Parents' Guide to

Formula 51

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Missing: plot, dialogue, characters.

Movie R 2002 93 minutes
Formula 51 Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

See all

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In FORMULA 51, Elmo McElroy (Samuel L. Jackson) is a pharmacist by training who never got his license because of a drug conviction. So, he spent 30 years cooking up concoctions for a very mean drug dealer (rock star Meat Loaf) who not only speaks of himself in the third person but when doing so actually calls himself "The Lizard." McElroy has an idea for one last big deal to buy his freedom. All he has to do is blow up all of his current customers and sell his latest invention, a drug 51 times more powerful than any ever invented before while avoiding the beautiful assassin who is trying to kill him.

Is It Any Good?

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

This Formula is missing some key ingredients – like plot, characters, and dialogue. What it does have is the undeniably cool Samuel L. Jackson (who co-produced) in a kilt, fending off attackers with golf clubs and one funny joke. Unfortunately, Jackson also fends off other attackers by inducing severe intestinal distress. And the joke is stolen from Pulp Fiction, in a much better scene. There's also lots and lots of violence and profanity, though none profane or otherwise that are particularly witty or memorable.

Director Ronny Yu brings out the tired old Hong Kong camera tricks. Every other scene is either sped up or slowed down. He wastes the talented Robert Carlyle and Emily Mortimer. They play characters with different motivations and even different personalities from scene to scene. They do whatever moves the story forward, which means whatever will cause the most destruction.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about how McElroy developed the plan that would allow him to achieve his dream (which is not fully revealed until the credit sequence). Why was that dream so important to him? Speaking of dreams, they might like to talk about what it was about this material that made Samuel L. Jackson want to produce and star in it.

Movie Details

Inclusion information powered by

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 suggesting a diversity 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