VANQUISH

Name: VANQUISH
Item: VANQUISH
Author: Tess Farrand

"Sloppy, Unappealing Crime Thriller"

Family Content: -4 Intentional blasphemy, evil, gross immorality, and/or worldview problems. (To be avoided)

Entertainment Quality:

	None	Light	Moderate	Heavy
Language
Violence
Sex
Nudity

Credits →

What You Need To Know:

VANQUISH is the violent tale of a former Russian drug courier, Victoria, forced to commit crimes by a paralyzed, retired cop who’s turned criminal, Damon. The movie opens with Damon at confessing to his priest his a life of crime and considers turning his life around. He claims to have a fatherly concern for his caretaker, Victoria. A former courier for Russian drug dealers, Victoria is a young mother committed to live a clean life for her daughter. However, Damon forces Victoria to do his criminal bidding by his holding her seriously ill daughter hostage. Victoria will do anything to protect her daughter.

VANQUISH has some touching “mother/daughter” moments but is poorly written The movie tries to be a story about revenge and new chances, but it’s hard to sympathize with the main characters. They’re as violent and guilty of the same crimes as their intended victims. Victoria’s commitment to protecting her daughter is admirable, but VANQUISH is peppered with lots of bloody violence and foul language, plus some drug references and other immoral content. VANQUISH is unacceptable entertainment for all audiences.

Content:

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Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements:

Very strong, slightly mixed pagan worldview of gratuitous crime and violence where characters seek vengeance on criminals guilty of committing the same crimes as they did, mixed with some light Christian, moral content such as lead male character confesses to his priest that he thinks about leaving his life of crime behind him and living a new life on the straight and narrow, the existence of God is discussed and lead female character thinks God is punishing her for her sins by making her daughter seriously ill

Foul Language:

At least 55 obscenities (including some “f” words), one GD profanity and two light profanities

Violence:

Some very strong and strong violence includes several scenes of murder and violence, which includes a man beaten to death, two explosions, gunfights, and several characters shot in the head, where blood splatters

Sex:

References to prostitution, some lewd dancing by women in thongs on a TV in one scene, and a mention of seducing men to have another man rob them

Nudity:

Rear female nudity in a few lewd shots on a TV in one scene

Alcohol Use:

Party scene with drinking Smoking and Drug Use/Abuse: Party scene with drugged characters, main character snorts cocaine to recover from being “date-rape” drugged, lead female character delivered drugs for Russian mobsters in her past, and cocaine use is shown in a positive light; and,

Miscellaneous Immorality:

Little remorse or moral culpability by the main characters.

More Detail:

VANQUISH is a crime thriller about a retired, paralyzed crooked cop who forces his caretaker, a former Russian drug courier, to retrieve money from other violent criminals by his taking her seriously ill young daughter hostage. VANQUISH has some touching “mother/daughter” moments but is otherwise poorly written and wrought with lots of bloody violence and foul language, drug references, and brief lewd content.

VANQUISH opens with an elderly, paraplegic, retired cop, Damon, confessing to his priest that he thinks about leaving his life of crime behind him, and living a new life on the straight and narrow. Victoria, Damon’s caretaker, confides in him that her daughter is seriously ill. A former drug courier for the Russian mob, Victoria believes God has made her daughter ill to punish her for her crimes. In fatherly concern, Damon reassures Victoria that God doesn’t work that way. He shows genuine care and feelings for the young mother and her daughter.

The sentiment seems short-lived, however, when he forces Victoria to retrieve some money owed to him by other criminals by his kidnapping her seriously ill young daughter and holding her hostage. Victoria tries to assert she doesn’t want to commit any more crimes. She believes her daughter is the only thing in life she has done right, and so has committed herself to live a better life. Now, faced with committing crimes or losing her daughter, Victoria feels she has no choice. She will do anything to protect her daughter.

Chaos and mayhem ensue. Victoria makes a dramatic shift from a loving mother, to a woman who shoots people in the head at point blank range and has no qualms about it. Carrying out several drug related cash pickups, she goes on a killing spree, wiping out more than a dozen people. She is a woman who is both a victim and a deadly assassin.

Victoria dons a bodycam during her spree. Damon remains at “the helm” from his laptop. He gives step-by-step instructions, to his motorcycle-driving, gun-wielding puppet. At her final stop, Victoria becomes aware that Damon’s targets are all too familiar. Is there more to Damon’s orders than meets the eye?

VANQUISH has some touching “mother/daughter” moments. The film tries to show what a mother would do to keep her daughter safe, which resonates with the audience. However, Victoria’s character shifts from being motherly and endearing to emotionless behavior and rage. None of it is believable. It’s hard for viewers to support Victoria, because the movie gives them no idea who she really is. The audience tries desperately to get on board with the award-winning actor Morgan Freeman, but his unappealing role makes it impossible. His character spends most of his time at a computer with what plays like a Grand Theft Auto video game.

VANQUISH is poorly written. It is wrought with bloody violence and foul language, with some drug references and brief lewd content. VANQUISH is unacceptable entertainment for all audiences.