{"id":21098,"date":"2019-04-27T17:37:35","date_gmt":"2019-04-28T00:37:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/?p=21098"},"modified":"2019-04-27T17:38:33","modified_gmt":"2019-04-28T00:38:33","slug":"review-serenity-bd","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/moviemansguide.com\/main\/2019\/04\/review-serenity-bd\/","title":{"rendered":"Serenity Blu-ray Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Serenity<\/em><\/strong> is certainly an oddball of a movie and although certainly the terrible critical reception didn\u2019t help, it\u2019s no wonder why the studio probably had a hell of time on how to market this.<\/p>\n

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Serenity<\/span>
\n(2019)<\/span>
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Genre(s): <\/strong>Drama, Thriller<\/span>
\nUniversal | R \u2013 107 min. \u2013 $34.98 |April 30, 2019<\/span><\/p>\n

Date Published:<\/strong> 04\/27\/2019 | Author:<\/strong> The Movieman<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n
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MOVIE INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Directed by: <\/strong>Steven Knight
\nWriter(s): <\/strong>Steven Knight (written by)
\nCast: <\/strong>Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jason Clarke, Diane Lane, Djimon Hounsou<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
DISC INFO:
\n<\/u><\/strong>Features: <\/strong>None
\nSlip Cover: <\/strong>Yes
\nDigital Copy: <\/strong>Yes
\nFormats Included: <\/strong>Blu-ray, DVD
\nNumber of Discs: <\/strong>2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Audio: <\/strong>English (DTS-HD MA 5.1)
\nVideo: <\/strong>1080p\/Widescreen 2.39
\nSubtitles: <\/strong>English SDH, Spanish
\nDisc Size: <\/strong>31.64 GB
\nTotal Bitrate: <\/strong>37.71 Mbps
\nCodecs: <\/strong>MPEG-4 AVC
\nRegion(s): <\/strong>A, B, C<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment provided me with a free copy of the Blu-ray I reviewed in this Blog Post.
\nThe opinions I share are my own.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

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THE MOVIE \u2014 4.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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** Note: <\/strong>This portion does contain some MAJOR PLOT SPOILERS<\/strong>, so please beware. **<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

If you never heard of Serenity<\/em><\/strong> before, you\u2019re not alone because neither had I. The movie was in and out of theaters making a mere $11.4 million off of a reasonable $25 million budget. But one of the best perks of reviewing is getting to see films I might\u2019ve otherwise skipped and boy was Serenity<\/em><\/strong> one hell of a ride. Well, more of a ride that\u2019s on a collision course toward a semi, but still\u2026<\/p>\n

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Here is the basic plot synopsis: Baker Dill (MATTHEW MCCONAUHEY) 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 (ANNE HATHAWAY) tracks him down. Desperate for help, Karen begs Baker to save her — and their young son — from her abusive husband (JASON CLARKE). She wants him to take\u00a0the 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.<\/p>\n

Sounds simple enough, no? While indeed that does happen in the movie, where I thought I was getting some sort of modern-day film noir, what eventually we get is more along the lines of The Truman Show<\/em>. Despite the insanity that I was watching and how some of it makes no sense whatsoever, I have to admit, I kind of was entertained by it all.<\/p>\n

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First, the performances are, well, uneven. The supporting players of the respectable actors which\u00a0 included Djimon Hounsou as Dill\u2019s skipper and Diane Lane playing the sugar momma. However, McConaughey switched back and forth from mild mannered to over-the-top, where I wonder if he got to the point where he realized just what a messy movie he had signed on to. Hathaway was decent enough, although she did feel like a character out of an old-time film noir while Jason Clarke went full-on portraying a loutish, all-around despicable human being, necessary if you want your main character to even consider murdering the guy.<\/p>\n

Outside of my reference to The Truman Show<\/em>, I won\u2019t go much further as not to spoil the twist, though it is one maybe M. Night Shyamalan would probably appreciate\u2026 And I suppose I did as well, even if it didn\u2019t make a lick of sense, even days later thinking upon what the hell exactly happened. That being said, it certainly was one of the more unique, and bewildering, viewing experiences\u00a0 of the last few years.<\/p>\n

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Serenity<\/em><\/strong> was the brainchild of Steven Knight, Academy Award nominee for writing Dirty Pretty Things<\/em> and who has also written the screenplays for Eastern Promises<\/em>, Allied<\/em> and The Girl in the Spider\u2019s Web<\/em> amongst others. This also marks his third film in the director\u2019s chair following the Jason Statham thriller Redemption<\/em> and Locke<\/em> starring Tom Hardy, both movies released back in 2013.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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SPECIAL FEATURES \u2013 0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Nice title-embossed slip cover<\/strong> and there is a redemption code for the Digital HD<\/strong> copy but no features were included. Odd some of the promotional interviews couldn\u2019t be included, especially since McConaughey tends to make those fun to watch.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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VIDEO \u2013 4.5\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Universal sets sail on Serenity<\/em><\/strong> with the film presented with a 2.39 widescreen aspect ratio and a 1080p high-definition transfer. This is a beautiful looking picture showcasing the island of Mauritius, which is off the coast of Africa. Detail is sharp and well defined throughout while colors were fairly vibrant with some dark scenes sprinkled here and there which were stark. The picture appeared clean with no apparent signs of aliasing, artifacts or even banding.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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AUDIO \u2013 4.25\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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The movie includes a respectable if not standard DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. I initially thought this was going to be a bit too low key but as the movie went on, the levels kept going up and there was a fine amount of depth such as during a rainstorm as well as the score which made use of the rear channels fairly well with the center being relegated mostly for the dialogue.<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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OVERALL \u2013 3.0\/5<\/strong><\/span><\/h3>\n
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Serenity<\/em><\/strong> is certainly an oddball of a movie and although certainly the terrible critical reception didn\u2019t help, it\u2019s no wonder why the studio probably had a hell of time on how to market this, leading to a poor showing at the box office. As for me, yes it is a messy film and it doesn\u2019t make a whole lot of sense, but damn if I didn\u2019t have a fun and entertaining time letting it all in. I\u2019d say this is worthy of a rental.<\/p>\n<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

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