Machine Gun Preacher

2011 R 2h 7m Blu-ray / DVD

Machine Gun Preacher

2011 R 2h 7m Blu-ray / DVD
  • Overview
  • Details
Gerard Butler stars in this true-life story of Sam Childers, a drug dealer who turns his life around to become a spiritual warrior. His mission? Rescuing child soldiers in the Sudan from lives ruined by their forced participation in bloody conflict.
Cast
Gerard Butler, Michelle Monaghan, Kathy Baker, Michael Shannon, Souleymane Sy Savane, Grant R. Krause, Reavis Graham, Peter Carey
Director
Marc Forster
Format
Blu-ray DVD
CC
No
CC
No
Rating
R - Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them. R - Under 17 requires accompanying parent or adult guardian. Contains some adult material. Parents are urged to learn more about the film before taking their young children with them.
age 16+
Common Sense rating OK for kids 16+
age 16+

Common Sense Note

Parents need to know that this fact-based drama set mostly in war-torn Sudan includes several combat sequences and some especially gruesome images featuring torture victims. The main character (played by Gerard Butler) transforms from a biker-gang thug into a religious man over the course of the movie. He also swears constantly ("f--k," "c--ksucker," etc.), drinks heavily, and, in the beginning, shoots heroin. It's an inspiring story, though not a pretty one.

Sexual Content

One scene features a couple having sex in a car, seen from the outside, and another shows them kissing passionately. There's no nudity, though a woman appears in her underwear.

Violence

The film has quite a lot of violence, and some of it is horribly gruesome. There are plenty of standard-issue combat sequences that include firefights, explosions, and bloody deaths. Additional scenes show wartime atrocities being committed and their terrible aftermath. This includes piles of mangled, smoldering corpses, a woman whose lips have been cut off, a child killed by a land mine, and a young boy who's forced to club his own mother to death. One character also menaces his wife; he doesn't hit her, but his actions are violent and intimidating.

Language

Lots of swearing. Sam uses "f--k" in about every third sentence. Also uses of "s--t," "c--ksucker," "p---y," "damn," "hell," "ass," and "butt." Sam sometimes swears in front of his young daughter.

Social Behavior

The movie promotes the idea that people can change for the better and that there's a greater purpose in life. It also says that helping others can be a path toward paying for the mistakes of the past. On the other hand, the idea that fighting violence with violence is a good idea also comes across.

Consumerism

Sam has an extensive collection of Harley Davidson T-shirts that he wears throughout the film. Several car brands also get mentioned or are shown on screen, including Caprice and Buick. Sam offers a friend a Coke.

Drugs / Tobacco / Alcohol

Several scenes in bars with people drinking beer, doing shots, and getting drunk. Some of the characters shoot up heroin on screen.

  • Age appropriate
  • Not an issue
  • Depends on your child and your family
  • Parents strongly cautioned
  • Not appropriate for kids of the age

This information for parents is provided by Common Sense Media, a non-profit organization dedicated to improving kids' media lives.

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