SERENITY (2019)
A gripping morality tale whose rough content demands mature viewers.
Should You Watch It?
Serenity is a captivating thriller built around a difficult moral choice. Its central relationship creates strong psychological and moral tension, while the film’s final turn gives the story a rich emotional payoff. A speech about right and wrong, good and evil, Heaven and Hell, and moral consequences supports a strong Christian moral element.
That strength comes wrapped in serious content. The movie includes at least 131 obscenities, violence, a brief sex scene, frequent alcohol abuse, tobacco smoking, and marijuana use. The rough material is not incidental, even if the ending gives the story moral weight.
If you are a mature adult who can engage those concerns with discernment, Serenity is worth watching for its tension and moral questions. For children and young teens, choose something else. The practical answer: WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESBaker Dill is a struggling fishing-boat captain whose drinking and rude behavior are hurting his business. When his ex-wife unexpectedly arrives, she asks him to help protect her and their young son from her violent new husband.
She offers Baker money to take the man fishing and make his death look accidental. Baker’s business partner objects, while another boy far away is creating a role-playing game that strangely parallels Baker’s predicament.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means this is a good, captivating thriller with meaningful flaws. The movie creates considerable tension through Baker’s anger, his ex-wife’s desperation, and the difficult moral choice confronting them. The final showdown is excellently performed and fascinating to watch.
The film is less physically violent than some of writer-director Steven Knight’s earlier thrillers, but its psychological pressure remains strong. Its plot twist largely succeeds, and the ending provides a satisfying emotional payoff. Still, the movie’s rough content and its too-brief Christian moral elements keep it from being an unqualified recommendation.
The Worldview
Serenity ultimately presents a strong Christian, redemptive, and moral worldview. A speech about right and wrong, good and evil, Heaven and Hell, and the consequences of moral choices is joined to a redemptive ending that pays off those ideas. The story also includes a father remembered as a war hero and touching family elements near the end.
At the same time, the film is filled with people doing immoral things. A woman hires a man to murder her husband, and he agrees despite his business partner’s objections. The abusive relationship between the woman and her second husband is twisted and controlling. The film’s moral resolution gives those events a different meaning, but it does not erase the disturbing behavior along the way.
The film’s central longing is for redemption amid guilt, violence, and broken family relationships. Scripture says, “He will render to each one according to his works” (Romans 2:6), reminding us that moral choices carry real consequences.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Strong Christian, redemptive, moral worldview overall includes a speech about right and wrong, Heaven and Hell, good and evil, and moral consequences coupled with a redemptive ending that pays off the speech, plus a boy’s father is a war hero who died, but story is marred by people doing immoral things
Foul Language
At least 131 obscenities (many “f” words) and eight GD profanities
Violence
Strong violence includes a man drunkenly argues and wrestles with other men over a fishing rod at several points in the movie as they all want to be the ones who caught a giant fish, man holds knife to another man’s throat, a man purposely gets another man drunk with the intention of killing him and making it look like an accident, man forces a fishing rod into the intended victim’s hands knowing that the fish is so big it will force him off the boat and into the ocean where he will drown, a woman tries to trick a drunken man into choking her, the sound of a woman being beaten (unseen in another room) happens repeatedly throughout the movie, woman wakes up to find blood all over her bed sheets and finds her abusive second husband had been attacked by a group of men offscreen and had his hand turned into a bloody mess, an abusive stepfather is killed for repeatedly beating and almost killing his wife
Sex
Partially depicted fornication in one scene, and man makes a joke about being a hooker/prostitute
Nudity
Rear male nudity during sex scene, naked woman is viewed from the side, but nothing explicit is shown, other shots of rear male nudity, and frequent upper male nudity for naturalistic reasons and in bed after sex
Alcohol Use
Several characters drink to excess and the lead male tricks another man into getting hopelessly drunk with the intention of making his resulting death look like an accident
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
Frequent tobacco smoking tobacco, and male lead often smokes marijuana;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Woman hires a man to murder her husband and make it look like an accident, the man agrees to do this despite the imploring of his business partner, deceit, and woman and her abusive second husband have a twisted relationship where she calls him “Daddy” constantly, and he’s controlling and abusive to her, but a twist reveals what has really been going on throughout the story and implies that a noble act of self-defense occurred, with some touching family aspects in the denouement.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Baker faces a choice between violence and protecting family. How should Christians pursue justice without taking vengeance into their own hands?
Romans 12:19 · Proverbs 31:8–9The film connects moral choices with consequences. Where do you see the difference between remorse, repentance, and genuine change?
2 Corinthians 7:10 · Psalm 51:10–12The story includes an abusive relationship and a child affected by it. How should a family or community respond when someone is being harmed?
Psalm 82:3–4 · Galatians 6:2The Final Word
Serenity offers mature viewers a tense thriller with a compelling moral center and a satisfying emotional payoff. But its language, violence, sexual content, and substance abuse are substantial. For discerning adults, WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For family viewing, choose another film.
