Peaceful Warrior
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Is it age appropriate?
About our ratings -
Is it any good?
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Common Sense says
Like Karate Kid -- without the karate.
Why We Rated This 
for Ages 12 and Up
The good stuff
What to watch out for
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Violence:
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Sex:
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Language:
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Consumerism:
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Drinking, drugs, & smoking:
What Parents Need to Know
This review of Peaceful Warrior was written by Charles Cassady Jr.
Parents need to know that although the content in this inspirational sports drama is fairly mild -- the hero parties a lot and sleeps with a string of women in the beginning but eventually transforms his life -- it won't be interesting to most kids and tweens. It's better suited to teens who are prone to thinking about self discovery and analysis. The somewhat-New Agey tale is based on a true story and deals with big issues like inner emptiness and the meaning of life -- not exactly light entertainment.
Families Can Talk About
Talk to your kids about the media in their life. We have more tools and tips that can help
- Families can talk about the goal of inspirational "mentor" tales. What do movies and TV shows that follow this kind of storyline have in common? Who are they trying to reach? Why do you think so many involve sports? Families can also discuss Socrates' sometimes-mixed messages about drinking, fighting, health and discipline, and being "in the moment." A lot of these points are alluded to in other martial-arts flicks, but they're often lost in a fog of kung-fu fighting. Do you think this film's non-violent approach is more effective?
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More on Peaceful Warrior
What’s the Story?
In the college town of Berkeley, Calif., star gymnast Dan Millman (Scott Mechlowicz) is popular with his teammates and the co-eds. He's earned a reputation for arrogance, but beneath his cocky exterior Dan has nightmares that are symptomatic of feeling driven, fearful, and unhappy. One night at a gas station, Dan meets a silver-haired attendant (Nick Nolte) who seems to see right through to the young man's insecurities -- and then proceeds to astound Dan with a feat of superhuman agility. The younger athlete later returns to the station hoping to learn the old man's secrets. "Socrates" becomes a gruff guru to the kid, making Dan do menial chores and lecturing him about how to be a "warrior" in life -- less in the fighting sense than in achieving a state of being completely aware, attuned, present, and undistracted at every moment. Dan proves to be an impatient student and stops visiting Socrates out of frustration with his slow progress and his eccentric mentor's sometimes-infuriating behavior. But when Dan suffers a potential career-ending injury, he must call upon Socrates' teachings to persevere.
Is It Any Good?
When you consider how often storytellers in and outside of Hollywood tend to conjure up simplistic antagonists -- aliens, drug smugglers, serial killers, vampires, orcs, hostile commie gymnasts from the USSR -- as obstacles for a flawed or uncertain hero to overcome, there's something sweetly sincere about how PEACEFUL WARRIOR sticks to self-improvement. Dan's conflict is with himself, end of story.
That said, the dialogue is often hokey and preachy, the special effects and soundtrack music work a little too hard to tell viewers things they might have figured out on their own, and the film feels long at 120 minutes. On the plus side, Nolte gives a pleasantly low-key performance as the curmudgeonly Socrates; a lot of his Obi-Wan/Yoda/Master Splinter stuff is pleasantly unpredictable. Will watching Peaceful Warrior make you a better person? That's hard to say, Grasshopper. But it probably won't make anyone worse, and that's something of an achievement.
Movie Details
Studio: Lionsgate, Director: Victor Salva
Run time: 120 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/30/2007, DVD release: 6/26/2007
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sensuality, sex references and accident scenes.
Run time: 120 minutes
Theatrical release: 3/30/2007, DVD release: 6/26/2007
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sensuality, sex references and accident scenes.
Our Members Say
See all 6 member reviews
Most Recent Reviews
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
Keep your kids away...No better yet, stay home with them!
This movie was nothing like the reviews I had read - until the last 20 minutes of it. The first 60+ minutes were horrible: dark, disturbing, and violent. I received the tickets free...probably because no one would pay to see it...It was the worst movie I have ever seen in my life, and I felt like a terrible parent for taking my children to see it!
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Great Movie with a great message
This movie really teaches people to find their inner self and only live in the current moment. This movie did contain a few innapropriate scenes and a motorcycle accident which cause one of the characters to shatter his leg. The beginning of the movie also contains a disturbing scene in which the character dreams of literally shattering his leg while doing gymastics. Apart from the brief profanity, this movie sends out a great message.
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I rate this title off for age 0 and give it
pass
hey if your looking for agood movie wow this is deffinently NOT THE ONE if your looking for a movie that is not the stupidest corniest movie ever then dont watch this one if your looking for a movie thats nit the scariest then dont watch this one id rather take my kids to see all the saws without ever being qable to close there eyes this is the most obsurd dark movie iv'e ever seen it makes me sick and one more thing consider many nightnares fromyour kids every night for the next couple of who knows how long bottom line the dude that made this is insane and it also has like the stupidest plot like with a spirit talking to a handicaapped guy about how strong his spirit is really dumb now what was i going to say oh yeahbbbboooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.
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I rate this title on for age 0 and give it
Good movie to watch with prideful kids
This movie teaches that there is much more to life than pride. My son and I watched it together and he was suprisingly attentive. Good suspense, great story.
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I rate this title pause for age 0 and give it
Think Million Dollar Baby meets The Karate Kid...
Watched this because of a recommendation, and let me just say that this film is quite moving...but another problem is that it doesn't move fast enough. While Nick Nolte and Amy Smart were both phenomenal, some of the scenes dragged quite a bit. Overall, a redeeming movie, but I think the creators tried too hard. NOTE: nothing too adulterated in this movie, save a disturbing opening scene in which a character dreams that his leg literally shatters into a million pieces.
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