Parents' Guide to

Nerve

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Kindness rewarded in shallow but fun teen cyberthriller.

Movie PG-13 2016 96 minutes
Nerve Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 13+

Based on 8 parent reviews

age 18+

This title has:

Great messages
Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
age 14+

Beware

Many times things that are rated 13 are ok for my almost 12 year old. This one I regretted. It does end up being about the dangers of social media but they almost die so many times my heart was constantly racing. My son did say though that it taught him why social media is dangerous more than I’ve ever got across to him, so maybe younger than 14 is ok, but you will want to watch it first. Also a girls butt and a girl in her bra is shown.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (8):
Kids say (62):

This lightweight thriller for the new millennium is flashy, with decent, likable characters and adrenaline-fueled thrills, even if it grows ever more implausible and ultimately disposable. Yet it does offer a spectacular condemnation of mob mentality and internet trolling, instead clearly rewarding kindness and responsibility. Co-directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman previously brought us the internet dating scam story Catfish, as well as the surveillance camera-powered Paranormal Activity 3 and 4, and they sure seem to have their fingers on the pulse of ... something.

Nerve effectively captures the feel of a movement or a trend (it sort of recalls Pokemon Go) in a New York City setting, as well as the adrenaline of an all-night romp. The filmmakers keep a strong storytelling pace, blowing right past several small plot problems and careless shortcuts without a thought. And the casting is spot-on; the chemistry between Roberts and Franco certainly helps carry the story along.

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.

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