 | 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. |
Natural Born Killers
- Review Date: October 26, 2005
- R
- Genre: Drama
- 1994
Common Sense Media says
Bloody, violent, sexually explicit. Mature teens+.
Parents say
QUALITY
Kids say
QUALITY
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that this is an aggressive film that features a serial killer couple who kills indiscriminately. Violence is used liberally throughout the film in the form of graphic murder, beatings, and torture -- mostly perpetrated by the couple on their unsuspecting victims. Sex is shown and discussed, and is hardly ever in a loving form. A scene features a father making unwanted sexual advances toward his daughter. Another features a murder that begins with a man performing oral sex on a woman while on a car hood. Language is unrestrained and used quite violently intoned. Parents should note that an unrated director's cut is available on DVD with even more graphic violence and sexual situations added to the originally released version.
What's the story?
NATURAL BORN KILLERS tracks the rise to stardom of a serial killing couple, Mickey (Woody Harrelson) and Mallory (Juliette Lewis), as they blaze a trail of destruction across the U.S. and are eventually captured and jailed. The real stars of the film aren't Mickey and Mallory, but rather, the many aspects of the news and entertainment media that are regurgitated and lampooned throughout the film. Wayne Gale (Robert Downey, Jr.) is an overzealous TV reporter caught up in the frenzy of pursuing the couple.
Is it any good?
With the focus of the film being on the media reaction to Mickey and Mallory's crimes, the plot mechanics don't really demand much viewer attention. In a sense, the most important single character is Gale, whose obliviousness to the effects of his news reports on an increasingly sadistic audience acts as a model for the media machine Stone criticizes. Ultimately, this film is a satire with no soft edges or rays of hope. Those unwilling to see the film as a criticism of media violence may misinterpret it as an exaggerated celebration of the violent main characters. As such, this is a film that will only satisfy those already inclined towards negative views of the media, and only the most open-minded of those folks at that.
What families can talk about
Families can talk about the movie's message. The film was intended to criticize the media for glorifying violence. Is it successful? Would you have gone about it differently?
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AGE
Filthy but engaging movie
This movie is full of filth. I am an adult and I found it to be incredibly offensive. I watched it a long time ago but even then it was probably the worst movie I had seen. That being said, it was well made and really engaging. The story was great, and it was well filmed. The content is not at all appropriate for kids and teens.
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April 9, 2008
AGE
I had to watch this for a film class... it was embarassing...
This movie should never been created. If you like this movie you are sick. It is LOOSLY based on Bonnie and Clyde, other than that, it is completely worthless.
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AGE
An intense movie with a good message
First off i would like to say that Natural Born Killers is a thought provoking and intelligent movie, but it is also extremely violent. You should know whether or not your kids are going to understand the message, if the point is missed than it is a movie that glorifies violence and serial killers.
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AGE
Deffinitely worth watching ... It's a movie you have to scratch off your 'FILMS I HAVE TO SEE BEFORE I DIE LIST'
I watched this film just a few days ago,I wanted to watch it but my mum didn't let me until I was a bit older ,and now I am a bit older and I have seen it.
Natural Born Killers was kind of a strange film,it's not the kind of film you would expect from Oliver Stone,but I don't think he was trying to make it look like a classy movie... He tried to make us noty forget that this is just a movie ,and it worked.
I thought it was very intense especially at the end.
The story was by Quentin Tarantino so ofcourse it was going to be a bit strange.
there was a lot of swearing and lot of violence but I wouldn't keep my child from seeing until he was 17 because by the age of 13 - 14 you are already know all the swear words in the book and you know about sex,i mean the kids now a days are all swearing and talking about sex and having sex from an early age so there is no point in keeping a child from watching a film that contains those things...
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AGE
Good for teens
Great film. Everybody talks about how extreme and violent this film is but when i saw it i was suprised that it was pretty tame.
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AGE
No Impressionable Youth should see this movie.
This is a great movie for a stable adult who could appreciate the satire. It's a statement about the glorification of violence in our society, made like a mock documentary, and to an impressionable youth it could indeed glorify murder & mayhem, as it makes it seem like tons of fun and cool.
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AGE
A daring and interesting movie, but not for kids, period.
This movie has an interesting social commentary on the media, and it is a very entertaining and daring movie. That said, it's not good for any child or teen, myself included. The violence is brutal and extreme throughout, and is, hands down, the most explicit violence I've ever seen in a movie. (One scene on the director's cut even shows a man get decapitated and his head is impaled on a pole.) The violence is so shocking that I can't even describe much of it here. There's also swearing all the way through it, and some sexual scenes that, while not extremely explicit, are very disturbing. There's also some explicit drug use. One word could be used to describe this movie: sick. And that's exactly what the movie was aiming for, and exactly what makes it work. No kids should see this movie.
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Kid, 10 years old
December 5, 2011
AGE
the movie that is bad
dont get this movie
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AGE
Read the Review
A Beautiful Masterpeice "Sniff"
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| Studio: | Warner Bros. |
| Director: | Oliver Stone |
| Cast: | Juliette Lewis, Robert Downey Jr., Woody Harrelson |
| Genre: | Drama |
| Run time: | 118 minutes |
| Theatrical release date: | August 26, 1994 |
| DVD release date: | August 25, 2008 |
| MPAA rating: | R |
| MPAA explanation: | extreme violence and graphic carnage, for shocking images, and for strong language and sexuality |
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