Monsters of Man parents guide

Monsters of Man Parent Guide

When a movie has worse dialogue than a Schwarzenegger movie, that's not a good sign.

Overall D-

Digital on Demand: A group of well-intentioned doctors working in a dangerous part of the Golden Triangle find themselves caught between local paramilitary groups and four CIA-operated prototype killer robots - with no way out.

Release date December 8, 2020

Violence D
Sexual Content A
Profanity D
Substance Use B

Why is Monsters of Man rated Not Rated? The MPAA rated Monsters of Man Not Rated

Run Time: 131 minutes

Parent Movie Review

A group of elite scientists, Kroger (David Haverty), Fielding (Jessica Blackmore), and Jantz (Ryan Hough), have been shipped off to a remote town in the Golden Triangle on a navigational test of their new military robots. Under the watchful and impatient supervision of CIA agent Boller (Jose Rosete), the team parachutes the robots into the jungle – right on top of a village controlled by local drug lords and serving as home base for American volunteer physicians trying to vaccinate local kids. But a rough landing means one of the robots has lost its control module, and without the AI limitations imposed by the module, it’s going to kill indiscriminately until it gets what it wants. The only real protection the villagers and doctors have is Mason (Brett Tutor), a former Navy SEAL helping build housing in the area. But the odds are against them, and the CIA wants to eliminate any witnesses to the failed test…

Everyone is familiar with the Predator franchise, right? Terrifying alien stalking the jungle, going toe-to-toe with some muscle-bound maniac, removing human skin….ring any bells? Good. Monsters of Man is that but with inferior screenwriting, and four killer robots instead of one killer alien. Put Arnie’s face on them and this does double-duty as a Terminator rip-off. It’s not a good sign when you’re losing a screenwriting contest with a Schwarzenegger movie that features dialogue like “I ain’t got time to bleed”, but here we are.

As with the films it so obviously steals from, this movie has violence and profanity problems. What’s even more annoying is that the film wants you to believe it’s this violent for some legitimate character development. Ah, of course, I should have known that the broken robot removing someone’s heart, brain, and face were just a misguided moment in its journey of self-discovery and actualization! What a fool I have been to attribute that to stupid screenwriting, lazy directing, and self-absorbed delusions of talent. There’s also a whole mess of cussing, but I probably missed some after about an hour since by that point the movie had given me the equivalent of a serious concussion and it was getting pretty hard to count. There is, on the other hand, functionally no sexual content, so that’s one less thing to worry about.

There is no earthly reason for this exercise in high-school creative writing to be over two-hours long, but this movie is clear evidence that the universe is a cold and uncaring place, and we’re stuck with it anyway. This uninspired collection of clichés and expired canned dialogue is just about the worst way I can imagine spending 130 minutes of my life. You just don’t get that time back.

Directed by Mark Toia. Starring Neal McDonough, Brett Tutor, Jose Rosete. Running time: 131 minutes. Theatrical release December 8, 2020. Updated

Monsters of Man
Rating & Content Info

Why is Monsters of Man rated Not Rated? Monsters of Man is rated Not Rated by the MPAA

Violence:   Many individuals, including unarmed women and children, are shot, stabbed, bludgeoned, impaled, blown up, and dismembered in a variety of unpleasant ways. Notable instances include the aforementioned removal of an individual’s heart, brain, and face, a scene showing a graphic compound fracture, and a robot crushing a woman’s head
Sexual Content: None.
Profanity:   There are 78 uses of extreme profanity and 38 uses of scatological terms. There are also occasional uses of minor profanities and terms of deity.
Alcohol / Drug Use: A character is shown smoking cigarettes. There are references to the drug trade, but no drugs are shown or consumed.

Page last updated

Monsters of Man Parents' Guide

The CIA has a long history of unethical and illegal operations in foreign countries. Does this seem different than their usual behavior? In what way? What are some of the CIA’s more notable activities abroad?

The New York Times: Declassified CIA Archives Details Illegal Activities

Wikipedia: List of CIA controversies

This movie does focus on the responsibility of weapons manufacturers in the harm their weapons cause. How could we hold arms dealers and manufacturers accountable for the harm they enable? What kind of moral responsibility do those people have for that destruction? What laws currently exist around this issue? What kind of laws would you like to see?

Medium: Missing targets: the legal and ethical blind posts of arms manufacturers

The Guardian: The arms trade needs moral balance

IPS: The Moral Responsibility for Arms Trade

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Monsters of Man movie is December 8, 2020. Here are some details…