Common Sense Media Review
By Barbara Shulgasser-Parker
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Clunky thriller has drugs, violence, trafficking.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Collision
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In COLLISION, Johan (Langley Kirkwood), a White, racist South African executive, fears his history of illegal corporate bribes will be unearthed as he vies for a promotion against a more qualified Black woman. When he loses the job to her, he unleashes his racist frustration and faces financial ruin. His spoiled daughter Nicki (Zoey Sneedon) is in rebellion against her dad's racist dinosaur ways. Her Black boyfriend, Cecil (Siphesihle Vazi), is an aspiring rapper. The interracial relationship signals that South Africa's younger Whites are more enlightened than their parents, but Nicki is nevertheless an ugly person, self-centered and cruel. Cecil is the story's only decent character, a naif who is aware that his weak best friend Thando (Mpho Seveng) deals drugs for the dangerous gangster Bra Sol (Vuyo Dabula). Cecil mistakenly believes that dirty connection won't touch him, until it does, threatening his girlfriend and her father. Drug-dealing, trafficking of sex workers, kidnapping, and fraud all play roles in a fateful ending. In a parallel story, struggling Black inner-city shop keepers suffer under the delusion that all their woes can be traced to the influx of African immigrants from other countries. Stoked by the rousing words of a resentful store owner, an angry mob loots and burns shops owned by Nigerians and Zimbabweans.
Is It Any Good?
Collision is a clunky, thrill-less thriller. It artlessly wobbles from one disastrous circumstance to another as the director interweaves stories connected only by the amorphous web of anger and resentment that he suggests has swallowed post-Apartheid South Africa. Good performances are highly watchable but the scenarios are old, with almost identical ones offered on a weekly basis on episodic broadcast TV dramas, and in movies, including Goodfellas and The Godfather, to name just two works that are better in every way than this. Decent people are corrupted by an atmosphere of dishonesty, all set against a backdrop of debilitating ongoing racism and the damage done to a nation by decades of White Supremist rule. In the end, the message is not a new one: It's dangerous to consort with gangsters.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how some who have suffered prejudice nevertheless revisit the same kind of irrational and baseless hatred on other equally undeserving people. Why do you think this is?
Do you think viewers unfamiliar with South Africa's White Supremist history will understand the issues raised by the film? In what way does the film make the problems portrayed seem universal?
What are some of the current South African problems the movie tries to portray?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : June 16, 2022
- Cast : Tessa Jubber , Langley Kirkwood , Mpho Seveng , Siphesihle Vazi
- Director : Fabien Martorell
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Drama
- Run time : 99 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : June 29, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate