 | ON: Content is age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | PAUSE: Know your child; some content may not be right for some kids. |
 | OFF: Not age-appropriate for kids this age. |
 | NOT FOR KIDS: Not appropriate for kids any age. |
The Condemned
- Review Date: September 17, 2007
- R
- Genre: Action/Adventure
- 2007
Common Sense Media says
Convicts fight to the death in reality-TV debacle.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that teens who are into pro wrestling may be drawn to this brutal action movie by star "Stone Cold" Steve Austin. The film -- which centers on the idea of a fight-to-the-death reality TV show -- is packed with aggressive, bloody, loud "realistic" violence: Characters punch, kick, throttle, body slam, bite, and head-butt each other in fights (not to mention cut throats and grab crotches), and weapons include guns, knives, chains, clubs, and ropes. People are thrown roughly from helicopters (one is gruesomely impaled on a stake, while others plunge into water or hit land, hard) and fall from cliffs and against rocky mountainsides. Two men rape a female contestant (the scene is indistinct on screen but causes visible upset). Language includes many uses of "f--k" and plenty of other swear words. Lots of cigarette smoking and a bit of drinking.
What's the story?
While locked up in a Salvadorian prison, Jack Conrad (Steve Austin) catches the attention of Ian Breckel (Robert Mammone), a reality TV producer who's scouting talent for his latest whiz-bang of an idea: Ten death-row inmates get dumped on Papua New Guinea, where they fight to the death; the last one standing goes free. The live 30-hour pay-per-view event is to rake in millions. The game begins, and Jack finds himself surrounded by thugs and killers. Though he makes friends with Paco (Manu Bennett), Jack's one goal is to somehow contact his girlfriend back home. A 14-year veteran of the Special Forces, abandoned by the U.S. government during a black ops mission gone wrong, Jack appears to have something resembling a conscience; he's troubled after he kills someone. His adversaries include a loud-mouthed cretin named Nazi (Andy McPhee), a psycho martial artist (Masa Yamaguchi), and a cheater named Ewan (Vinnie Jones). As the fighting goes on and on, the moral lesson is pounded home. It's suggested that the extreme violence has "crossed a line" when people start getting blown up and raped, and a reporter accuses Breckel of producing a "live snuff film." Her disgust doesn't bother him, because he plans to be rich. But after Ewan and Jack wreak all manner of vengeance on these greedy "TV people," Donna shows up again in a coda: "Those of us who watch," she intones soberly, "we are the condemned."
Is it any good?
Where's Richard Dawson when you need him? THE CONDEMNED borrows from a number of sources, but its focus on mass media ethics calls to mind the weirdly campy Running Man, in which game show host Dawson oversaw a to-the-death contest featuring Arnold Schwarzenegger (in an astounding pink Lycra suit). In Scott Wiper's version, the men wear manly clothes, the violence is more brutal, and the dialogue is less snappy. But the overly simplified point is the apparently same: TV producers are scum. And after the film delivers nearly two hours of bloody bedlam, one character puts the blame on viewers.
Explore, discuss, enjoy
Families can talk about violence on television and, increasingly, in Web videos. What are the effects of watching such violence? What's the best way to deal with this ongoing problem? Should access to programming be limited or regulated? If so, who should be in charge of regulating it -- studios? Parents? The government? Should there be fines or other costs for breaking regulation rules? How does this movie make a case against media violence even as it delivers exactly that? Families can also discuss reality TV. Do you think any reality show would ever go this far? Why or why not?
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Parent
April 8, 2010
AGE
The Condemned
A great, intense, kill or be killed movie with a possitive hidden message within the plot. This movie includes a lot of blood and gruesome deaths. But if you were to stick 10 Death Row inmates on an island and forced them to kill eachother to ensure a hopeful freedom and a huge cash prize, what would you really expect? A tea party and a game of Red Rover? Nay I say.
What other families should know:
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Kid, 11 years old
March 23, 2009
AGE
What other families should know:
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Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
It is Bad
I Watch The WWE But the movie is a bad one and it has nothing to do with Wrestling.
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Teen, 17 years old
April 9, 2008
AGE
VERY GOOD 10/10 * * * * *
im a girl of 17 and i really liked the movie, it isnt a movie where you will fall asleep on it, there was a lot od=f violence in it, but it was the goal of it, a lot a poeple say that it was to much etc... but you all know what kind of movie it is, and if you dont like any movie like that just dont go and see it.
finally, if you like any movie with action, it is the right one to see, it doesnt seem to be made by computer like a lot of movies we know. i completly understant why it is 16 and over, but before seeing it we are all aware that there is violence. so dont complain
I REALLY LIKED IT
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Adult
April 9, 2008
AGE
Cmon.................
It is the best movie ever. Appropriate for most. id say 12+
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| Studio: | Lionsgate |
| Director: | Scott Wiper |
| Cast: | Rick Hoffman, Steve Austin, Vinnie Jones |
| Genre: | Action/Adventure |
| Run time: | 100 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | April 26, 2007 |
| DVD release date: | September 18, 2007 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | pervasive strong brutal violence, and for language. |
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