“Serenity” (2019) and the art of the “Twist”

What is it about the movie title “Serenity”? The 2005 attempted “Firefly” reboot chose that title, referring to the ship crewed by our merry band of madfolk. Why in the world give such a placid, misleading name to a badass SF action movie, thereby guaranteeing that NO ONE but diehard fans would have the slightest idea what it was? I don’t know, but consider that one of the all-time worst marketing decisions.

And in 2019’s use of the term, there is once again a switch, a movie that looks like...