Parents' Guide to

White Elephant

By Jeffrey Anderson, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 16+

Lots of blood in slightly better-than-average Willis flick.

Movie NR 2022 92 minutes
White Elephant Movie: Poster

A Lot or a Little?

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

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What's the Story?

In WHITE ELEPHANT, hired killer Gabriel Tancredi (Michael Rooker) has been working for crime boss Arnold (Bruce Willis) for years and is now training a younger protégé, Carlos (Vadhir Derbez). Arnold orders a hit on a Mexican gangster, and Carlos carries it out. But when he makes a bit of a mess, he blows up the building, an act witnessed by police officers Vanessa (Olga Kurylenko) and Walter (Michael Rose). To cover their tracks, the killers must kill the cops. Walter is quickly dispatched, but Vanessa proves a little harder to catch. Meanwhile, as Arnold's choices result in more violence, Gabriel makes a hard decision -- and, for the first time in a long while, tries to do the right thing.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This is one of the better Bruce Willis B movies, thanks to two engaging and likable lead characters (neither played by Willis), but the overall story is too ridiculous to declare it a success. Vanessa and Gabriel are both introduced as having painful pasts. Gabe is mourning his late wife and stops by her final resting place more than once. Vanessa is all nerves and carries a dark cloud over her head due to the violence she's experienced on the job. When they team up during the third act, it's a good match, and we actually begin to care for them, to root for their success. But the circumstances that lead to their collaboration make little sense.

Everything rests on Arnold, whose reckless and needless commands launch all the violence. ("I think he's losing it," says Carlos.) This scenario, when coupled with Willis' real-life aphasia, which affects language and comprehension, casts a cruel-feeling shadow over the proceedings. (His checked-out performance is more sad than cool.) The rest of the characters seem to have been neglected, too, including Carlos, who tries on different shades of cockiness with little success, and John Malkovich's lawyer, Follett, who shows up in a few scenes to talk about Greek history but doesn't seem to actually connect to the plot. It's an OK attempt, but perhaps this White Elephant should have packed its trunk and gone home.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about White Elephant's violence. How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

  • Do you consider Gabe or Vanessa role models? Why, or why not?

  • How would you rate this movie on representation? Do non-White characters and/or women have power or agency? Why does that matter?

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