MASTERMINDS
Inspired numskull comedy with adult-only content.
Should You Watch It?
MASTERMINDS is a delirious, highly inventive comedy built around a ridiculous armored-car robbery. The plot twists constantly, the dialogue snaps, and the performances are distinctive and enjoyable. Jared Hess fills the movie with oddball characters, outrageous wigs and costumes, and carefully arranged visual details.
The movie also asks you to spend time with criminals who lie, betray one another, and steal $17.3 million. The FBI eventually brings them to justice, but the film’s pagan worldview, comic violence, profanity, sexual humor, and implication that the hero keeps $2 million make this unsuitable for children and young teens.
Adults who can handle that content may find a lot to enjoy. For family viewing, choose something else. The practical answer: WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESDavid is a dim-witted armored-car guard who falls for Kelly, a former co-worker, even though he is engaged to another woman. Kelly’s married friend Steve persuades her to lure David into robbing the company where they once worked.
David steals $17.3 million but forgets one crucial security videotape. Soon, the bungling criminals are scrambling to protect themselves while the FBI closes in.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means MASTERMINDS is a good, highly entertaining comedy with some weaknesses. Its plot is ever-twisting and full of laughs, its dialogue has comic crackle, and its performances are distinctive and a joy to experience.
The criminals’ stupidity sometimes goes too far. Still, the movie delivers inspired inventiveness and rapid-fire comic perfection. Jared Hess’s unique comic vision ties together oddball characters, remarkable costumes, and off-the-wall details in a polished comic display.
The Worldview
MASTERMINDS has a strong pagan worldview, though some light moral elements mitigate it. One character says, “God brought us together,” and the comment has a positive meaning in context. The criminals also receive prison sentences according to the worst of their offenses, presenting some comeuppance for wrongdoing.
The film’s moral framework remains mixed. It implies that the comic hero gets away with hiding $2 million of the stolen money, and he tells his romantic interest that he would rob any bank for her. Crime, betrayal, lying, deceit, and kidnapping become material for comedy rather than matters treated with consistent moral seriousness.
The film’s central moral truth is that wrongdoing can bring consequences, even when the consequences arrive through comic twists. Scripture likewise says, “For the authorities are God’s servant for your good” (Romans 13:4), while calling us to reject deceit and wrongdoing.
The Content Guide
The specifics — spoilers included by nature — so you can judge for your own family.
Content Summary
Strong pagan worldview about a comical armored car robbery plot, mitigated by some morally positive elements including man says, “God brought us together,” and there’s some comeuppance for criminal wrongdoing and breaking the law, though $2 million of the stolen money isn’t found; 12 obscenities, one possible strong profanity and seven light profanities, plus man starts to say SOB but doesn’t finish it, and about four scatological jokes, including man throws up, man drinks Mexican water and has diarrhea in a swimming pool, and a couple jokes about passing gas; strong, mostly comic violence such as two women fight in a department store and one woman sprays a feminine hygiene product into the other’s mouth, bumbling security guard accidentally shoots himself down the crack of his buttocks when he stashes his gun in the back of his pants, bumbling guard shoots his gun wildly into the ceiling during a robbery because he’s nervous, bumbling guard crashes armored vehicle through a wall, hitman shoots one bullet from an old rifle and winds up falling off a balcony because of the sudden smoke, character escapes on a scooter and then a boat, comical foot and car chase involving a truck and a character using rollerblades, hitman in desperation throws spear at runaway truck, and it hits dashboard, two characters wrestle, explosion of a gas grill blows off man’s shirt, and one criminal hires a hitman to kill one of his cohorts; a couple light sexual innuendoes during the movie and several innuendoes during some outtakes appearing over the end credits, plus man says he would rob anything for the love of his life; upper male nudity at swimming pool and when man’s shirt is blown off by an explosion; light alcohol use; no smoking or drugs; and, strong miscellaneous immorality involves stealing $17 million from some banks, betrayal, lying, deceit, kidnapping, and a satirical joke about convicts honoring another criminal.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
The characters treat theft, betrayal, and deceit as part of a comic scheme. How can humor make wrongdoing seem less serious, and how should Christians respond?
Ephesians 4:25 · Colossians 3:9The FBI eventually brings the criminals to justice. Why does just punishment matter, even when a story presents wrongdoing comically?
Romans 13:1–4 · Proverbs 21:15David is willing to rob a bank for the woman he loves. What should love produce in us, and where should loyalty stop?
1 Corinthians 13:4–6 · Acts 5:29The Final Word
MASTERMINDS offers adults inventive comedy, rapid-fire dialogue, memorable performances, and a satisfying comic caper. Its pagan worldview and adult content rule it out for children and young teens. For discerning adults, the answer is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For a family movie night, try.
