Venture: Bounty

**Venture: Bounty** is the final entry of the Venture Cinematic Universe, coming on September 4th, 2020.

## Synopsis

Prisco Sigourrson convinces Robert and Robyn Jacob, now almost completely soulless, to host a party for Soren Helt and his group of mercenaries, who wish to reclaim their beloved nation of Swinton from the Void Monsters who have annihilated half of Planet Venture's first-world countries. Sigourrson proposes that the amazed Robert and Robyn join the expedition. The other members scorn the idea, but Robert and Robyn join anyway.

As the mercenaries travel to the wilderness the next day, Prisco feeds a mysterious substance to both Robert and Robyn Jacob. Emerging from their soullessness, the two of them immediately regret their decision. The two of them gain additional ailments as a result of the sudden change; Robert ends up repeatedly vomiting, while Robyn becomes near-sighted.

Most of the group ends up in a den of large Void Monsters and almost gets killed before Prisco saves them. After this, the squad ends up in the nearby nation Korupta-Stat, where they are told more about the Void Monsters. When the team tries and fails to climb a mountain, they seek refuge in an abandoned mineshaft, not knowing that it is the nest of Void Monsters. Although the group is able to fend off many of the Void Monsters, Robert and Prisco get separated from the others. Lost in the mines, Robert almost dies multiple times before escaping and rejoining the squad, enhancing his reputation with them. The Void Monsters continue to chase the company through the mines until they find a way out and escape. Soon thereafter, the group rests in the shelter of a welcoming tenant.

The group travels through a dark woodland in a region of Korupta-Stat, unaccompanied by Prisco. In the woods, Robert and Robyn Jacob rescue their allies from spider-like Void Monsters and the Korupta-Statin prison. Getting closer to the Peak of Swinton, the team is welcomed by the residents of the city of Loch-By, who hope the squad will send all of the Void Monsters to hiding, if not perform an outright genocide on them. The party travels to the Peak of Swinton and reaches the ruins of Helt's homeland; Robert and Robyn are sent first to the ruined town hall, now the nest of the most destructive Void Monster that has reached Planet Venture, Diabolus Incarnate. Robert notices how large the creature's shell is, but finds a soft, weak spot that isn't protected. While trying to escape from the nest, Robert and Robyn are caught by Diabolus. The monster chases after the duo and eventually the whole group, before reaching Loch-By. Robert informs the militia of Diabolus' vulnerability, with the militia's sniper, Snik Skitter, promising to kill the monster. Skitter's sniper shots hit the unshelled spot on Diabolus and kill the beast.

The group returns to Swinton and cleanses it of the remaining Void Monsters. Robert finds a mysterious talisman in the remains of Diabolus' nest and takes it for himself. The Statins and Lochs attack the remains of Swinton, demanding payment for their service and insurance for Loch-By's destruction. Soren refuses to repay them, and, having garnered a much larger army of mercenaries, threatens to destroy them all. Robyn tries to stop the war before it begins by offering up the talisman, but Soren is infuriated at Robyn's disloyalty. Soren deports Robert and Robyn Jacob from Swinton, and war seems unavoidable.

Prisco and the farmer from before return to warn the three armies of an approaching swarm of Void Monsters. The Swintons, Lochs, and Statins band together but are barely able to fend off the creatures. Soren is shot by friendly fire and reconciles with Robert before he bleeds out.

Realizing that genocide on all of the Void Monsters is both implausible and immoral, Robert Jacob makes an arrangement with the three armies; should they wish to prevent further catastrophes, the Void Monsters should be kept alive and undisturbed unless they're trying to kill Venturians. Robyn is tried and given a life sentence for her abetting in the prison break, while Robert is left off on bail because of his participation in the battle against the Void Monsters. As the three nations rebuild themselves, Robert hopes that they will someday find a cruelty-free way to restore the fallen countries of Planet Venture, and gives a public speech about the innate injustice of life.

## Parents Guide

**Why is Venture: Bounty rated PG-13?** The MPAA rating has been assigned for "Prolonged sequences of intense violence and terror, including disturbing and bloody images."The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few scenes showing a man and woman in bed, many tight and revealing outfits; several scenes of gun violence leading to death on and off-screen with dismemberment and gory stumps depicted, and an attempted genocide that kills numerous creatures, including infants; and discussions of brutality and some anatomical terms.

### **Sex & Nudity**

Mild

* Reproduction is mentioned in a few scenes.
* Some of the dialogue implies that Robert and Robyn Jacob had sex without getting married.
* A play is described as "very sexual" (we don't get any more details than this).
* Soldiers wear spandex under-armor that leaves little to the imagination.
* A few underwear shots (you have to be looking for them to clearly make these out).
* Heavy innuendo (e.g. references to holes, a mention of a basket act, the term “seaward”).
* Robyn wears lingerie in a few scenes, and others show her in a tight shirt and jeans.

### **Violence & Gore**

Severe

* While assault rifles, machine guns, and explosives are used throughout the film, blood is rendered as white (in the case of Venturians) and yellow or black (Void Monsters). The movie does not portray combat as overtly violent.
* Scenes of violence include battles between the Venturians and Void Monsters. In terms of injury, there are depictions of characters with (white) bloody stumps, severed limbs, and mutilated features.
* Near the beginning of the film, a gigantic Void Monster destroys a city and kills multiple soldiers and civilians by crushing them to death (we see a few sprays of white blood but no injury detail).
* Soren Helt is shot on accident and we see a bullet hole through his gut with white blood in and around it. Helt dies from his injury soon after (we see blood pooling under his body after he dies).
* Void Monsters (including those who don't attack the Venturians) are killed in a genocide attempt. This includes their infants, who are stepped on and crushed (yellow blood comes out).
* A man has half of his leg bitten off by a creature and we see an infected wound with white blood coming out (the man's leg is later replaced by a metal prosthetic).
* A faceless corpse is shown with white blood splattered around it (the wound isn't visible since the body is face-down).
* A child violently snaps a man's neck onscreen (they're on the same side). The child is also depicted drawing his older brother in three violent scenarios; getting eviscerated through a hole torn in his crotch, getting skinned and disemboweled through the groin, and getting his loins ripped open by two Void Monsters. This character is also seen dragging around a dead cat, and he decapitates it with a knife during a particularly violent fit of rage.
* Characters and creatures are threatened with violence throughout the film.
* A Void Monster bites off a soldier's arms offscreen and his dying body is depicted after this happens (there is white blood on the stumps and splattered under him).
* Many characters die by falling off of cliffs and in chasms, and we often see white blood spray out of their heads from the impact.
* Some of the Void Monsters get their heads and other parts shot off, causing yellow or clear blood to spray out (we occasionally see a puddle of blood under them).
* Dead bodies are seen with fourth-degree burns and bloody wounds.
* The larva/babies of Void Monsters are frequently killed by getting crushed and stabbed, although we don't see any injury detail (outside of blood/vomit splatters).

### **Profanity**

Mild

* Many uses of damn, hell, crap, ass, bastard, bitch, prick, and douchebag.

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

Mild

* Robert smokes a cigar filled with a fantastical plant in many of the scenes he is in. Most characters discourage in this film discourage smoking.
* Patrons at bars drink alcohol-like beverages, drunken behavior is depicted.
* Glass bottles are seen in many scenes and are implied to contain alcoholic beverages.
* Robert and Robyn Jacob drink a concoction that causes them to have a psychedelic experience.
* Characters and creatures are impaled by poisoned darts, causing it to trip out.
* Medical drug use.

### **Frightening/Intense Scenes**

Moderate

* The film has many terrifying and intense scenes.
* A child violently snaps the neck of his teammate, implying that he has psychopathy. The child also draws his older brother getting disemboweled by having his groin ripped open.
* Genocide is attempted against the Void Monsters (we see many of them get gunned down), and others are caged and shot at until they bow down to the Venturians.
* Many themes of hatred and discrimination towards Void Monsters, war, genocide, corruption, and death. Very intense and disturbing for a PG-13 film, practically R-level.
* Although the film isn't as graphic or explicit, the *Game of Thrones* comparisons makes sense.
* The Void Monsters are typically frightening-looking (glowing eyes, sharp teeth, pointy claws) and likely to terrify child viewers. Some of the Void Monsters are made of darkness itself.
* There are constant threatening scenes, many of which include horned, demonic Void Monsters killing human soldiers and a scene showing baby creatures getting crushed to death (we see them emit a yellow fluid). These scenes might be too disturbing for sensitive viewers.
* A frightening demon-like creature causes mass destruction and ends multiple lives. The creature is likely to horrify young viewers, so you should probably get popcorn during this part if you have children with you.
* A corpse in an autopsy is shown with (white) bloody innards; disturbing but not violent.
* Expect some jump scares.
* Animal lovers might be upset by the frequent depictions of a dead cat and it's decapitation.
* Likable characters (including Soren Helt) are killed off.

## Classification

* Argentina: +16
* Austria: 16
* Australia: MA15+
* Brazil: 14
* Bulgaria: D
* Canada: 14A
	+ Quebec: 16
* Columbia: 15
* Chile: 14
* Denmark: 15
* Germany: 16
* Greece: 17
* Finland: 16
* France: -12
* Hong Kong: IIB
* Hungary: 16
* Iceland: 16
* India: UA
* Indonesia: 13+
* Ireland: 12
* Italy: VM14
* Japan: PG12
* Malaysia: 18
* Maldives: 18+
* Mexico: B
* Netherlands: 16
* New Zealand: RP18
* Nigeria: 15
* Norway: 15
* Philippines: R-13
* Portugal: M/16
* Romania: AP-12
* Russia: 16+
* Singapore: NC16
* South Africa: 13
* South Korea: 15
* Spain: 12
* Sweden: 15
* Switzerland: 16
* Taiwan: 15+
* Thailand: 13
* Ukraine: 16
* United Kingdom: 12
* United States: PG-13
* Vietnam: C16

## Common Sense Media

* Age: 14+
* Quality: ★★★★
* Summary: Intense final entry of the Venture series is dark, violent.
* Review: Parents need to know that Venture: Bounty is an extremely dark successor of Venture: Revolution (maybe not as much as that one). Robert (Oscar Isaac) and Robyn Jacob (Natalie Portman), now ubiquitously happy, must rediscover the dark truths of reality by whatever means necessary. The violence is more intense and graphic here than in most of the previous films: terrifying sequences include war, mass killing, and attempted genocide of the "Void Monsters", a group of violent species that only acts on instinct. Characters are killed throughout, and there are some sacrifices. At certain points, it seems like *everyone* will die painfully, and the heroes don't always triumph over the villains. Both Robert and Robyn Jacob drink a potion made of drugs, and sex includes a few scenes showing a woman in her underwear and some very heavy innuendo. Themes include pity, teamwork, and unity, as well as the likelihood of nonviolent alternatives to violence as a solution.
* Violence: ★★★★ The movie's tone is very dark, and there are some genuinely terrifying/disturbing scenes. A war between the Void Monsters and Venturians leads to mass killing and attempted genocide of the creatures via gunfire and physical abuse. Venturians and Void Monsters also kill each other with explosives, gunfire, and acidic spit. Venturians are abducted and almost eaten. Crying, screaming, and yelling. A few characters sacrifice themselves, and some of these sacrifices are reminiscent of suicide. Baby creatures are crushed to death and bleed out a yellow goo. A hero is killed by a corrupted member of his group by having his neck snapped. Injured and dead characters are seen with missing limbs and white-stained stumps, along with the occasional charred skin. A psychopathic child draws his older brother getting gutted alive.
* Sex ★★: Robyn Jacob is seen in her underwear and a tight shirt that reveals her shapely torso. There are multiple innuendos that can get pretty heavy, including uses of the term "seaward" (it sounds like "C-word"). A child's drawing shows a young man with a hole through his crotch, implying that his genitals were removed.
* Language: ★★ "Damn", "hell", "ass", and "bastard" are used.
* Drinking, Drugs, and Smoking: ★★ Robert and Robyn consume a potion made of dissolved drugs, which causes them to hallucinate. Characters are seen drinking unknown beverages and acting erratically afterward. Robert smokes a joint that has a fictional plant in it, although it's more akin to tobacco smoking than marijuana use.
* Parents Say:
	+ Age: 15+ (top reviews are 16+ and 18+)
	+ Quality: ★★★★★
	+ Typical Review: Some parents put the movie at 18+, claiming that an NC-17 rating would've been more appropriate for the movie's themes.

* Kids Say:
	+ Age: 13+ (top reviews are 15+ and 16+)
	+ Quality: ★★★★★

## Raising Children Network

* Rating: MA15+
* Age: 19
* Age suitability: Not recommended for children under 17, Parental guidance for children over 17, Suitable for children over 19
* Watch out for: Use of violence, Disturbing scenes

### Themes

Love and relationships; corrupt leadership; crime; war; hate; power and revenge

### Violence

Venture: Bounty has substantial, graphic violence. For example:

* There are countless graphic battle scenes, many of which involve humanoid soldiers and alien creatures. The aliens are gigantic, with large teeth, horns, and claws. These alien creatures easily impale and slash the soldiers. Human-like characters bleed white, while the aliens bleed in clear and yellow colors.
* Soldiers fight a giant demon. The demon sprays fire all over a city and it catches on fire, killing most of the soldiers and innocents in the area.
* A soldier has his arms dismembered by a large monster. Although the scene doesn't show them being severed, it does show the stumps where they were and blood pooling under the soldier. The man repeatedly screams in an extremely loud and disturbing fashion, before bleeding out.
* Alien creatures have their nests burned, before witnessing their infants getting crushed and getting mutilated by gunfire.
* A mentally-ill boy bashes a friend's head against a rock until the man's neck snaps. A trickle of blood can be seen coming out of the man's mouth.
* A soldier has the lower half of his leg bitten off by an alien, and we see the bloody stump.
* We see many gory illustrations by a young boy, many of which involve his teenage brother. One of them shows the brother getting his crotch torn open with digestive intestines coming out, and another shows his skinless corpse with his intestinal tract coming out. We briefly see another drawing of the boy getting his crotch ripped open by two monsters with organs piled below him.
* A soldier is shot in the gut and starts bleeding (we see blood staining his hand and the wound). The soldier hobbles to a trench and collapses as blood pools out of his body.
* There's a brief shot of a body that's lying face-down under a pool of blood; it is said that the person's face was bitten off by a creature.
* Alien creatures are dismembered and decapitated in many scenes, usually accompanied by blood splatter.
* A man is shoved off of a cliff and hits many jagged rocks, one of which causes blood to spray out of the back of his head.

### Content that may disturb children

#### Under 5

In addition to the violent scenes mentioned above, Venture: Bounty has scenes that could scare or disturb children aged under five years. For example:

* Supernatural themes are present throughout the film.
* Some of the alien creatures look terrifying. Many of them have deformed features, knife-like appendages, stand very tall, and/or have glowing eyes.
* Characters have fits of rage and some of them throw and destroy objects.
* A young boy verbally abuses and bullies his teammates throughout the film. The boy's voice is loud and intimidating.
* We see a doctor performing an autopsy on a body as blood squirts out and stains the screen.

#### From 5 - 8

In addition to the violent and disturbing scenes mentioned above, Venture: Bounty has scenes that could scare or disturb children aged under five years. For example:

* Characters talk about how their loved ones, including children, have died, but the deaths aren't shown.
* Children in this age group are likely to be disturbed by the depictions and actions of corrupt authority figures.

#### From 8-13

Children in this age group are likely to be disturbed by some of the violent and disturbing scenes mentioned above, along with the movie's themes.

#### Over 13

Children in this age group and some adults could also be disturbed by some of the scenes and themes mentioned above.

### Sexual References

Not many that would concern, although there are a few, brief mentions of sex.

### Alcohol, drugs, & other substances

Venture: Bounty shows the use of substances. For example, Robert and Robyn Jacob are fed a liquid that causes them to hallucinate and change their personalities.

### Nudity and sexual activity

Venture: Bounty shows sexual activity when Robert and Robyn Jacob sleep together, the former of which is shirtless. There is partial nudity in a young boy's drawings, although no sensitive areas are visible.

### Product Placement

There is little product placement in Venture: Bounty and it is limited to brands that appear similar to those in real life. There is associated merchandise aimed at a wide range of ages.

### Coarse language

There is mild coarse language in Venture: Bounty, such as the words “damn”, “hell”, “crap”, “ass”, and “bastard”.

### Ideas to discuss with your children

Venture: Bounty is a movie about why unintelligent species shouldn't be faulted for their acts of violence.

Venture: Bounty shows that well-intentioned creatures can cause atrocities in an attempt to survive. The movie also highlights the importance of acceptance, savoring life, and the struggles people have to endure to fight for their beliefs.

The movie's MA15+ rating is definitely appropriate because the movie is easily the bleakest and most mature entry in the Venture Cinematic Universe. Its violent and disturbing scenes and themes make it unsuitable for children under 17 years of age.

The mixed morality of characters in the movie raises many issues you could discuss with fellow adults, but we strongly recommend parental guidance for older teenagers who are allowed to see the movie.

## Tropes

* Alternative Character Interpretation: Soren Helt: The stalwart, proud leader of a powerful troop of heroes, out to restore his hometown? Or a greedy, unreasonable idiot who leads an amateurish, poorly-equipped crowd of bumbling fools on a suicide mission for the sake of pride?
* Bittersweet Ending: The Void Monsters learn to stop hunting Venturians without the latter committing genocide, the Diabolus Incarnate dies with no offspring, many of the heroes survive, and society is slowly restored. However, most of Planet Venture's cities are destroyed, millions of Venturians and Void Monsters alike have bitten the bullet (including Soren, Degen, Voldelem, and Gammel), and Robyn Jacob is back to living a depressing life after getting a life sentence.
* Classical Antihero: Robert and Robyn Jacob spend the first act of the movie as hapless bystanders who were placed in a variety of alien situations. The two become straight heroes after Robert spares a pregnant Void Monster and Robyn rescues the team from a carnivore's nest (and later a prison).
* Knight in Sour Armor: Alan Batak, the ruler of Korupta-Stat. While Batak does little to stop the Void Monsters and is responsible for the arrest of Soren Helt and his mercenaries, he also provides shelter for immigrants from Loch-Bly. Of the three leaders, Batak is also the most willing to end things peacefully.
* Pragmatic Hero: For all his nobility and charisma, Soren Helt is extremely greedy and prideful. Had it not been for the Void Monsters' sudden attack on the three armies, he would've waged an all-out war.
* Some Anvils Need to Be Dropped: The message about animal cruelty and genocide being immoral. Can you really blame Trigger, though?
* Violence is Disturbing: Being the final entry of the VCU, this one is unsurprisingly Darker and Edgier, and it translates to the action scenes, particularly an enormous battle between Void Monsters and Venturians near the end that is Bloodier and Gorier than pretty much *anything* else Venture (with the possible exception of Pathways: Jacob's Fortune), after an uncut attempt at genocide on the Void Monsters, including the newborns. This movie is PG-13, the same rating as *Rhett Druidus*.
* Would Hurt a Woman: Robyn is punched twice by Soren Helt after trying to offer up the talisman. Thankfully, Helt resents his actions soon after.

## Behind the Scenes

* While the idea of the film wasn't fully formed, around 2013 Brendan had an idea for a sequel to Venture: Revolution. In the sequel, Robert would've been married to another woman and had a child. The child displayed some rather morbidly curious behavior, such as cutting open their pet cat's leg and trying to find bones (the cat may have bled out, as his mother is extremely saddened upon seeing this).
* Near the start of 2017, the idea for the film was very light-hearted and somewhat *9*-inspired and would've included a scene where Robert and Robyn build a steel golem to protect them from Carnids. After that idea, the idea became an anthology film involving various stories, one of which would've been horror-themed and based on *Salad Fingers*. One idea after the anthology film was scrapped was to have a haunted mansion in one of the scenes, although this wouldn't have been the setting for the whole film.
* From the summer of 2017 to early 2020, the film was going to be animated. During this phase, the film would've had Venture equivalents to the September 11 attacks and the Holocaust. Both of these elements were removed due to perceived insensitivity. The Void Monsters also had a wide variety of appearances and inspirations, with some being inspired by mythology and others by the works of H.P. Lovecraft and related authors. Many ideas were tossed around and the general plan for the film was unclear, but a few elements were certain; Robert Jacob would've met Robyn Jade for the first time, Robert would've consumed liquified drugs and had a hallucination, and there would've been a scene where Robert Jacob seemingly dies in a helicopter crash. The latter of these was based on the Joker's "death" in *Suicide Squad*. Other ideas, many of which were taken from *Super Mario Galaxy 2*, were debated. These included:
	+ The film's title came from one of the key elements; a ship that both flies and sails, similar to its namesake (the Destiny's Bounty from *Ninjago*). The Bounty would've been destroyed at some point.
		- Another vehicle that was going to appear was a yellow and purple air/spacecraft, modeled after the Jedi Interceptor starfighters from *Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith*. One scene would've involved Robert Jacob crashing the vehicle on a much larger aircraft, before ejecting and doing battle with soldiers on it.
	+ A battle on top of and inside of the "Venturian Trade Center", which would've ended with a giant, spider-like Void Monster knocking down the building.
	+ The Jacobs and possibly Jades fighting on a "flaming flotilla" of airships while the Bounty and Star Fighter Lambda attacked them. This would eventually lead to the heroes reaching an area where they fought the Wyvern.
	+ One scene would've involved Robert and Robyn fighting a Wyvern in a scene directly based on Harry's fight with the Basilisk in *Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets*. Robert would've popped many ulcers on the Wyvern's abdomen, before spearing its tongue and head with a sword.
	+ A fight with the Amphisbaena that would've resulted in it getting killed by a helicopter (the propeller blades would've pierced through both of the snake's heads).
	+ There would've been a war camp in the film based heavily on Auschwitz. Prisoners of war were tortured and buried alive, although they were never seen getting killed (I know that we're supposed to sound professional and whatnot but WTF Trigger from three years ago). Robert, Robyn, and their brothers/sisters would've entered the camp, massacred the guards/torturers, freed the prisoners, and shot the warden (a thinly-veiled Adolf Hitler) in the testicle.
	+ A scene involving the Nuckelavee attacking a circus/festival was planned. The Nuckelavee would've been killed by its one weakness; water.
	+ A *Hunger Games-*like tournament would've been involved, with Robert and Robyn having to face off against other teams of two. One of the competitors would've been impaled through the throat by a poisoned arrow and had a hallucinogenic fit.
	+ Near the end of the film, a swarm of Void Monsters, including humanoid and intelligent ones, would've attacked a city. The monsters would've shattered windows and ripped apart stuffed animals in a shop in addition to attacking the civilians. This scene is similar to the Penguin's goons attacking Gotham City in *Batman Returns*, although the similarities were unintentional; Brendan had not seen the film until after he had come up with this idea.
	+ The Four (or in this case, five) Horsemen of the Apocalypse attacking Planet Venture. While all of them were defeated, only War was outright killed; he would've accidentally taken a white flag, dove, and olive branch from Robert.
	+ Robyn Jacob rebirthing Robert's son after having sexual intercourse with him. Robyn would've gone through the pregnancy process in one day, with her stomach quickly and copiously expanding because of Robert Jacob Jr.'s adult frame. As a result of Robyn giving birth to RJJ, her hips and buttocks would've massively expanded, eventually tearing through her pants.