Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Killing and blood in monotonous "one take" action movie.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
One Shot
What's the Story?
In ONE SHOT, junior CIA analyst Zoe Anderson (Ashley Greene) rides in a helicopter accompanied by a team of elite U.S. Navy SEALs; they're commanded by Jake Harris (Scott Adkins). The team's mission is to retrieve a person of interest, Amin Mansur (Waleed Elgadi), from a CIA black site island prison and bring him back to Washington, D.C. The mission is urgent, and time is of the essence. But once they're there, Deputy Site Manager Jack Yorke (Ryan Phillippe) refuses to let the prisoner go. Worse, while they argue, another team of unknown terrorists arrives on the island, also looking for Mansur. As the bullets fly and grenades explode, it becomes clear that Mansur is the only living person who can stop a tragedy from happening back in the United States. Will they make it in time?
Is It Any Good?
Presented in what appears to be a single long take, this action movie is expertly and impressively choreographed; too bad the same attention wasn't given to the dull story or flat characters. Following in the one-shot tradition of Silent House, Birdman, Bushwick, and 1917, One Shot begins in an aloft helicopter and follows its characters into office buildings and through a battlefield with characters hiding behind storage sheds, convenient arrangements of metal barrels, and stacks of wooden crates. It feels very much like a video game; it's impossible not to be aware that all of these pieces have been built this way, that every obstacle and shield has been placed on purpose.
Like a video game, the movie can even get your adrenaline going with its unpredictable violence. But even a video game has a story; it has levels, side-quests, and other things designed to create an experience. One Shot is pretty much more than an hour of shooting, explosions, blood spurts, characters hitting the ground, and little else (except for lots of banal shouted dialogue). One crucial story element is withheld, for no reason, until nearly the end, when it could have prevented all the trouble if it had been mentioned earlier. The movie seems to care little about things like this -- or about its human characters, who die dispassionately, without any feeling. It's too bad the colossal amount of work put into setting all of this up led to such a monotonous movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about One Shot's depiction of violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?
How well does the "one take" idea work with this story? How does it compare to other movies that are seemingly made in one single shot?
At the beginning of the movie, a Navy SEAL says "Everyone asks me how many people I've killed ... nobody ever asks me how many people I've saved." What do you think about this statement?
What is similar and/or different about the two groups coming to break Mansur out of prison?
How does the movie showcase diversity? Are there positive representations? Problematic ones?
Movie Details
- In theaters : November 5, 2021
- On DVD or streaming : December 7, 2021
- Cast : Scott Adkins , Ashley Greene Khoury , Ryan Phillippe
- Director : James Nunn
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Screen Media
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 96 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : December 13, 2021
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