Savages Movie Review | Common Sense Media

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Parents' Guide to

Savages Movie R 2012 129 minutes Savages Poster Image
  • Common Sense Says
  • Parents Say 5 Reviews
  • Kids Say 10 Reviews

Common Sense Media Review

Jeffrey M. Anderson By Jeffrey M. Anderson , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 18+

Oliver Stone thriller is all about sex, drugs, violence.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Savages (from director Oliver Stone) is about two drug dealers who share the same girlfriend (Gossip Girl's Blake Lively) and must rescue her after she's kidnapped by a…

 Why Age 18+? Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

The main characters are drug dealers (pot) and drug users, so the whole story re

 Violence & Scariness

Strong, brutal violence, with lots of blood and shooting. Viewers see severed he

 Language

"F--k" is used frequently. Also "s--t," "God," "ass," "a--hole," "damn," "goddam

 Sex, Romance & Nudity

The lead female sleeps with the two leading men alternately and claims to love t

 Products & Purchases Not present Any Positive Content? Positive Messages

Characters work together to solve a problem, but at the same time, their behavio

 Positive Role Models

One of the characters, Ben, occasionally dabbles in humanitarian aid, working to

  • Parents Need to Know

    Parents need to know that Savages (from director Oliver Stone) is about two drug dealers who share the same girlfriend (Gossip Girl's Blake Lively) and must rescue her after she's kidnapped by a powerful cartel. There are strong sex scenes, one scene of full-frontal nudity by a minor female character, and lots of pot smoking, as well as some drinking and cigarette smoking. You can also expect graphic violence, including women being kidnapped and held prisoner (with sexual assault implied), guns and shooting, lots of blood, severed heads, brains blown out, exploding cars, a man being tortured and burned alive, and many dead bodies. Language is also strong, with uses of "f--k" and other words throughout.

    To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

  • Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

    a lot

    The main characters are drug dealers (pot) and drug users, so the whole story revolves around drugs. Characters are seen smoking pot and getting high in several scenes. Characters also drink beer and harder alcohol and are seen smoking cigarettes.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Violence & Scariness

    a lot

    Strong, brutal violence, with lots of blood and shooting. Viewers see severed heads and spattering brains. Two girls are kidnapped and treated roughly. Implied sexual assault. A man is tortured and burned alive. Lots of fighting and punching and exploding cars. Several characters die.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Language

    a lot

    "F--k" is used frequently. Also "s--t," "God," "ass," "a--hole," "damn," "goddamn," "t-ts," "d--k," and derogatory language like "f----t," "Jap," and "sand n--ger."

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Sex, Romance & Nudity

    a lot

    The lead female sleeps with the two leading men alternately and claims to love them both. There are two graphic sex scenes, but neither has much nudity. A minor female character appears naked (full frontal) in one scene.

    Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

    Get started Close

  • Positive Messages

    very little

    Characters work together to solve a problem, but at the same time, their behavior is hugely destructive and unhealthy.

  • Positive Role Models

    very little

    One of the characters, Ben, occasionally dabbles in humanitarian aid, working toward clean energy and water for African nations. But he's also a drug dealer and user and engages in destructive and unhealthy behavior.

Where to Watch

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Savages

Parent and Kid Reviews

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  • Parents Say (5)
  • Kids Say (10)
age 18+

Based on 5 parent reviews

See all 5 parent reviews age 16+

Based on 10 kid reviews

Kids say that the film is a mix of opinions, with some viewing it as an entertaining yet flawed action thriller, while others criticize the acting, particularly that of the lead, and the lack of depth in the character relationships. Many appreciate the thrilling elements and action sequences, though it is deemed inappropriate by several viewers due to its heavy focus on drugs, violence, and sexual content.

  • entertaining yet flawed
  • poor acting
  • weak character relationships
  • inappropriate content
  • thrilling elements
Summarized with AI
See all 10 kid reviews

What's the Story?

In SAVAGES, O (Blake Lively) narrates the story of her love affair with two Laguna Beach pot-growers: the Zenlike, laid-back Ben (Aaron Johnson), and the hard, ex-military Chon (Taylor Kitsch). A large drug cartel offers to buy their operation, but Ben and Chon refuse. Unfortunately, this results in O being kidnapped. Ben and Chon draw on all their knowledge and friends, including a crooked DEA agent (John Travolta), to rescue her. Unfortunately, they're dealing with the extremely dangerous drug empress Elena (Salma Hayek) and her homicidal henchman, Lado (Benicio Del Toro). It's going to take everything they've got to survive the final showdown.

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Is It Any Good?

Our review: Parents say (5 ): Kids say (10 ):

This Savages is a snooze. Oliver Stone's movies were once incendiary and had the power to get people talking about strong issues. For example, Natural Born Killers used a pulp story to say something about the callousness of media. Now Stone has made an ordinary pulp movie with very little to say, and he seems rather bored with pulp for pulp's sake. He sometimes adjusts the movie's color scheme to make things look sun-baked yellow or tropical fishtank rainbow, but otherwise he's asleep at the controls.

Moreover, the Ben and Chon characters are too one-dimensional and too stuck by their character limitations to be compelling; they bend and change according to the whims of the plot. When they're onscreen, the movie just evaporates. Thankfully, Travolta, Hayek, and Del Toro bring some infectious bravado to their supporting roles. They recall the kind of savagery that Stone used to have but doesn't seem to have anymore.

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Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about Savages' strong violence. Is it necessary to the story? How does the impact of this kind of violence compare to what you see in horror and action movies?

  • How does the movie portray sex and relationships? Can O really love both of them equally? Can they both love her equally and not feel jealous?

  • Can Ben be considered a role model? Does his helping others help erase the destructive, illegal, and immoral things he does?

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Movie Details

  • In theaters : July 6, 2012
  • On DVD or streaming : November 13, 2012
  • Cast : Blake Lively , Taylor Kitsch , Aaron Taylor-Johnson
  • Director : Oliver Stone
  • Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s)
  • Studio : Universal Pictures
  • Genre : Thriller
  • Run time : 129 minutes
  • MPAA rating : R
  • MPAA explanation : strong brutal and grisly violence, some graphic sexuality, nudity, drug use and language throughout
  • Last updated : October 9, 2025
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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 suggesting a diversity update.

Savages

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