney, Nova Scotia), was canceled in mid-season, but not before the episodes were carelessly shown out of proper order. On their trail is the most competent and feared of the Alliance's agents, The Operative ( Chiwetel Ejiofor). Malcolm ( Nathan Fillion) is the captain, and his crew includes the pilot Wash ( Alan Tudyk), his wife, Zoe ( Gina Torres), the engineer Kaylee ( Jewel Staite) and the tough guy Jayne ( Adam Baldwin). ![]() River and Simon are soon enough allied with a team of free-lance smugglers on a banged-up old ship named Serenity. Because she can read minds, she knows their secrets. As the film opens, a psychic named River Tam ( Summer Glau) is rescued from Alliance mind-washers by her brother Simon ( Sean Maher), and then we learn that River was unwisely exhibited to a roomful of important Alliance parliamentarians. It takes place in a solar system of a dozen terraformed planets and "hundreds of moons," and there is a war going on between the Alliance, which runs things and wants everybody to be happy, and a group of rebels who begin to make disturbing discoveries. "Serenity" is an old-fashioned space opera, and differs from a horse opera mostly in that it involves space, not horses. I say this not with disapproval, but with affection.
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