Playdate (2026) - Luke Greenfield

 

A wild, adventurous, bro-love movie with life lessons that include stepping out of one's comfort zone, tackling fatherhood head-on, and accepting unexpected friendship. Wonderfully-entertaining performances by Kevin James, Alan Richson, Benjamin Pajak, and Banks Pierce. I enjoyed the ride.

Christian Themes: Ephesians 6:4 (KJV) "And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." This movie is a comedic, action-packed look at fatherhood--failures and successes.

PG-13: I'll point out that, yep, it is a dude action movie. It comes with colorful language every thirty seconds or so. Of course, it is also not without the typical action-movie vices: smoking, drinking, references to drugs and sex, bullying, violence, chase scenes, deceit, destruction, etc. etc. etc.

Where it fails: (SPOILER ALERT) We spend a majority of the film following an ex-solider whose one "weakness" is his ability to "sympathize" -- but the film completely undermines this theme at the end.

Our heroes successfully rescue the ex-soldier's clone child, but within minutes, our supposedly sympathetic ex-soldier decides to trigger an explosion that destroys all his other clone solider children trapped inside a metal facility! Our action heroes are then seen walking away from the explosion in slow-motion -- cue TheLonelyIsland song -- as if a glorious thing was just accomplished. For their journey, the slow-motion moment is earned... but not at the expense of murdering innocent clone children!

Perhaps the moment may have been an attempt to remind audiences that it is just a movie -- the world of make-believe after all. However, when a film presents characters going through very real themes (friendship, fatherhood, PTSD) and it suddenly shows them abandon those themes, it is inconsistent, and thus irresponsible, storytelling.

Recommend viewing.