A Walk Among the Tombstones Movie Poster Image

A Walk Among the Tombstones

age 17+
(i)

 

Crime story from skilled director has strong violence.
Watch
Write a review
See all 13 user reviews
  • Review Date: September 19, 2014
  • Rated: R
  • Genre: Thriller
  • Release Year: 2014
  • Running Time: 113 minutes

A Walk Among the Tombstones gallery

What parents need to know

Positive messages

The movie's world is grim and hopeless -- one in which even good people end up doing bad things from time to time.

Positive role models

Matthew Scudder is a recovering alcoholic who's eight years sober. He helps out a homeless kid by teaching him a few lessons and buying him food and clothes. He regularly attends AA meetings and seems interested in doing the right thing, though he doesn't always succeed; his violent profession sometimes gets the better of him.

Violence

A pair of kidnappers abducts two women and a 14-year-old girl. One of the women is shown gagged during the opening credits. In another sequence, the men threaten to slice off one of the woman's breasts (making her choose which one). One woman is chopped into pieces and put into little bags. The girl's fingers are chopped off. Several chases, shoot outs, and fights. The killers use wire around the neck to strangle victims. Plenty of blood is shown. A man commits suicide by jumping from the roof of a building. A young girl is accidentally shot, and a young boy is beaten up.

Sex

The killers rip open a woman's clothes, and her breasts are briefly shown. One character has a selection of paintings of naked (topless) women on his wall. A man has a collection of photos taken of a coupe having sex in an apartment across the street; no sensitive body parts are shown.

Language

"F--k" and "s--t" are used several times. "Bitch" is used.

Consumerism
Not applicable
Drinking, drugs, & smoking

The main character is a recovering alcoholic. In a flashback, he's seen drinking shots in a bar. But in the main story, he's sober and goes to AA meetings. Another character is a drug addict and is seen smoking cigarettes.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that A Walk Among the Tombstones is a crime thriller starring Liam Neeson as private investigator Matthew Scudder (a character previously played by Jeff Bridges in 1986's 8 Million Ways to Die). There's lots of gritty violence, including shoot outs, fighting, and blood. Women and teens are kidnapped and terrorized (one is threatened with having one of her breasts sliced off). A boy is beaten up, a young girl is shot, and another young girl is kidnapped. The kidnappers have gruesome ways of disposing with bodies, including chopping one up into bits. Language is strong, including several uses of "f--k" and "s--t." The main character is a recovering alcoholic, eight years sober, who attends AA meetings; he's shown drinking in a flashback. Another major character is a drug addict who smokes cigarettes. Sex is seen in a set of photographs, and topless women are shown in paintings, but there's nothing involving the major characters.

What's the story?

Eight years ago, New York cop Matt Scudder (Liam Neeson) was drunk during a robbery and the subsequent chase, and it changed him forever. Now, in the movie's present (which is set in 1999), he operates as an unlicensed private detective. A drug dealer (Dan Stevens) hires him to find the men who kidnapped his wife; even though he paid the ransom, they killed her. Scudder hits the streets and starts looking for clues; a homeless kid, T.J. (Brian "Astro" Bradley), occasionally helps. Before long, Scudder discovers that these kidnappers have a specific M.O. -- targeting victims with ready cash who won't call the cops -- and that it's happened at least once before. Unfortunately, they've struck again, kidnapping a 14-year-old girl, and time is running out.

Is it any good?

QUALITY

Screenwriter Scott Frank has made a career of adapting crime novels and thrillers by Elmore Leonard, Philip K. Dick, and James Lee Burke for the screen. He wrote an excellent original thriller and made his directorial debut with The Lookout; A WALK AMONG THE TOMBSTONES, adapted from a Lawrence Block novel, is his follow-up. Like a good crime novelist, Frank doesn't necessarily bring anything new to the genre, but he gives it a fresh presentation, telling the story with enthusiasm and skill.

He captures a fine big-city feel with grungy shops and stairwells, as well as luckier, fancier places. Characters flit in and out of the story with the sense that they have lived lives here. Even the standard "cute kid" character of T.J. is handled like an everyday occurrence. Set in 1999, the story includes references to the paranoia of the Y2K computer "virus." The overall sense of dread and rage is strong, even if the movie is too long to be terribly suspenseful.

Families can talk about...

  • Families can talk about A Walk Among the Tombstones' violence. How much is directed against women? How do these sequences compare with the standard chasing and shooting sequences? How did they all make you feel?

  • How does Scudder being an alcoholic impact the story? How does it affect his character? Does it make him more sympathetic?

Movie details

Theatrical release date:September 19, 2014
DVD release date:January 13, 2015
Cast:Liam Neeson, Astro, Dan Stevens
Director:Scott Frank
Studio:Universal Pictures
Genre:Thriller
Run time:113 minutes
MPAA rating:R
MPAA explanation:strong violence, disturbing images, language and brief nudity

This review of A Walk Among the Tombstones was written by

Jeffrey M. Anderson
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are conducted by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

Quality

Our star rating assesses the media's overall quality.

Find out more

Learning ratings

  • Best: Really engaging; great learning approach.
  • Very Good: Engaging; good learning approach.
  • Good: Pretty engaging; good learning approach.
  • Fair: Somewhat engaging; OK learning approach.
  • Not for Learning: Not recommended for learning.
  • Not for Kids: Not age-appropriate for kids; not recommended for learning.

Find out more

About these links

Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase. Thank you for your support.

Read more

About Our Rating System

The age displayed for each title is the minimum one for which it's developmentally appropriate. We recently updated all of our reviews to show only this age, rather than the multi-color "slider." Get more information about our ratings.

Great handpicked alternatives

  • Gone Baby Gone
    Deeply affecting crime thriller for grownups.
    age 17+
  • Jack Reacher
    Serviceable but forgettable Cruise thriller is very violent.
    age 15+
  • Cold in July
    Crime thriller is brilliantly twisty but gruesomely violent.
    age 18+
  • Taken
    Violent, disturbing rescue/revenge thriller isn't for kids.
    age 16+

For kids who love thrills

Thriller Movies
Spy Movies for Kids
See all recommended movie lists

Browse more movies

Top advice and articles

What parents and kids say

See all user reviews

Share your thoughts with other parents and kids Write a user review

A safe community is important to us. Please observe our guidelines

Parent Written bycarmanc October 4, 2014
age 17+

What parents should know

The review doesn't mention that one character also listens to a tape recording of a woman being raped. It's quite horrifying. The violence is integral to the plot but it is STILL not appropriate for a child of ANY AGE. I regret allowing my teen-age son to see it.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Was this review useful?
Flag as inappropriate 
Parent of a 12 year old Written byabigails October 8, 2014
age 18+

Sadistic horror leaves you disturbed

I have enjoyed Liam Neelson's previous movies and would not describe myself as an over-sensitive person but this movie has PLAYED ON MY MIND. Please don't watch it - whether you are a child or an adult. You will be left with images and sounds of the most abhorrent and disturbing kind of rape and torture.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Was this review useful?
Flag as inappropriate 
Teen, 17 years old Written byB-KMastah September 20, 2014
age 14+

A solid matinee.

This would make for a nice matinee. It's a little bit overlong and convoluted, but it's also nicely atmospheric and has a very good final act. The performances are good and I appreciate Neeson's more vulnerable turn here as opposed to be a full-on action hero, and Brian "Astro" Bradley as his sort of teen sidekick is great. He's the real standout. This is a dark movie, but it has some humor which actually works because it's realistic. While there are some sequences that don't work, there are others that work really well, and despite its occasional pacing issues, it warrants being checked out. That's all I have to say. Shortest review ever. 7/10, good, one thumb up, above average, etc.
What other families should know
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
Was this review useful?
Flag as inappropriate 

See all user reviews

Poll

Did our review help you make an informed decision about this product?

Family Media Agreement