“Carry On” delivers a “Die Hard” feel that won’t bring much merriment for Christmas. Stuffed with violence, gore, harsh language and vague mysticism, “Kraven the Hunter” strays far outside family-friendly territory. “The Order” gives us a look at a scary group that did some horrific things. But it contains its own horrors as well.
Subscribe to have The Washington Times’ Higher Ground delivered to your inbox every Sunday.
Read on to get Plugged In on what’s beyond the movie titles and trailers for faith-filled and family-first reviews from Focus on the Family’s Plugged In.
Carry On – Streaming on Netflix
If you wanted to create a “Christmas” action movie, where would you start?
In the case of the new Netflix flick “Carry On,” you’d focus on a handsome underachiever who’s struggling to find a foothold in life. And then toss him into a situation where it’s up to him and him alone to struggle against impossible odds on Christmas Eve. You know, allow that nice nobody to heroically save many lives while Christmas carols play.
Be sure to listen in to The Plugged In Show, a weekly podcast with lighthearted reviews for parents and conversations about entertainment, pop culture and technology:
In that light, Taron Egerton plays “Carry On’s” lovable loser with everyman aplomb. Stacked against him, Jason Bateman plays the perfect heartless bad guy. And the film has a slick “Die Hardy” feel about it. In fact, all the formulaic action movie bits — from the tech-savvy bad guys to the think-quick heroics — snap so quickly and smoothly into place that you almost don’t realize … that none of it could ever logically happen.
“Carry On’s” leaps of logic and impossible coincidences require a rocket belt and at least a couple pairs of rolling eyes to embrace. Worse than that, though, there’s quite a few innocents (and the guilty) who shuffle off this mortal coil in blood-gushing ways. You won’t find much merriment in this Xmas mix.
Bottom line, if you’re looking for a holiday-themed, PG-13 movie-night choice to watch with your family, perhaps an old snowy classic might work better.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
Kraven the Hunter – In Theaters
Early in the film, Sergei breaks into a Russian prison to kill a mobster. Later, we find out why: He wanted to give Calypso some closure, as the mobster had a hand in murdering her friend. When he tells her this, she is quick to say, “I didn’t ask you to murder anyone.” But, after a beat, she adds that said dead mobster “got what he deserved.”
It’s a mixed message to say the least, and one indicative of the larger film. “Kraven the Hunter” feels like a jumble of conflicting ideas and values. In many ways, the story here unfolds like a standard Marvel action-adventure, something that wouldn’t seem entirely out of place next to some of the more recent MCU fare. But Kraven also tosses in graphic violence, blood and harsh language that’s beyond even the edgier, Sony-produced films like “Venom” or “Morbius.” (And just as each of those characters was once an arch-nemesis to Spider-Man, so it is here with his longtime antagonist Kraven—with Marvel’s famous Wall-Crawler nowhere in sight.)
The story has its moments, with positive messages about the bond of family and care for nature. But these messages are muddled at best here, and “Kraven the Hunter” treats human life as pretty expendable.
Combine those content concerns with a dash of magical mysticism, and “Kraven the Hunter” strays far outside family-friendly territory.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
The Order – In Theaters
In his last words over Denver’s radio airwaves, the doomed Alan Berg sounds surprisingly conciliatory for such a notorious gadfly.
“When you hear (angry, threatening callers) all day, you might think we’re so filled with hate,” Berg says. “I think people are actually decent. That’s why they call in. They want to talk. … I think our better instincts will prevail. But it’s got to start somewhere.”
Berg, being an atheist, didn’t have the worldview that Christians might: that people aren’t actually decent. Sure, we can follow our better instincts. Often, hopefully, we do. But we are fallen creatures. And, apart from God, we slip further from His perfect design for us time after time.
And even when we say that we follow God, we still slip. And the fall is that much greater.
“The Order” shows us just how tragically, how horrifically, how far that fall can be. How evil can wrap itself in a flag, carry a cross and convince itself of its goodness, if no one else.
But, of course, most historical dramas are made in part to reflect a director’s take on current events, and The Order is no different.
Australian director Justin Kurzel told Entertainment Weekly that the Jan. 6 demonstrations/riots in Washington D.C. had a profound impact on The Order. “I remember seeing images of nooses hanging outside the Capitol Building as props and finding real similarities to a particular chapter in [the book the real Bob Mathews drew inspiration from] called ‘Day of the Rope’ that was describing and reenacting these politicians being hung outside the building,” Kurzel said. “There were just so many similarities to what was going on within this incredible script Zach [Baylin] had written that I just found it so compelling and wanted to find a way into it that I felt could be a wonderful first American film.”
Setting aside that contemporary subtext, The Order comes with more overt issues. The violence, while not salacious, is not to be overlooked. The racial vitriol is truly vile. And nearly 100 f-words? Yeah, that’s a lot.
“The Order” gives us a look at a scary group that did some horrific things. But it contains its own sorts of horrors as well. This is not a comfortable world.
Read the rest of the review here. Watch the trailer here.
–
Plugged In is a Focus on the Family publication designed to shine a light on the world of popular entertainment while giving families the essential tools they need to understand, navigate, and impact the culture in which they live. Through our reviews, articles and discussions, we hope to spark intellectual thought, spiritual growth and a desire to follow the command of Colossians 2:8: “See to it that no one takes you captive through hollow and deceptive philosophy, which depends on human tradition and the basic principles of this world rather than on Christ.”
Reviews written by Paul Asay, Bret Eckelberry and Bob Hoose.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.