Venture: Revolution

**Venture: Revolution** is a film in the Venture Cinematic Universe.

## Plot

Robert Jacob is drafted in the Ecranian military after getting accused of illegally immigrating to the country. In the ceaseless battle against the technologically superior Vepturians, Jacob witnesses things that no man should see... no less enact.

## Parents Guide

### **Sex & Nudity**

Moderate

* Robert Jacob uses a black light in Barnett Felix's apartment and finds DNA splatters on the floor (this is shown briefly but mentioned).
* Pedophilia and sex jokes are frequently used in the movie's dialogue.
* We see vials of alien semen that are referred to explicitly.
* A man beats Robyn Jacob to the ground and they roll around— the man touches her rear and chest, before seemingly raping her offscreen.
* There are verbal references to intercourse, orgasm, and erections.
* A man licks and kisses a rabbit, before killing it.
* We see a man and a prostitute kissing and touching each other (both are clothed).

### **Violence & Gore**

Severe

* There is an ambush by the Vepturians on a village, with soldiers depicted getting shot (no blood is depicted). Many innocents are also killed by the Venturian soldiers, although no children are seen getting harmed. We later see the aftermath of the war, with corpses strewn across the battlefield and laying in pools of blood. One of the bodies has a gunshot through the heart (a hole is seen through his shirt but no blood).
* A group of radicals causes a riot, destroying a car with a bat. The riot is stopped by a squad of civil protection units, who bludgeon one of the radicals to death (we see bullet holes through their clothes but no blood). The rest of the rioters shoot at the units, with one of them getting blasted through the head (we see a bloodless bullet hole). The rebels end up getting shot soon after, one of them through the eye (seen from a distance, no wound).
* Gregory Griffin (a former terrorist) is seen severely injured from a suicide attempt; he has a prosthetic leg and jaw, along with various chunks of skin missing from his body.
* A man licks and kisses a rabbit, before cutting it up with a knife (we see white blood and the carcass, either decapitated or slit through the throat).
* A man beats Robyn Jade to the ground and seemingly rapes her offscreen.
* Perhaps the most violent and disturbing scene in the film is "child dogfighting", which is exactly what the name implies. During the fight, two Vepturian children attack each other while an audience of criminals cheers. As the fight goes on, we see the children beating each other up (bruising is visible and screaming is heard). One of the children is beaten to the ground and starts to beg for mercy, only for him to have his head stomped on repeatedly (no blood is visible). The champion is given a knife and instructed to kill the loser, but she refuses. The men, angered, assault her off-screen (we later see the girl with deep cuts and bruises on her face).
* Decomposed corpses are depicted, some of which have gunshot wounds (not much blood).
* Robyn Jade’s parents and sister shot themselves before the events of the film, and Robyn discovers the bodies in her old home (we only see the blood and not the corpses themselves but this scene is still disturbing). Robyn tries to shoot herself with their shotgun, only to find it empty.

### **Profanity**

Moderate

* 1 partially obscured use of f\*\*k, 2 uses of d\*ck, 3 uses of the word "bitch", 6 uses of the word "bastard", 18 uses of ass, 23 uses of crap, 24 uses of sh\*t, 40 uses of damn, and 56 uses of hell. The word "hoe" is used three times.
* Fictional slurs are usually used in place of real ones (i.e. "ebonies", "ochres", "ivories"). However, the term "retarded" is kept intact and used a few times.

### **Alcohol/Drugs/Smoking**

Moderate

* Robert Jacob gets a smoking addiction and is depicted smoking a plant in a makeshift cigar near-constantly as the film progresses.
* Barnett Felix tells Robert Jacob he will get Jacob a drink and they soon do.
* Bottles of alcohol-like beverages are littered across towns and cities.
* Barnett Felix smashes a blue crystal in his apartment, before smelling the fumes emitted from it (this is a reference to methamphetamine). It is made abundantly clear that Barnett and his father are drug addicts, as they live in an apartment filled with beer cans and packets of green leaves (i.e. cannabis).
* There are mentions of "hoodlum drug culture" and "narcotic dealers".
* Men on the street are shown smoking cigars and glass pipes that emit yellow smoke (it’s implied that this is the Venture equivalent of marijuana).

### **Frightening/Intense Scenes**

Severe

* The film is very upsetting, disturbing, and intense, especially for a PG-13 movie.
* The prison bombing scene is rather dark, even though no casualties are seen.
* One scene depicts a Vepturian family (including two children) cringing in fear as law enforcement agents search their apartment, before ending up unjustly and brutally murdered by the officers (we cut away before anything is depicted, but we hear their screams).
* Gregory Griffin, a suicide attempter from Venturian Battle, appears in the film. Since his suicide attempt involved an explosion, he is depicted horrifically scarred, up to and including his whole lower jaw being replaced by a metal prosthetic.
* We see Griffin kill a little boy’s pet rabbit by tearing its throat open and cutting the head off (most of this is obscured, but blood is clearly seen spraying out). We get a shot of the rabbit's carcass immediately afterward.
* The "child dogfighting" scene is extremely disturbing and shocking, even though none of the children are shown dying.
* Robyn Jacob finds her whole family, dead, after a mass-suicide. Robyn is clearly traumatized and tries to kill herself soon after (she doesn’t succeed).
* Void Monsters are moderately frightening, which is intensified by the fact that many of them are depicted in darkly-lit areas. The Toxic Crawlers, which are giant, black spiders, may terrify viewers with arachnophobia.
* The Vepturian government is prejudiced to people of certain races, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. However, this is portrayed as an act of evil rather than actually being encouraged.

Rated PG-13 for intense sequences of terror and disturbing images including some violence, mature thematic material, mature humor, and language.

The film is officially 14+ on Common Sense Media, although many reviewers have put it at a 15 - 18+. It is generally agreed that the film should’ve been rated R and that there isn't a very reasonable explanation for its lower rating.

### Certifications:

* Australia: M
* Hungary: 18
* Canada: 14
* Quebec: 16
* Singapore: NC-16
* Russia: 16+
* Portugal: M/16
* Finland: 16
* Hong Kong: IIB
* South Korea: 15
* Switzerland: 16
* Norway: 15
* Netherlands: 14
* New Zealand: R13
* Ireland: 12A
* Malta: 12
* France: -12
* Brazil: 12
* Spain: 12
* United Kingdom: 12
* United States: PG-13
* United States: TV-14 DLSV (television)
* United States: TV-MA (ABC)

## Cast

* Oscar Isaac as Robert Jacob, a former ruler of Venture City. Robert has become conflicted after the courtroom bombing, believing that everyone inhabiting the UNV is corrupt.
* Manish Dayal as Barnett Felix, a Vepturian officer who is secretly affiliated with Ecrania. Continuing off of his portrayal from Venturian Battle, Felix is a veteran from the Ecranian war who is a new civil protection recruit. Felix secretly helps prisoners out of Vepture, and is also addicted to "nuggets", a psychedelic drug.
* Dave Franco as E.L. Vepture, leader of the United Regions of Vepture.
* Milana Vayntrub as Robyn Jade, a former spy from Gyeongcheon and ally of Robert Jacob. Jade attempts to convince Robert that not all Vepturians are corrupt throughout the film, but has her arguments constantly ignored.
* Nathaniel Parker as Bernie Felix, Barnett's father.
* Rupert Grint as Richard "Arms" Liqun

## Common Sense Media

* Age: 14+
* Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
* Summary: Terrifying yet entertaining for older teens and up. PG-13|2019|151 minutes
* Review: Parents need to know that Venture: Revolution is a very terrifying and disturbing film, and the last 40 minutes are particularly dark and grim. Featuring characters from the cartoon Venturian Battle, Roger Jacobson (Oscar Isaac) investigates the foreign nation of Venturia, learning of its frightening and corrupt society. Along the way, he finds "Void Monsters" with beady eyes, rows of sharp teeth, and long tongues that snare their prey and drag them into their mouth, the movie's beast selection are exceptionally lifelike. However, these bugaboos are also scary and disturbingly-designed. The last thing you'd need, as a parent, is the thought of your tween waking up in the middle of the night, freaked out about the prospect of one of these devouring them. Most of the PG-13 content comes from the terror and disturbing scenes; adult jokes and strong language issues, while present, are pretty minimal in comparison. The major characters, including children, are in non-stop, life-threatening peril, and some don't make it to the end of the movie. Even the "heroic" characters are not remotely role-models, either; they stalk, steal, perform dangerous acts, and mishandle weapons, including explosives. Likewise, everyone else in this film is scary –- not just the villainous E.L. Vepture (Dave Franco), but also the abusive caretaker, criminals who force children to dogfight, and corrupt police. Also starring Milana Vayntrub and Manish Dayal.
* Positive Messages: The characters work together and learn a valuable lesson about the perils of disregarding what someone says in favor of their political side, but these lessons are negated by the characters' sins and the overarching theme that humans would be superior if they were incapable of anything past basic emotions.
* Positive Role Models & Representations: In trying to save the country of Vepture, the heroes steal, perform death-defying acts, stalk, and even mishandle weapons, including bombs. Anyone who isn't a hero is corrupt and violent. The caretaker is cruel, selfish, doesn't care about children, kills a pet, rapes a woman when off-hours, and is generally evil. Characters display mature humor relating to sexual functions and one character has a masturbation addiction, evident by semen stains all over his room. A mom sells her daughter to a child-abusing ring for money.
* Violence: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ Beyond-horrifying monsters eat pets, adults, and even children, including sacrifices. The movie is legitimately terrifying, especially during the last 40 minutes. The plot is centered around murdered and otherwise dead people, with depictions of bloody, graphically violent video games, shootings and explosions that kill people, and there is a disturbing supernatural tone to the film that is inappropriate for children. E.L. Vepture, the caretaker, and practically anyone else who isn't a hero kill animals and children, including slicing up a rabbit and forcing kids to kill each other. Major character is raped, traumatized. All blood is rendered white.
* Sex: ⭐⭐ Vulgar jokes, including an x-ray view of DNA all over a junkie's room (it's all-but-confirmed to be semen). Flirting between characters with innuendo, up to and including two kids in the "child dogfight" ring. The abusive caretaker is implied to rape Robyn Jade, but we don't see most of this; she is clearly traumatized.
* Language: ⭐⭐⭐ "Sucks balls," "shit," "retard," and "kiss my ass" are used; extreme verbal threats are uttered to child characters, along with name-calling, sex jokes, terms of deity used as expletives throughout and disrespected.
* Consumerism: ⭐⭐ Few pop culture references, given that the movie is set in an alternate universe, but equivalents are alluded to. Venture: Revolution merchandise is available.
* Drinking, Drugs & Smoking: ⭐⭐⭐ A junkie injects himself with syringes and appears high. Children plan to drug their slaveholder's beer to knock him out. The owner doesn't fall asleep from this and opens a closet filled with the drug, swigging it joyously.
* Parents Say:
	+ Age: 13+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
* Kids Say:
	+ Age: 13+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐

### Parent Reviews

* Venturian Revolution is not a work of art
	+ Age: 16+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐
	+ Review: In contrast to your review (and I almost always respect Common Sense Media's reviews), the stars don't align for this film and it is no work of art. I have discovered that most Payne projects have a cruel streak running through them (the sexual assault in Venture, the strong profanity, the countless bloody deaths), and this exemplifies it. The maid guy, slaveholder, and the dictator are disgustingly, horrifyingly cruel and evil, my 14-year-old was petrified in shock.
* Extremely terrifying
	+ Age: TBA
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: We went as a family with a 14-year-old, and both my kid and I found this film super horrifying. It tries to turn out fine in the end but there's also a creepy twist. I also found the scenes where the abusive dad rapes a woman way too much for me. You mostly hear the voices from somewhere else, but there is no doubt what the guy is forcing her to do. My child didn't really get it, but I did and hated the thought of it. There are also jokes about semen all over a drug addict's room which we found wholly nauseating and in poorer taste than you could imagine, you literally see it highlighted.
* Wholly inappropriate, not okay for anyone
	+ Age: TBA
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐
	+ Review: Venture: Revolution was advertised as a great, entertaining scary movie for older audiences. It is only appropriate for the oldest audiences, if even them. Everyone in the movie is written for the oldest audience possible right down to the meth-addicted Barnett Felix and the animal-killing Gregory Griffin who rapes the main woman!! And this is a Family-Friendly Film?! Who the heck thought this was okay?? I was shocked, horrified, and disgusted.

* Definitely should have been rated R, but even disregarding that, it is a disappointment
	+ Age: TBA
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐
	+ Review: How this film did not get an R-rating, I have no idea and never will. Brendan can do BETTER- I guess his money flow must have declined a bit. A mom leaving with my family said "Have the guys who make these films never met a tween? Guess we can only watch PG movies without previewing." IMO, it was too terrifying and violent (graphic) and it plants trash in viewers' brains. The "fun", "cinematic talent", and few tries at decent messages do not outweigh the fact that it was wholly inappropriate for kids. It should've been marketed clearly - to an adult audience - although I cannot think of an age group who would love this film.
* Too terrifying for tween kids
	+ Age: TBA
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐
	+ I took my 13 and 15-year-old kids to this film and it terrified both of them. The story was extremely dark and inappropriate for tween viewers, no less kids. There were younger and more sensitive tween audiences in the cinema who were extremely horrified and disturbed.
* OMG!!
	+ Age: 17+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: Let me do my drugs in peace!!! WTF?!?!?! What movie can get away with that? Great thing to teach your tween to do...... extremely inappropriate!!!!!
* It's not just Barnett on drugs, it's also the people who made this
	+ Age: TBA
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐
	+ Review: A "family-friendly film" dude, please... my 13-year-old sister was terrified, and what 13 or 14 year old knows what "a great 'f'" means or has to see stuff like Gregory Griffin raping our favorite Venturian Battle woman???
* Entirely inappropriate for anyone
	+ Age: 18+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐
	+ Review: The most inappropriate movie I've seen in my life. So I didn't like the movie in general, but what absolutely disgusted me was what the girl calls the kid she beats up. They're fighting for an audience in a gladiator battle and she taunts him by calling him "retarded" and "a retard." Then she taunts him with "go lick up every window of the short bus, puzzle brain!" (offensive jokes about the term "windowlicker" and the symbol of Autism). Now, I happen to have two severely Autistic kids (9 and 11, my non-Autistic one is 6) and I for one have to say that if another kid was to call my children "retarded" just because they act weird, I would be anything but okay. I would be very furious and pained. This level of stereotyping is unacceptable in films. It only makes the jerks who harass kids think that their abhorrent comments are funny. This would also deeply offend children that are mentally disabled, at least if they're aware of their disorders.
* Too scary
	+ Age: 14+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐
	+ Review: There is very little fun about this film. It terrified my 5-year-old and I found it rude, awkward and scary. The characters do meth, shoot each other, steal, and stalk people. Villains horrify and traumatize children by making them fight each other and I haven't even mentioned the scary monsters that legit eat kids.
* Beautiful horror movie best for ages 13+
	+ Age: 13+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: Venture: Revolution is better than any other PG-13 horror movie! Some reviewers here are raging that the film is too horrifying.....let me remind you that it is intentionally horrifying (it's called a horror movie for a reason!!!) If you hate stories that have terrifying scenarios, just stay away instead of hating on them. I find this movie really cool and great for tween viewers with a ton of action and violence. Best Halloween movie! It is about around the characters from Venturian Battle, along with some new kids, finding out that the country Vepture is corrupt and the government is hiding scary creatures that kill and eat people... including kids! An extremely neat and unique premise! The characters are realistic, the visuals are outstanding, and tween audiences will have an awesome time! For language, there are always gonna be words that parents will hate, but tween viewers probably won't care. It is effectively moderate in this regard. Violence is definitely worse than average with people, including kids, getting killed and eaten by them, a rabbit getting killed, graphically violent video games with a lot of white blood and terrifying violence and action near the end. Sexual content is there - just a villain touching the main woman - he dies out of karma for this. Also moderate references to a character doing drugs. Fine for tween viewers who like horror films - ages 13+ is best.

### Kid Reviews

* Great movie, not for kids
	+ Age: 12+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: Venture: Revolution is an awesome movie, it's bad for kids, though, I just saw it at 14 and it's one of my favorite movies, I wasn't super horrified even though it was frightening and disturbing. I hate the people who say it isn't a good movie for being terrifying. IT'S A HORROR MOVIE!!! THAT'S WHY IT EXISTS!!!!!
* Outstanding!
	+ Age: 14+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: This film, intertwined with the themes of cosmic horror and a violent dictatorship is bloodcurdling and suspenseful, but no blood from living humans is seen. There is a ton of child and animal abuse. Horror appears a few times in the film but most other scenes are mild. There is a brief sex scene and a penis joke.
* Overreacting a little
	+ Age: 9+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: This is a family film, just not a kids' one. I'm nine and I saw it, it was disturbing and scary but I didn't get nightmares. I get there are very inappropriate things in but they'll go over a tween's head, they did with me. People saying this should be 18+ are overreacting. Sure, if your tween gets terrified by movies or something than don't show them it.
* Very great!
	+ Age: 14+
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: ~ Note: I definitely recommend that you watch the film at least once before you let your tween watch it, every kid has their own limits to terror and disturbing stuff and a different reaction to it. ~ I love this movie a ton! I saw it when it came out (I was young) and I got scared by it a lot. But after watching and discovering it again two years later, I love it! Venture: Revolution is a scary, disturbingly surreal and dreamlike film with creativity and awesome twists and shocks. It is best if you watch this film if you know very little about it, it makes it feel so much more fulfilling to watch, it legit hits the spot.
* DEFINITELY CHECK IT OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
	+ Age: TBA
	+ Quality: ⭐⭐⭐
	+ Review: I went to see Venture: Revolution with my father when I was 12. I was terrified and disturbed by it so we left. Then my 8-year-old brother saw it two years later (aka now) and he thought it was the best movie ever. It depends on your tween, if they love horror stuff than if they are under 9 than you should watch it and definitely check it out. If they are over 9 than you should definitely watch with them in the same room. If they get terrified easily don't even bother looking and checking it out, it's never gonna be for them. Now I am fourteen. I don't get scared easily and I am still scared by the film whenever I see it.

## Tropes

* Same Content, Different Rating: While disturbing and unbelievably horrifying, the movie is ultimately relatively family-friendly, hence the PG-13 rating. Weirdly, the ABC broadcast is TV-MA, with no changes to the film’s content.

## Behind the Scenes

* Around 2013, the film was going to be split into three films; one involving a competition similar to the Triwizard Tournament from *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*, one with horses, and the third one would've been an *Indiana Jones*-inspired film.
	+ Details that Brendan remembers from the first film are the demolition of a church (and Robert getting hit by rubble), people dying from an acid wave, and Wyveslenders pulling off a show in the rain. Near the end, a battle between Robert and the main antagonist would've occurred, which may have involved Magitek machines.
	+ In one of the films with horses (the second or third one), an unnamed horse rider would’ve taken refuge in a Dlab house and helped protect the Dlabs from hostile creatures. This character was coincidentally similar to the titular character from the Disney+ series *The Mandalorian*.
	+ In the *Indiana Jones*-inspired film, one of the first scenes in the film would've involved the Jacob brothers fishing on a boat, with Tyler getting hit repeatedly by very bad luck (running out of bait, catching a boot that hits him in the face, etc). At one point in the film, the Jacob brothers rode on horseback across a Mesa area (similar to the many horseback scenes from *Raiders of the Lost Ark* and *Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade*). Boyce would’ve been killed off after falling from a plateau. This scene may or may not have been planned to lead to a combat encounter.
* Around 2016, some (but not very many) ideas were formulated for the film, such as a flashback to Count Lionel turning Planet Venture from a fiery, molten planet to habitable one. The basic framework of the film would be taken from *Skylanders: Imaginators*, which Brendan had recently played at the time. At one point, the Jacobs would visit a golden arcade/casino, which is based directly on The Golden Arcade. Another scene would’ve involved the Jacob Knights going to an elegant stone structure/city with various water spouts, based on the Sensei Water Realm.
* Many elements of the 2018 - 2019 iteration were based on *Half-Life 2*, and one of the iteration’s main messages/themes was taken from *Lord of the Flies*.
* One of Brendan’s more recent ideas for the film involved Robert Jacob becoming racist to all white people (and later just Vepturians), but this idea was rejected because it made Robert come off as an unlikable character. At one point, Robert and some others would've masked themselves and proceeded to harass and violently beat Robyn Jade for little reason other than her race.