Common Sense Media Review
By Jeffrey M. Anderson
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Oliver Stone thriller is all about sex, drugs, violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 18+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Savages
Parent and Kid Reviews
Based on 5 parent reviews
Based on 10 kid reviews
Kids say that the film is a mix of opinions, with some viewing it as an entertaining yet flawed action thriller, while others criticize the acting, particularly that of the lead, and the lack of depth in the character relationships. Many appreciate the thrilling elements and action sequences, though it is deemed inappropriate by several viewers due to its heavy focus on drugs, violence, and sexual content.
- entertaining yet flawed
- poor acting
- weak character relationships
- inappropriate content
- thrilling elements
Summarized with AI
Summarized with AI
What's the Story?
In SAVAGES, O (Blake Lively) narrates the story of her love affair with two Laguna Beach pot-growers: the Zenlike, laid-back Ben (Aaron Johnson), and the hard, ex-military Chon (Taylor Kitsch). A large drug cartel offers to buy their operation, but Ben and Chon refuse. Unfortunately, this results in O being kidnapped. Ben and Chon draw on all their knowledge and friends, including a crooked DEA agent (John Travolta), to rescue her. Unfortunately, they're dealing with the extremely dangerous drug empress Elena (Salma Hayek) and her homicidal henchman, Lado (Benicio Del Toro). It's going to take everything they've got to survive the final showdown.
Is It Any Good?
This Savages is a snooze. Oliver Stone's movies were once incendiary and had the power to get people talking about strong issues. For example, Natural Born Killers used a pulp story to say something about the callousness of media. Now Stone has made an ordinary pulp movie with very little to say, and he seems rather bored with pulp for pulp's sake. He sometimes adjusts the movie's color scheme to make things look sun-baked yellow or tropical fishtank rainbow, but otherwise he's asleep at the controls.
Moreover, the Ben and Chon characters are too one-dimensional and too stuck by their character limitations to be compelling; they bend and change according to the whims of the plot. When they're onscreen, the movie just evaporates. Thankfully, Travolta, Hayek, and Del Toro bring some infectious bravado to their supporting roles. They recall the kind of savagery that Stone used to have but doesn't seem to have anymore.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about Savages' strong violence. Is it necessary to the story? How does the impact of this kind of violence compare to what you see in horror and action movies?
How does the movie portray sex and relationships? Can O really love both of them equally? Can they both love her equally and not feel jealous?
Can Ben be considered a role model? Does his helping others help erase the destructive, illegal, and immoral things he does?
Movie Details
- In theaters : July 6, 2012
- On DVD or streaming : November 13, 2012
- Cast : Blake Lively , Taylor Kitsch , Aaron Taylor-Johnson
- Director : Oliver Stone
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Universal Pictures
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 129 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : strong brutal and grisly violence, some graphic sexuality, nudity, drug use and language throughout
- Last updated : October 9, 2025
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
Suggest an 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