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Revenger

Name: Revenger
Item: Revenger
Rating: 2
Author: Renee Schonfeld

Movie review by

Renee Schonfeld, Common Sense Media

Common Sense says

age 17+

(i)

Martial arts slaughter-fest; buckets of blood, bodies abound

NR
2019
101 minutes

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A lot or a little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

Positive Messages

Good ultimately triumphs over evil. Promotes revenge.

Positive Role Models & Representations

Heroic characters are determined, inventive, strong, brave, and remorseless. Males and females fight with the same fervor and ability.

Violence

All-out martial arts fighting and mayhem. Bloody deaths, bones breaking, fire consumes one man, cackling villains, chases with weapons, including swords, spears, arrows, guns, knives, poison. Savage hand-to-hand combat results in dozens of take-downs and deaths. Dismemberment, throats are cut. Blood spurts; bodies literally fly and pile up. A child is in peril in several sequences. Woman and child are shot to death. For a brief moment after a prolonged fight, it appears that a man intends to rape a defeated female opponent.

Sex

Language

Profanity both spoken and in subtitles: "f--k," "s--t," "hell," "a--hole," "bitches," "bastard."

Consumerism

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Some drinking and drunkenness. Smoking.

What parents need to know

Parents need to know that Revenger is a Korean martial arts thriller with extremely violent and grisly fight sequences strung together by a simple revenge plot. A police officer arrives on a lawless island that confines unsupervised, violent criminals, including the man who brutally murdered his wife and daughter. From the opening scenes on a beach in which a woman and small child are attacked by a gang of marauding criminals to the lengthy finale, which is a one-on-one fight to the death, gruesome kills are constant. Viewers can expect dismemberment, throats slashed, torture, stabbings, fire, sword and spear battles, and intense martial arts combat as bodies pile up. Profanity is used, i.e., "f--k," "s--t," "ass," "bastard." Men drink alcohol (some drunkenness) and smoke cigarettes. In some scenes, English is spoken; in others Korean dialogue is subtitled in English. Way too brutal for kids.

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What's the story?

In REVENGER, the stoic but powerful Yul (Bruce Kahn), a disgraced cop, is in search of Kuhn (Hee-soon Park), the ruthless criminal who murdered his wife and daughter. Yul arrives on the island to which Kuhn and other violent criminals have been banished and now live in state of turbulence and anarchy. Yul's arrival is just in time to save the lives of Maly (Jin-seo Yoon), a female fighter, and her young daughter from certain death at the hands of marauding villains who work at Kuhn's behest. Yul is taken to a hideout of men and women who all live in fear of the merciless Kuhn and his accomplices. Yul's attempts to find the evil Kuhn lead him, Maly, and some of the others into an ever-terrifying quest for vengeance.

Is it any good?

Masterful martial arts combat, well-photographed and powerful, will satisfy action fans who don't mind one-dimensional characters, a humdrum plot, and graphic, sometimes stomach-turning, brutality. Bruce Kahn -- with his impassive face and meager dialogue -- is unstoppable as he dispatches dozens of villains with grace, strength, and control. All of the fighters -- winners and losers among them -- are dynamic and amazing. The filmmakers' attempt at comic relief, however, is ludicrous. Loopy savages cavorting around spouting ridiculous dialogue simply isn't funny or effective playing against the atrocities committed in close proximity. With its gruesome blood-letting and full-scale graphic violence, Revenger isn't recommended for any but the most die-hard combat sport enthusiasts.

Talk to your kids about ...

Families can talk about the extensive violence in Revenger. How much is too much? How do you respond to the intensity of the violence? Are you thrilled by it? Do you find yourself turning away? Why is important for families to understand the impact of violence on kids?
Movies can usually be divided into three categories: character-driven, plot-driven, or action-driven. How would you define each of these genres (i.e., what makes a movie "character-driven")? Into which category does Revenger fall?
Define the term "comic relief" as it may apply to a movie. Which scenes in this film were the filmmakers attempts at "comic relief?" Did you laugh? Do you think the comedy blended well with the extreme violence? Why or why not?