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Parents' Guide to

Maria

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Graphic violence, profanity in Filipino action movie.

Movie NR 2019 89 minutes
Maria Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Larryhodge2
Larryhodge2 Adult
June 11, 2019
age 14+

The best

I like the whole plot and the storyline. There is so much tension.

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Nixie1984
Nixie1984 Adult
May 24, 2019
age 18+

Filipino John wick knockoff

Lots of blood and torture for no purpose. JW came out of retirement because people went looking for him. This movie they make like she’s all badass but unable to save the one most important to her. It could’ve been a better storyline. I definitely say if you are coming here to see if you can watch this with your kid in the vicinity...the answer is no.

This title has:

Too much violence
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Lily was a ferocious and unstoppable assassin, working for a drug kingpin with her boyfriend, Kaleb. But when she's faced with killing an innocent mother and child, it's the final straw, so she finds a way to disappear and is presumed dead. In reality, she changed her name to MARIA and got married to a man who works for a politician campaigning to be president. With her husband and daughter, Maria now lives a relatively peaceful existence, but when the presidential candidate denies any past involvement with the drug kingpin, the drug kingpin sends his sons, Kaleb and Victor, to get even. While conducting surveillance, Kaleb discovers that Lily/Maria is still alive. Kaleb and his henchmen invade Maria's house and kill her husband and daughter. Devastated but determined to get revenge, Maria hides out in a back room of a bar owned by Greg, a retired underworld boss who had originally trained Lily/Maria. Now Maria must come to terms with her past and use her assassin skills once more -- this time to avenge her family, kill Kaleb, and also track down Victor and the drug kingpin who was once her boss.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is yet another stylized ultraviolent revenge fantasy. There are so many moments of gratuitous violence: violence that doesn't advance the story or develop the characters but simply exists for cheap shock value and to fill the holes left in an uneven storyline. Maria is the kind of movie that really, really, really wants you to understand who the bad guys are, and if they don't seem bad to you at first, or you weren't convinced in their introductory instance of bad behavior, here are two or three more instances of bad guys doing bad things.

As the lead character, Cristine Reyes shows that her acting chops are nearly as good as the many scenes in which she stabs, shoots, kicks, and punches her way through shipyards, bazaars, and rec rooms. That said, it doesn't change the fact that the overall story feels like a rejected screenplay for a Chuck Norris movie that had been languishing in an old Cannon Films file cabinet.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Parents can talk about violence in action movies. In what scenes of Maria does the violence seem gratuitous? Where does it seem overly stylized?

  • How are women represented in this movie? Historically, how have women often been represented in action movies?

  • What are some other examples of movies in which lead characters get revenge on the bad guys? Why do you think these types of movies have popular appeal?

Movie Details

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.

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