Parents' Guide to

Cosmic Sin

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Awful sci-fi movie about killing aliens has language, blood.

Movie R 2021 89 minutes
Cosmic Sin Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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What's the Story?

In COSMIC SIN, it's the year 2524. A couple living alone at a remote mining outpost is startled when aliens appear. They report the first contact to The Alliance, the military organization in charge of Earth. After determining that the aliens are hostile, with the ability to take over human bodies, The Alliance decides to launch an attack. General Ryle (Frank Grillo) is in charge, but for the plan to work, they must call in the retired Ford (Bruce Willis), who has experience with the infamous weapon known as the "Q-Bomb." Do the risks of setting off the bomb outweigh the aliens' threat to humanity?

Is It Any Good?

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

This alien-attack movie may not be the worst sci-fi film ever made, but it's not too far off. Cosmic Sin is simultaneously confusing and simplistic, cluttered and empty, and almost entirely clueless. The movie's biggest sin occurs right away. We get an onslaught of on-screen exposition that explains what's happened to humanity over the last 500 years. But then the year 2524 appears on-screen -- and it looks pretty much the same as today, including the same haircuts and beards, clothing, cars, dive bars, guns that shoot bullets, and even the same expressions ("hurry up and wait"). It's difficult not to be distracted by the movie's total lack of futuristic wonder.

Then, before we even see any aliens, the humans start shooting at them. Despite some dialogue about moral dilemmas, the movie has none. It's ultimately all about us vs. them. Moreover, the movie tries to shoehorn in some bonus character development (a general and his relationship with his gung-ho son, Willis' relationship with an ex-partner, etc.), but it feels both rushed and phony. The visual effects, especially an outer-space battle, barely rise to the quality of a 1980s video game. And Willis turns in another in a series of drowsy, lifeless performances. Ultimately, Cosmic Sin comes down to lots of incomprehensible shoot-outs inside nondescript buildings.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Cosmic Sin's violence. Does the fact that it's directed at an invading alien species make it less shocking and more exciting? Why, or why not?

  • What's the appeal of movies about aliens? Do you believe that there's life beyond this planet?

  • Why is it problematic to wipe out an entire species of creatures, even if they're violent?

  • What is "colonialism"? Why is it problematic for one group to assert power or domination over another?

Movie Details

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