FINCH
A heartfelt, life-affirming journey about kindness, courage, and friendship.
Should You Watch It?
FINCH is a warm, emotionally powerful science-fiction drama that celebrates kindness and the little joys of life. Tom Hanks gives one of his finest performances as Finch, and the relationship between Finch, the robot he builds, and his beloved dog gives the film its tender center.
The journey also includes storms, potential scavengers, and intense ultraviolet rays in a dangerous, damaged world. Some scenes of jeopardy are scary, and the film includes brief foul language. Those concerns make parental discernment important for younger children, but they do not erase the film’s life-affirming moral heart.
If you’re choosing for teenagers or adults, FINCH is worth watching on Apple TV+.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESAfter a massive solar flare devastates Earth, a dying scientist named Finch builds a walking robot to care for his dog after he is gone. When a huge superstorm threatens St. Louis, Finch takes his special RV west toward San Francisco.
Finch, the robot, and the dog must face storms, potential scavengers, and intense ultraviolet rays. The robot, which calls itself Jeff, is still learning how to survive—and one mistake could destroy them all.
Is It Any Good?
Four stars means FINCH is an exceptionally effective film. It is funny, dramatic, touching, and capable of bringing you to tears.
Tom Hanks is wonderful in the title role and delivers one of his finest performances. Caleb Landry Jones is fantastic as the robot’s voice, while even the dog gives a great performance. The filmmakers also make the robot’s movements remarkably expressive, helping the relationship at the center of the story feel genuine.
The Worldview
FINCH presents a strong moral worldview that celebrates kindness and the little joys of life. Its central relationship shows the value of caring for another living being, even in a damaged and dangerous world.
The film also portrays the difficulty of teaching and protecting someone who is still learning. Finch sometimes becomes very angry when the robot makes mistakes that could bring deadly consequences, but his kindness ultimately shines through. That movement from frustration toward care gives the film much of its moral strength.
The film’s life-affirming outlook aligns with Scripture’s call to kindness and compassion. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you” (Ephesians 4:32).
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Dominant Worldview and Other Worldview Content/Elements
Strong moral worldview celebrates kindness and the little joys of life
Foul Language
Seven or eight obscenities (including a few “s” words and a couple “d” and “h” words) and one Jesus profanity that’s also said in a prayerful appeal manner
Violence
Light, sometimes intense and sometimes funny violence such as walking robot with legs falls down a few times, little robot gets stuck and falls apart, characters hide in RV and get knocked around while a large tornado lifts the RV, and the RV falls down, a large dust storm overtakes a man and a small robot, solar panels on top of RV get wrecked when the vehicle’s top scrapes the bottom of an overpass road, a mysterious vehicle chases the RV one night, man shows robot how the sun can burn a person’s hand if you don’t stay in the shade, and man coughs up blood several times, staining a white coat he dons in one scene
Sex
No sex
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Man drinks whiskey from a bottle he finds
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking or drugs;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Man gets angry at robot a couple times when it makes mistakes that could get him and his dog killed, and man angrily tells robot to shut up a few times.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Finch’s kindness ultimately shines through even when the robot makes dangerous mistakes. Why can anger make kindness difficult, and what helps us respond with patience?
Proverbs 15:1 · Ephesians 4:32The film celebrates the little joys of life in a damaged world. What small gifts from God do you sometimes overlook?
James 1:17 · Philippians 4:4Finch builds the robot to care for his dog after he is gone. What responsibilities do we have toward those who depend on us?
Proverbs 12:10 · 1 Timothy 5:8The characters face danger together rather than separately. How can friendship and community help people endure hardship?
Galatians 6:2 · Ecclesiastes 4:9–10The Final Word
FINCH is a funny, touching, life-affirming drama with an outstanding Tom Hanks performance and a memorable moral center. Brief foul language and scary jeopardy call for parental discernment, especially with younger children. For teenagers and adults, it is WORTH THE TRIP — TEENS AND ADULTS.
