 | 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. |
Mindhunters
- Review Date: December 14, 2006
- R
- Genre: Thriller
- 2005
Common Sense Media says
Wannabe FBI profilers stalked by serial killer.
Parents say
Kids say
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this movie includes strong language (especially "f--k") and sexual references and situations (including a sex scene that begins in a shower). Characters smoke and drink. The film includes gross-out scenes (maggots, roaches, blood) and gory, emphatic violence (assaults involve knives, guns, drowning, electrocution, acid-poisoning, liquid-nitrogen freezing, a head chopped off). A dead cat is left hanging in a bathroom. Almost all characters are killed.
What's the story?
Student profiler Vince (Clifton Collins Jr.) and his fellow trainees are sent to an isolated island where they are surrounded by mannequins (used for the Navy's shooting practice). Shortly after arriving, they learn that the test is for real: someone is profiling them, killing them off one by one, and leaving them in grotesque poses. According to trainer Harris (Val Kilmer), they must learn by doing, and so he sets out to scare and test them. Each has a particular fear to be exploited -- Vince fears being unarmed (in a wheelchair, his movement is limited), J.D. (Christian Slater) worries he's not a good leader; Sarah (Kathryn Morris) feels guilty over her sister's death; Nicole (Patricia Velasquez) has just quit smoking; Rafe (Will Kemp) worries he's not as smart as he thinks; and creepy Lucas (Jonny Lee Miller) resents Sarah's lack of interest in him. Also there is former Navy SEAL and Philadelphia detective Gabe (LL Cool J), who is enough of an outsider to concern the others, which leads to frequent confrontations.
Is it any good?
If profiling was once a mysterious, even respected career choice (at least in the movies, as in Silence of the Lambs), it has long since fallen prey to pop cultural overkill. Its release postponed for a couple of years, Renny Harlin's MINDHUNTERS is at once dated and so preposterous that it hardly matters. (Its unoriginal set-up recalls Agatha Christie's Ten Little Indians, but with less British banter and more U.S.-style explosive action.)
As the survivors scramble to solve puzzles before each murder, the film frames repeated dilemmas concerning trust, deceit, and readability: even though the profilers are supposed to be able to read each other, their actual lack of vision stems from their own insecurities. The bodies pile up as any logic seeps away. As such generic exercises go, this one is seriously average.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the film's various and familiar competitions -- between teachers and students; men and women; white, black, and Latina characters; abled and disabled characters (Vince is in a wheelchair). The movie also raises questions about trust and loyalty, to a team, to friends, and to a law-and-order ideal.
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AGE
Smart & Ingenious Thriller
MindHunters is a modern day tale of the great Agatha Christie's "Ten Little Indians". It is a GREAT who-dun-it and you dont know & wont know who, up until the very, very end. It has suspense, thrills, laughs, ingenuity, keeps you guessing & is a very smart thriller. There is some language, a mild sex scene, violence and mild gore. In my opinion this should have been rated PG-13, simply because I dont think it warrants its R rating. There are plenty of PG-13 flicks worse that this, But, we do have too many PG-13 "wanna be suspense/horror" flicks out there now that & this is welcomed mid teen-adult thriller fare. I give the great action director Renny Harlin, 2 Big Thumbs Up & 5 Stars out of 5 Stars. Rent this today, you will not regret it.
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AGE
Life's guilty pleasures
This is a great sadistic thriller similar to seven. You will feel very guilty watching this and excited a to see who dies and how as they are all very personal ingenious traps. there are some disturbing images and deaths but it's a great movie. The friendships and teamwork all play into the amazing inginuity of the killer. Great stuff
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AGE
Different
This movie had probably 3 or 4 twists in it, but was pretty good overall.
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| Studio: | Dimension |
| Director: | Renny Harlin |
| Cast: | Jonny Lee Miller, Kathryn Morris, LL Cool J |
| Genre: | Thriller |
| Run time: | 105 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | May 13, 2005 |
| DVD release date: | September 20, 2005 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | violence/strong graphic images, language and sexual content |
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