Parents' Guide to The Misfits

This humorous heist actioner is high on style, if short on substance. Stylistically, it's appealing from the opening scenes that introduce us to the film's diverse team. Each member of the Misfits has skills associated with illegal behavior: killing, conning, and blowing stuff up. But just because they're talented at doing bad doesn't mean they are bad; they're trying to make a world that's just. And the young crew outsmarts the Boomers whose actions are always entirely selfish -- even dashing, stealthy Pace is an absentee dad. That's where it gets interesting: Pace, a shady version of James Bond, is the main character, but he's put in his place again and again by the "kids" (well, Cannon is 40, but still ... ) who teach him life lessons. In a real world that seems out of control, it may feel empowering for younger generations to see themselves as the ones putting things back in order -- and this is their world, so the scenery is full of snazzy expensive cars, fabulous locations, and even someone walking a cougar on a leash.

In the ensemble, Cannon is the narrator and the comic relief: "Black chameleon" Ringo is a modern-day Fletch, hilariously disguising himself as various characters to get what he needs. Cannon's grab bag of alternate personas is great fun, but his narration, while written to be clever, actually pulls the entire production down. It tells instead of shows (sometimes stating the obvious), and because it breezes through details, it cuts off viewers' emotional investment in the characters and the feeling of purpose they have in their mission. We hop across the stones of the story instead of diving into the emotional waters. Things come too easily to them, without a deep enough explanation for why that might be. But these are the concerns for more sophisticated moviegoers -- and that's not who this movie is made for. It knows it's a great fit for teens; parents can at least feel comforted that director Renny Harlin has made The Misfits a film that seems to be violent but actually isn't, that shows women as warriors and people of color as smart and heroic, and that knows young women are too smart to be enticed by rich old men -- even if they are James Bond.