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Avg. Critic Score: 40 out of 100 Mixed or average reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
17 not for kids
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 70
    Washington Post | Stephen Hunter

    It's fast, slick, stupid, violent fun and, despite the cynically high body count, without serious intention in this world. Read full review

  • 63
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    Derailed has a great setup, a good middle passage and some convincing performances. Then it runs off the tracks. Read full review

  • 50
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    The strapping Owen as a guy who can't handle himself and cutie-pie Aniston as a witchy woman? I don't think so. Talk about derailed. Read full review

  • 50
    The Hollywood Reporter | Michael Rechtshaffen

    This flaccid psychological thriller keeps spoiling its own surprise by constantly signaling the big plot twist. Read full review

  • 42
    Entertainment Weekly | Lisa Schwarzbaum

    A junky thriller that mistakes brute-strength plot twist, showy violence, and the against-type participation of Jennifer Aniston for earned excitement. Read full review

  • 40
    Variety | Justin Chang

    This murky psychological suspenser manages the tricky feat of being as predictable as it is finally preposterous. Read full review

  • 38
    USA Today | Mike Clark

    Clumsy, miscast thriller. Read full review

  • 30
    The New York Times | Manohla Dargis

    Riddled with holes and undeveloped characters, and marred by lurching rhythms that may reflect some triage editing, so it's hard to see what Mr. Hafstrom brings to this film other than a murky palette. Read full review

  • 25
    San Francisco Chronicle | Ruthe Stein

    Poor casting is compounded by a ludicrous script. Read full review

  • 20
    Los Angeles Times | Carina Chocano

    Derailed seems to want badly to be described as contemporary noir. But it's just pitch-dumb. Read full review

View more reviews for Derailed on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says not for kids Unimaginative, dumb thriller is too much for kids.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this movie is premised on an adulterous affair. It includes frequent images of bloody violence: a shooting, several stabbings, fist fights, and the start of a rape. Characters smoke and drink, curse frequently ("f--k" in various forms, "s--t," slang for genitals). Characters lie to each other incessantly, and the hero's triumph is based in a lie that he agrees to keep secret with the detective. References are made to a daughter's illness, with images as well of her injections and a difficult-breathing episode.
  • Families can talk about the persistent costs of cheating, the ugliness of lying and blackmailing. How do the villains embody threats to the suburban ideal? How does the commuter train/the city represent a site of temptation?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Blackmail, adultery, and very angry, mean, and smug villains.
What to watch for
  • violence false5 Violence: Bloody beat downs, stabbings, and a shooting. Sexual violence.
  • sex false3 Sex: Sexual adultery; woman showering blurrily glimpsed through shower door; conversations about the adultery.
  • language false5 Language: Frequent cursing (f-word, s-word, "ass"); sexual/genital and racist slang (f-word and n-word).
  • consumerism false3 Consumerism: Not an issue
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Drinking in a bar, some smoking by villains.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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