The Stronghold

Movie review by John Sooja, Common Sense Media
The Stronghold Poster Image

Common Sense says

age 16+

Boring French thriller has language, violence, stereotypes.

NR 2021 105 minutes
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Parents say

age 15+

Based on 1 review

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A Lot or a Little?

The parents' guide to what's in this movie.

What Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that The Stronghold is a French thriller loosely based on true events. The film centers around 3 Anti Crime Unit police officers who are disillusioned with the force. Expect a fair amount of violence, including bloody deaths, shots to the head, gun fights, fist fights, stabbings, police brutality, and car chases. Police are often shown slapping and throwing around people of color. Primarily, this is a film about White police officers facing off against Black drug dealers and "crime lords" in "the ghetto." Lots of drugs are on display, mainly weed and hash. Characters often smoke to get high and drink alcohol to get drunk. The main characters constantly smoke cigarettes. Very strong language throughout includes: "f--k," "f---ker," "f--king," "face-f--k," "s--t," "a--hole," "bitch," "p---y," "d--k," "whore," "hell," "bastard," and "damn."

Community Reviews

AMINES1
AMINES1 Adult
September 22, 2021
age 15+

Makes no Legal sense

So were they concerned about the informant getting killed or more concerned about her getting arrested. Just frustrating on so many levels could have been a really good movie. I think they just cut it poorly and no one had the balls to fix it
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

In THE STRONGHOLD, 3 veteran police officers, led by Greg Cerva (Gilles Lellouche) in the Anti Crime Unit, are tasked with taking down one of the biggest drug dealers in their area. The problem is that they need to gather up 5 kilos worth of drugs to pay off an informant for the information necessary to take the dealer down. Will this plan work? Even if it does, what then? If things go south, who will take the fall?

Is It Any Good?

In this slickly-produced and strongly-acted thriller, lots of buildup leads to nowhere. Most of The Stronghold plays like a standard cop thriller about 3 vaguely-corrupt police who have grown bored in their jobs because they don't actually have any real impact. While they do want to reduce crime, save lives, and get criminals off the streets, they also want big scores, promotions, and better lives. Loosely based on the real-life story in 2012 that found many Marseille police officers charged with corruption, stealing and selling drugs, and receiving bribes, this film misguidedly reimagines the story through these 3 White police officers. The writers and makers of this film literally took a story about 18 Marseille police officers getting charged with corruption, abuse, and larceny, and thought, what if they weren't corrupt? Let's tell that story. Many viewers might want to watch a different story.

Nevertheless, the main characters are presented here as not explicitly corrupt at all. The last third of the film finds them caught up in an investigation and their boss won't bail them out. They are thrown in prison and a solid chunk of time is devoted to their "hardships" in prison. By the end, they aren't deemed guilty, and viewers are meant to feel bad for them because they lost their jobs, had to experience a difficult time in prison, and now variously work in different sectors of the workforce.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about police brutality and entitlement. How does The Stronghold depict these? Do you think the film is more sympathetic to police or those in "the ghetto," as they call it? Why?

  • Did you care what happened to the main characters? Why or why not?

  • What do you think is the "message" of this movie?

Movie Details

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