Parents' Guide to

Term Life

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Bungled scenes, miscast actors in failed thriller.

Movie R 2016 93 minutes
Term Life Poster Image

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

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What's the Story?

Nick Barrow (Vince Vaughn) is a criminal who works designing heists and selling them to others to actually pull off. Unfortunately, his latest job was taken on by a notorious drug dealer's son; there was a double-cross, the son was killed, and Nick is blamed. The drug lord (Jordi Molla) quickly zeroes in on Nick's estranged daughter, Cate (Hailee Steinfeld), as a way to settle the score. So Nick kidnaps Cate and goes into hiding while cooking up a plan. To make matters worse, the heist also involved a crooked cop (Bill Paxton), who's also gunning for Nick. It will take everything Nick has to survive this mess.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This labored, failed thriller feels like a collection of odd puzzle pieces that don't fit but have been nonetheless forced together. Even the great cast members seem squeezed into the wrong roles. Vaughn, sporting a distractingly bad haircut, is denied a sense of humor. He and Steinfeld can't generate any kind of father-daughter bond, and even a reunion between Swingers' buddies Vaughn and Jon Favreau passes by cluelessly.

Paxton, meanwhile, is stuck in a role that requires him to scowl all the time and is far below his level of intelligence. Characters appear and disappear in a strangely random fashion, very little makes sense, and the action is confusing. If TERM LIFE was supposed to provide thrills -- or at least some interesting ideas and warm fuzzies -- it instead mostly generates confusion, frustration, and a strong, fermented sense of an opportunity wasted. Former child actor Peter Billingsley (A Christmas Story) -- a protege of Favreau's -- directed.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Term Life's violence. How much of it is necessary to the story? What effect does it have? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • What's the father-daughter relationship in the movie like? How is it similar or different from your own relationship -- or relationships you've seen, either in real life or in the media?

  • How is teen drinking portrayed in the movie? Is it glamorized? Why does that matter?

  • Does the movie end on a positive note? What has the teen girl learned about a life of crime? Is there a "lesson" here?

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