Common Sense Media Review
By JK Sooja
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Thin, by-the-numbers revenge thriller has nudity and gore.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
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Sentinelle
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In SENTINELLE, Klara (Olga Kurylenko) was a French soldier but has returned home after a failed mission on her watch. Now, reluctantly, Klara patrols the streets as part of the French Operation Sentinelle instituted after the 2015 Paris attacks. Trying to slip back into civilian life, Klara spends time with her sister and their mother. Everything is normal until Klara's sister suffers a horrible attack. And the police don't seem to be able to do anything. Klara gears up to take matters into her own hands. How far will she go?
Is It Any Good?
The action in this revenge thriller is perfectly fine, but there's no innovation or surprises. The violence, gory kills, fight scenes, set pieces, and chase scenes are all cool enough in Sentinelle, but they lack a certain... punch. It often feels like the action is merely going through the motions: here's the chase scene, here's the bathroom fight scene with the urinal head smash, here's the woman vs. woman one-on-one, here are the knife up through the chin and neck kills, and so on.
The plot is the same, nothing surprising: here's the damaged but not perfect heroine, here's the evil rapist who enjoys beating women who must pay and suffer, here are the momentary setbacks, here's the final challenge. Klara goes about her vengeance wearing a constant scowl. Kurylenko does a decent enough job as Klara too, convincing in her determination and fury. The only problem is the bare structure of the plot and the very bare script don't allow Kurylenko to flex any broader acting muscles, which is a shame, as she proves here she could probably handle it.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in action thriller movies. How does the violence in Sentinelle compare to the violence in other similar films? Did anything surprise you?
As Klara goes about exacting her revenge, do you feel the gory and brutal ways of killing her enemies is warranted? Why or why not?
As a kind of anti-hero, Klara isn't perfect. How did you feel about her characterization? Did you find it easy or difficult rooting for her? Why?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : March 5, 2021
- Cast : Olga Kurylenko , Marilyn Lima , Michel Nabokoff , Martin Swabey
- Director : Julien Leclercq
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Action/Adventure
- Run time : 80 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : March 9, 2021
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