Rotten Tomatoes
Cancel Movies Tv shows RT App News Showtimes

Serenity

Play trailer 1:27 Poster for Serenity R Released Jan 25, 2019 1h 43m Mystery & Thriller Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
Watchlist Tomatometer Popcornmeter
21% Tomatometer 202 Reviews 31% Popcornmeter 1,000+ Ratings
Baker Dill is a fishing boat captain who leads tours off of the tranquil enclave of Plymouth Island. His peaceful life is soon shattered when his ex-wife Karen tracks him down. Desperate for help, Karen begs Baker to save her -- and their young son -- from her abusive husband. She wants him to take the brute out for a fishing excursion -- then throw him overboard to the sharks. Thrust back into a life that he wanted to forget, Baker now finds himself struggling to choose between right and wrong.
Watch on Prime Video Stream Now

Where to Watch

Serenity

Serenity

What to Know

Critics Consensus

A high-concept mystery with a twist, Serenity isn't what it appears to be at first -- unfortunately, it's also not anywhere near as clever or entertaining as it thinks.

Read Critics Reviews

Critics Reviews

View More (202)
Peter Rainer FilmWeek (LAist) It's sort of intriguingly bad... [But] it's worth seeing -- the cast is terrific. Sep 17, 2019 Full Review Michael Sragow Film Comment Magazine A crackpot suspense film about a fishing boat captain who veers into perilous existential waters, Serenity tries to pull off a "bait-and-switch" times two. But will anyone take the bait either time? Mar 21, 2019 Full Review Mark Kermode Kermode & Mayo's Film Review When the twist was revealed I went, "Yeah, I know." Mar 5, 2019 Full Review Michael Cook KLRT-TV This movie is a complete waste of your time. It has fantastic actors who are completely wasted with a plot that is boring and dull. Rated: 3/10 Jul 29, 2025 Full Review Calum Cooper Source (Scotland) Hindered by such a weak and conceited script, I struggle to imagine any version of this that I would be able to take seriously. Rated: 1/5 Jul 14, 2024 Full Review Ryan McQuade InSession Film When he reaches for the stars, Knight fails to catch anything, thus leading me to admire what this film could have been, instead of what we were given. Rated: D Apr 4, 2024 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View More (490)
Sam T Conceptually interesting and imaginative however lacking in execution. The films tone and cast offers a lot of promise but the screen play and dialogue hinders the performances and overall impact of the story. A combination of Moby Dick and the Sixth Sense. This film can be enjoyed but I wouldn’t rush to recommend it to anyone Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 09/02/25 Full Review Kyle M McConaughey decently retains his charismatic caliber while struggling in comprehending his involvement through an intangible plot amidst soulless performances that led whatever muddled concept towards uninteresting derailment. (C-) Rated 2 out of 5 stars 08/20/25 Full Review Blu B This is like some convuluted Matrix borderline Neo Noir incoherent ridiculous bullcrap. The pacing is just bizarre and the editing is horrifcially bad. The murder plot, the game, the fishing, the reationship with his wife, none of ties together or honestly makes hardly any sense and even when it explains it in the end it still is just bizarre and makes no sense. He created a computer program which is that advanced...give me a break and we barely focus on him at all ironically. The music boring, generic, and forgettable. Everything else is subpar. Hathaway is out here acting like Lauren Bacall in a Noir and M.M. is screaming half the time and sometimes I don't even know. The dialouge is subpar and half the time incherent expose or it's just boring. It's a beautiful location but it's completely wasted and botched. For as crazy as this is too, the direction is just basic also. Ending was kind of heartfelt but I had no idea what happened 90% of the time to get there. Skip this. I don't even know with this one. It flew by in a sense also but only because it was so bizarre. Even though it's not really like it at all it reminded me of Transcedence for some reason. Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars 08/19/25 Full Review Silke B I’ll never understand why a fantastic actor like McConaughey would put himself in such lousy movies Rated 0.5 out of 5 stars 08/08/25 Full Review kieran d A good film with a good story partnered with an incredible Matthew McConaughey performance along with Anne Hathaway. Story good. Acting great! Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 07/27/25 Full Review Aviv G The really bad reviews here surprised me. This film isn't Pulp Fiction, but it is definitely a good film, fun to watch, interesting, and well acted. Mathew McConaughey never fails, neither does Ann Hathaway. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 06/27/25 Full Review Read all reviews
Serenity

My Rating

Read More Read Less POST RATING WRITE A REVIEW EDIT REVIEW
Fatale 46% 87% Fatale Watchlist TRAILER for Fatale Greta 61% 42% Greta Watchlist TRAILER for Greta Ben Is Back 81% 69% Ben Is Back Watchlist TRAILER for Ben Is Back The Rover 67% 52% The Rover Watchlist Inconceivable 38% 59% Inconceivable Watchlist TRAILER for Inconceivable Discover more movies and TV shows. View More

Movie Info

Synopsis Baker Dill is a fishing boat captain who leads tours off of the tranquil enclave of Plymouth Island. His peaceful life is soon shattered when his ex-wife Karen tracks him down. Desperate for help, Karen begs Baker to save her -- and their young son -- from her abusive husband. She wants him to take the brute out for a fishing excursion -- then throw him overboard to the sharks. Thrust back into a life that he wanted to forget, Baker now finds himself struggling to choose between right and wrong.
Director
Steven Knight
Producer
Steven Knight, Greg Shapiro, Guy Heeley
Screenwriter
Steven Knight
Distributor
Aviron Pictures
Production Co
Ingenious, Shoebox Films, Nebula Star, Global Road Entertainment
Rating
R (Sexual Content|Language Throughout|Some Bloody Images)
Genre
Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jan 25, 2019, Wide
Release Date (Streaming)
Apr 23, 2019
Box Office (Gross USA)
$8.5M
Runtime
1h 43m
Aspect Ratio
Scope (2.35:1)
Most Popular at Home Now