Parents' Guide to

Vanquish

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 15+

Guns, blood, drugs in ridiculously bad action flick.

Movie R 2021 95 minutes
Vanquish Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

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

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age 16+

Based on 2 parent reviews

Sebastianr
Sebastianr Adult
April 28, 2021
age 15+

1/1000

This movie was the worst movie iv ever seen. Coming from someone that watches movies everyday of the week and has seen pretty much anything and everything you can think of, this is what I think. Have you ever seen a movie made on an iPhone with some free movie editing app made by a student for there 9th grade class well that would be better than this. Honestly the actors ruby and Morgan are amazing actors but I felt like they where given a load of money and told to do as the director wants with no freedom. It was absolutely terrible. If you ever seen a movie and it’s by George Gallo turn it off please. He trashed this movie with horrible camera angles. Disgusting affects that where on screen for no reason like a kid that thinks “oooo this looks cool so I’ll throw it in” with no real thought process put into it. Even the action scenes where lazy and incompetent. Absolutely dreadful, if you want to have a seizure this would be the way to go trust me on that, The movie could have been good with a better director simple as that. Isn’t the actors fault. They needed the money like everyone at the moment.
Ramona.
Ramona. Adult
April 17, 2021
age 16+

Vanquish

Lame
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

In VANQUISH, Damon (Morgan Freeman) is a heroic cop who was injured in a brutal attack and is now in a wheelchair. His caretaker, Victoria (Ruby Rose), is a former underworld operative who's now trying to go straight. Her young daughter, Lily (Juju Journey Brener), has a mysterious, lethal disease, and Damon has decided to help her. But because of his involvement with dirty cops, he has no one else he can trust, so he takes Lily hostage and forces Victoria to run five dangerous errands. At each stop, Victoria is supposed to collect a large black bag, but at the first pickup, she angers some German gangsters. She must complete her mission, avoid the Germans, and get back to her daughter in one piece.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

It's hard to believe that a five-time Oscar nominee would sign on for an action movie this frustratingly underwritten and embarrassingly amateurish, but whatever deal he made, it wasn't worth it. At least Freeman doesn't have to exert himself too much in Vanquish, spending almost the entire movie in a wheelchair in a cozy mansion, looking at video monitors. Rose does the hard work here, although the reasons behind it are so vague that it's irritating. Is the cash she's picking up protection money? If so, then why are the missions so dangerous? If Damon is crooked, then why hasn't he been caught before now? He's clearly quite careless.

Even her dialogue -- e.g., "I promised myself I would never do this again" -- is annoyingly vague. Do what again? What did she do? If she was a super spy, she maybe wasn't very good at it. One chase scene, with Victoria on a motorcycle pursued by trucks, goes on forever until a helpful truck coincidentally pulls out so that she can slide underneath it and trap her pursuers. Did she plan this? It's hard to believe ... or care. Beyond the spotty script, veteran writer (Midnight Run, Bad Boys) and director George Gallo uses some truly puzzling techniques, including excessive dissolves, frequent flashbacks (to things that happened five minutes earlier), and even a rat's point of view. Perhaps worst of all is the offensive stereotyping, from an exaggerated gay gangster to a large Black gangster who is, of course, shown eating.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Vanquish's violence. How did it make you feel? Is it thrilling, or shocking?

  • Are drugs made to look glamorous or cool? Are there consequences for using drugs? Why does that matter?

  • Are women in the movie objectified? Do they have their own personalities? Is Victoria a role model?

  • Do Damon's good deeds outweigh his bad? Is he a hero, or a villain? Can someone be both?

  • Did you notice any stereotyping in the movie? How could these characters have been portrayed differently?

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