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Parents' Guide to

Survivor

By Jeffrey M. Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 14+

Shooting, blood, death in uninspired thriller.

Movie PG-13 2015 96 minutes
Survivor Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

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age 13+

Based on 2 parent reviews

zbkemper
zbkemper Adult
August 8, 2019
age 13+

Way better than expected! Great Clean Action Movie

Some language, but not even a hint of sex or nudity.
fastraxsg
fastraxsg Parent of 10 and 15-year-old
July 5, 2015
age 13+

Don't bother. Seriously.

forgettable. cliche. dissapointing. nothing special. uninspired. i'd keep going but i think you get the point...
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Foreign Service Officer Kate Abbott (Milla Jovovich) is stationed at the U.S. embassy in London, hired to sniff out any potential terrorists who might be trying to enter the country. Just as she thinks she's found one, her boss, Bill Talbot (Robert Forster), takes over. Later, when Kate's colleagues are killed in a restaurant bombing, she realizes that she was also a target; soon, a hired killer called The Watchmaker (Pierce Brosnan) is after her to finish the job. To make matters worse, when Bill urns up dead, too, Kate gets the blame and finds herself at the center of a huge manhunt. Her only hope is to uncover the terrorists with the help of her trusted boss, Sam Parker (Dylan McDermott), and stop them before they can strike.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (2 ):
Kids say (1 ):

Director James McTeigue has made solid movies before, but SURVIVOR feels second-rate, carelessly thrown together by all parties. While it's refreshing to see a thriller with a (theoretically) strong female lead, Jovovich's Kate Abbott is frustrating; she's supposed to be savvy and highly trained, but she makes every kind of rookie mistake. This kind of movie ought to be surprising, but instead, viewers are always a jump ahead of her. We already know who not to trust and where not to go, but Kate still does all of it.

And Brosnan should have had a great role, playing hired killer The Watchmaker, but his scenes are so flat and grim that it's difficult to have any fun with them. Images from and allusions to 9/11 add to the overall seriousness, but then the big showdown feels cut short -- as well as illogical.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Survivor's violence. Is any of it thrilling, or does it feel more serious, given the references to 9/11 and war? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Why are hired killers/assassins such interesting characters? What would that job really be like? Would it be easy or hard?

  • The movie claims that 53 terrorist attacks have been prevented in New York since 9/11. Does this information make you feel safe? Scared? How could you find out more?

  • Is Kate a strong female role model? Why or why not?

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