movie review codename banshee

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Parents' guide to, code name banshee.

• Common Sense Says
• Parents Say 1 Review
• Kids Say 1 Review

Common Sense Media Review

Lots of guns, violence in female-driven action movie.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Code Name Banshee is an action movie about an assassin for hire (Jaime King) helping her late father's former partner (Antonio Banderas) fight a dangerous enemy (Tommy Flanagan). It's great to watch two strong women driving the movie, but there's so little actually going on that it's…

Why Age 15+?

Guns and shooting, including several big shootouts. Blood sprays. Major characte

Fairly frequent use of "f--k," "s--t," "p---y," "a--hole," "bitch," "bastard," "

Lay's Potato Chips seen.

Someone drinks shots in a bar. Social beer drinking.

Any Positive Content?

This is a female-driven action movie, but the two women aren't exactly three-dim

The heroes of the movie are two strong women, though viewers don't know much abo

The movie isn't really about anything other than being the first one to kill the

Parents need to know that Code Name Banshee is an action movie about an assassin for hire ( Jaime King ) helping her late father's former partner ( Antonio Banderas ) fight a dangerous enemy ( Tommy Flanagan ). It's great to watch two strong women driving the movie, but there's so little actually going on that it's ultimately a letdown. Violence includes tons of shootouts, with characters being shot and killed, blood sprays, grenades/explosions, fighting, punching, and women getting treated roughly. Language is also strong, with uses of "f--k," "s--t," "p---y," "a--hole," and more. There's social beer drinking, and a minor character drinks shots in a bar.

To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Violence & Scariness

Guns and shooting, including several big shootouts. Blood sprays. Major characters shot. Grenades and explosions. Man and woman fighting, punching. Woman thrown across room, struggling and kicking. One character shoves another's head down on a desk, threatening with gun.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Fairly frequent use of "f--k," "s--t," "p---y," "a--hole," "bitch," "bastard," "damn," "shite," "Jesus Christ," "badass."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Drinking, drugs & smoking.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Diverse Representations

This is a female-driven action movie, but the two women aren't exactly three-dimensional or deeply emotional. Another major character (played by Antonio Banderas) is Latino.

Did we miss something on diversity? Suggest an update .

Positive Role Models

The heroes of the movie are two strong women, though viewers don't know much about them other than how tough they are.

Positive Messages

The movie isn't really about anything other than being the first one to kill the other person. It's all betrayal, violence, and revenge, with no lessons learned and nothing gained.

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Parent and Kid Reviews

• Parents Say (1)
• Kids Say (1)

Based on 1 parent review

Action packed and blood soaked. My kind of movie

What's the story.

In CODE NAME BANSHEE former CIA agent Caleb ( Antonio Banderas ) went into hiding after a mission involving the Russians turned bad. Caleb's partner had a daughter, Banshee ( Jaime King ), who now works as an assassin for hire. While on a job, she has a run-in with deadly ex-special forces man Anthony Greene ( Tommy Flanagan ), who offers her $1 million if she'll give up Caleb's location. She uses all her skills to escape, and then, teamed with her "man in the chair" Kronos (Aleksander Vayshelboym), tracks down Caleb herself. She discovers that he's set up a new life for himself as a bartender and is raising a daughter of his own, Hailey ( Catherine Davis ). But when Kronos is compromised and Greene finds out where Caleb is, the trio must prepare to fight for their lives.

Is It Any Good?

While it's great to see King confident in a straight-up warrior role, there's so little actually going on in this flat action movie that it feels like the warmup act for a much better movie. King is the best thing in Code Name Banshee , as she demonstrates in a cool scene in which she's in an elevator, trapped by four armed henchmen on either side of the door. She drops to the floor, on her back, and with two quick motions, dispatches all of them. Some of the quiet scenes between her, Banderas, and Davis are also somewhat touching. But quiet scenes are rare in this one. It's all about the shootouts: shootout after shootout after shootout.

Aside from that, the movie has many useless flashbacks to Caleb and Banshee's father's failed mission. But even looking at the same footage again and again offers little illumination; none of it matters in the long run. And Flanagan's over-the-top performance as Greene is flat-out annoying, as he spouts creaky old lines like "well, well, well!" and "little pigs! Little pigs!" in a threatening Scottish accent. As the movie winds down after its final showdown, you may realize that the real story here is the two daughters, Banshee and Hailey, now teaming up and becoming a new force to be reckoned with. But that's just where Code Name Banshee ends. It's too bad no one seemed to have seen their potential.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about Code Name Banshee 's violence . How did it make you feel? Was it exciting? Shocking? What did the movie show or not show to achieve this effect? Why is that important?

How does the movie treat its women characters? Are they strong? Do they have agency? Why does that matter?

What does the movie have to say about revenge?

What is the father-daughter relationship in the story like? How is it similar to or different than your own relationships?

Movie Details

• In theaters : July 1, 2022
• On DVD or streaming : August 9, 2022
• Cast : Jaime King , Antonio Banderas , Tommy Flanagan
• Director : Jon Keeyes
• Inclusion Information : Female actors
• Studio : Screen Media Films
• Genre : Action/Adventure
• Run time : 93 minutes
• MPAA rating : NR
• Last updated : October 20, 2024

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

Suggest an Update

What to watch next.

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Black Widow

Charlie's Angels (2019)

Kill Bill: Vol. 1

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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

• Cast & crew
• User reviews

Code Name Banshee

Caleb, a former government assassin in hiding, who resurfaces when his protégé, the equally deadly killer known as Banshee, discovers a bounty has been placed on Caleb's head. Caleb, a former government assassin in hiding, who resurfaces when his protégé, the equally deadly killer known as Banshee, discovers a bounty has been placed on Caleb's head. Caleb, a former government assassin in hiding, who resurfaces when his protégé, the equally deadly killer known as Banshee, discovers a bounty has been placed on Caleb's head.

• Matthew Rogers
• Antonio Banderas
• Tommy Flanagan
• 50 User reviews
• 12 Critic reviews

Top cast 22

• Anthony Greene

• (as Victor Plajas)

• (as Nicolas Coccaro)

• (as Keil Zepernick)

• Michael Greene
• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

More like this

Did you know

• Trivia The old well tavern is the real name of the bar and is located in Simsbury, Connecticut.
• Goofs At the beginning of the film when Delilah kills the two men; the orientation of the first dead guy changes between the live color shot and, the black and white CCTV shot. In the CCTV cut, his legs are facing toward the elevator however previously in the live color shot, his head was facing toward the elevator.

User reviews 50

Could have been so much better.

• Jul 1, 2022
• How long is Code Name Banshee? Powered by Alexa
• July 1, 2022 (United States)
• United States
• Official site
• Yale Productions
• Banshee Productions
• Bee-Hive Productions
• See more company credits at IMDbPro
• Runtime 1 hour 28 minutes

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