Parents' Guide to

The Wall

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 17+

Strong language in bloody but very good war movie.

Movie R 2017 81 minutes
The Wall Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 15+

Based on 6 parent reviews

Ethan R.
Ethan R. Adult
June 29, 2021
age 18+

Too much swearing, even for a war movie Do Not Watch!

There is way too much swearing, I stopped watching half way through. There are no good messages included. There is also bloody violence. I would not recommend this movie to anybody.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Honest R.
Honest R. Adult
February 3, 2018
age 18+

Horrible terrorist propaganda

One of the worst movies I’ve ever seen. Makes our soldiers out to be stupid invaders, but the terrorist is a smart “freedom fighter”. HA! Freedom fighters don’t, how did he put it? Oh yea, “skin your bones, and tear out your tongue and staple it to your chest.” They’re nothing but animals.
See all 6 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In THE WALL, two soldiers -- Army Staff Sergeant Shane Matthews (John Cena) and Sergeant Allan Isaac (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) -- have spent the better part of 24 hours watching a scene of destruction, where contractors installing a pipeline have been massacred. Mathews decides that the coast is clear and goes to investigate but is shot by an unseen sniper. Isaac rushes to his side and is himself shot in the knee. He takes refuge behind a crumbling wall, only to find that both his radio antenna and his water bottle have been ruined. He tries to reach help, and a voice responds; but Isaac realizes that it's the voice of the Iraqi sniper, trying to fool him. The sniper, whom Isaac believes is the infamous Juba (voiced by Laith Nakli), tries to keep up a conversation with the American, while Isaac tries to figure a way out of his predicament. Can he locate the sniper and save himself -- and his partner -- before it's too late?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (6):
Kids say (5):

This kind of compact storytelling can be difficult to pull off, but Dwain Worrell's screenplay makes it look easy; this is a tense, tight, bracing film, recalling many "B" movie classics. Worrell's work comes without any flashbacks or anything that takes viewers us away from the immediate action, but it still manages to reveal crucial background details in a convincing way. It also opens up the characters -- including the unseen sniper -- beyond simple archetypes.

Director Doug Liman turns in surprising, no-frills work here, closer to The Bourne Identity than to anything else in his filmography. He does revert to hand-held camerawork from time to time, but he also expertly establishes the entire space so that nothing ever jolts us out of the action. Liman also effectively ramps up the mood with a powerful suggestion of heat and exhaustion. Though The Wall is a good deal bloodier and more aggressive than earlier war films by the likes of Samuel Fuller, Don Siegel, and Anthony Mann, it still deserves comparison to them.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about The Wall's violence. Do you think it effectively depicts what war is like? What's the impact of media violence on kids?

  • Why do you think the soldiers use derogatory remarks and sexual innuendo?

  • Does the movie humanize the Iraqi sniper, or is he a one-dimensional bad guy? Is he a stereotype?

  • What is the movie saying about the nature of war? The definition of "enemy" and "ally"?

Movie Details

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