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Parents' Guide to

Code Name: Emperor

By Andrea Beach, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Spanish spy drama has sex, violence, and drugs.

Movie NR 2022 106 minutes
A man walking and talking on a cell phone in a dark, tense atmosphere.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

  • A woman looks into the distance while a man next to her frowns at her.
  • Code Name Movie scene 3
  • Code Name Movie scene 4

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What's the Story?

CODE NAME: EMPEROR is the story of intelligence agent Juan (Luis Tosar) at a time when he's got a lot on his plate. His boss wants him to dig up some dirt on a certain politician, and if he can't find any dirt, then make some. He's also working on taking down a smuggling operation and extricating a corrupt judge from a very dicey situation in Panama. Then there's his ex, a journalist who's pressuring Juan to give her a real scoop she can use. Oh yeah, and he's also falling in love with someone who makes him want to leave it all behind.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is a decent but flawed drama that feels like it was aiming for "thriller" but just didn't quite get there. There's a lot of tension, and the atmosphere is dark, but there are some plot holes and some motivations or reasons behind things that are never explained, which make some aspects more puzzling than thrilling.

Although star Luis Tosar turns in a good performance, it's not his best, and this vehicle doesn't dig deeply enough into the character, even one that's hard to get to know on purpose, for the movie to work as a character study. But it's not a bad choice if you're in the mood for something serious but not too intense.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about the sex scenes in Code Name: Emperor. Are they too much? Why do you think they're included?

  • What about the strong language? Is it too much? Is it realistic, and does it matter if it is?

  • Is the violence excessive? Is it realistic, and does it matter if it is?

Movie Details

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