Common Sense Media Review
By JK Sooja
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Boring, unoriginal thriller has violence, language, drugs.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
The Poison Rose
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
In THE POISON ROSE, Carson Phillips (John Travolta) takes on a missing person case back in his old hometown. To make matters worse, the woman needing a person found is Carson's ex, and she seems wrapped up in some strange business, as well as his old friend, Doc (Morgan Freeman). Will Carson be able to work through all the lies and deceptions some in the town hold so dear? Or will he become just another statistic?
Is It Any Good?
This unsuccessful attempt at modern noir is painfully stale, obviously plotted, and incredibly boring. Even as a simple crime mystery, The Poison Rose has little going for it, outside of a great cast on paper. So much of this drama feels cliched, done before, and laughably unaware of how derivative it is.
Right from the start, the main hero, Carson Phillips, declares that he has "always been a sucker for a beautiful woman and a sob story." As every line performed in this movie, each actor tries very hard to make each sentence sound cool or edgy or dramatic, but the dialogue is so often so ridiculously sophomoric that this entire project could've been extremely successful as a parody or satire with something to say. But instead, the film feels like when children play "dress up" and put on their parents' clothing and "go to work" or "have a meeting."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about violence in thrillers and crime dramas. Was the violence in The Poison Rose overly dramatic? Not dramatic enough? Did it help or hurt the story? Why?
Is Carson a likable hero? Why or why not?
As a villain, how scary was Doc? What could have made him more terrifying?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming : May 24, 2019
- Cast : John Travolta , Morgan Freeman , Brendan Fraser , Famke Janssen
- Directors : Francesco Cinquemani , George Gallo
- Inclusion Information : Black Movie Actor(s) , Female Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Netflix
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 138 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- MPAA explanation : some violence and language
- Last updated : October 24, 2022
Did we miss something on diversity?
Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by
Suggest an Update
Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.
See how we rate