Parents' Guide to

The Bad Batch

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Daring, dark, violent art house movie isn't for everyone.

Movie R 2017 118 minutes
The Bad Batch Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

Community Reviews

age 18+

Based on 1 parent review

age 18+

Not healthy for everyone.

My opinion this movie has kind of the same reaction like watching the joker. You have to be emotional stable in my opinion to watch this. I honestly avoided it because I didn't like the title. But I wanted to see it when I saw my fellow new yorker Keanu Reeves and I also enjoy watching Jason momoa. So I'm in the middle of it. We'll see if it deserves 3-5 stars. I would not show this to a family member under 18.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Though definitely not for mainstream tastes, Ana Lily Amirpour's bizarre, beautiful film feels like an arthouse movie from an earlier time, more of a dare than a comfort, more active than passive. The Bad Batch takes a few cues from defiant, edgy movies like the Mad Max series, The Hills Have Eyes, Tank Girl, El Topo, and Zabriskie Point, but it's different in its own unique way. Amirpour, who made an impressive debut with the equally hard-to-categorize A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night, is gifted at pure cinema.

Her compositions are extraordinary, using powerful depth of space as well as odd, striking juxtapositions in nearly every shot. She favors silence over dialogue, though music is important. Mainly, her movies seem to be about wanderers (like modern-day cowboys) exploring weird landscapes and perhaps hoping to find a place that seems good enough. Along the way -- at least in The Bad Batch -- the journey is funny, horrifying, magical, awful, and beautiful, with so many great moments, especially the surprising performance by Carrey. Many will find the 118-minute running time a bit daunting for an "experimental" movie, but a few brave souls will be totally swept away.

Movie Details

  • In theaters: June 23, 2017
  • On DVD or streaming: September 19, 2017
  • Cast: Suki Waterhouse , Jason Momoa , Keanu Reeves
  • Director: Ana Lily Amirpour
  • Inclusion Information: Female actors, Indigenous actors, Polynesian/Pacific Islander actors, Asian actors
  • Studio: Neon
  • Genre: Science Fiction
  • Run time: 118 minutes
  • MPAA rating: R
  • MPAA explanation: violence, language, some drug content and brief nudity
  • Last updated: February 18, 2023

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