DON’T LET GO (2019)
An intense thriller about prayer, family, and second chances — for adults only.
Should You Watch It?
DON’T LET GO is an intense, ultimately satisfying thriller with a strong moral center. Its story extols prayer, urges you not to let go of loved ones, and promotes close family ties. David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, and Mykelti Williamson give believable performances that make the characters’ danger and affection feel immediate.
The cost is substantial. The movie contains high-level violence involving blood, several murder scenes, intense threats, and strong obscenities that appear during the climax. Some plot details are confusing, and the ending could have been even happier.
If you are an adult or older teenager who can handle that content, the film offers suspense and meaningful themes. For children and young teens, choose something else. The practical answer: WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY.
The Story
NO SPOILERS — WE KEEP THE SURPRISESLos Angeles Police Detective Jack Radcliff is devastated when his teenage niece, Ashley, and her parents are murdered. Then Jack receives a strange phone call from Ashley, apparently made four days before her death.
Working with Ashley across time, Jack investigates what happened and tries to stop the murders before they occur. But every change they make brings new dangers for both of them.
Is It Any Good?
Three stars means DON’T LET GO is a strong, engrossing thriller with noticeable flaws. The movie is extremely suspenseful, and the acting is entirely believable. David Oyelowo, Storm Reid, Mykelti Williamson, and Alfred Molina create convincing characters, while the editing helps sustain the tension.
The climax loses some dramatic force because the camera is too close to the action and the story switches back and forth in time. The motive behind the original murders is also murky, leaving some confusion about the villain’s behavior. Still, the ending remains exciting and suspenseful.
The Worldview
DON’T LET GO has a strong Christian, moral worldview. It extols prayer to God, promotes close family ties, and shows good overcoming evil. The movie presents Jack’s prayer as partially answered positively, recognizing that God sometimes says no and sometimes says yes.
The film does use time changes that could be mistaken for mystical or pagan ideas. However, the story ultimately gives God credit for the phone calls Jack receives from Ashley. The movie’s central message is not that people control the past through sorcery, but that prayer matters and family members should not let go of one another.
The movie could have been even stronger and more positive, especially with a happier ending. Still, its central longing for rescue and restoration points toward the God who hears His people: “Call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me” (Psalm 50:15).
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 Christian, moral worldview includes a prayer to God is partially answered positively (God sometimes says no and God sometimes says yes but in the movie God seems to say yes and no), extols family ties and shows good overcoming evil, marred by some gratuitous violence and foul language
Foul Language
16 obscenities (five “f” words but only during the climax) and seven light exclamatory profanities when people are shocked, startled or disturbed by something
Violence
High level of violence with blood (often intense and some of it strong and some of it very strong) includes about three scenes of a police detective walking through a couple different murder scenes with bloody results of three family members having been shot to death (the images in the scenes change once after the man slightly changes “history”), some bloody crime scene photos of the victim that the detective is perusing as he looks for clues, several bloody shootings (camera often looks away when the actual bullets are implied to hit), man shot in head, images of bloody walls and bloody bathtub and pool of blood near family dog who’s been shot dead by villain, man shot twice in stomach and once in chest in three scenes, villain shoots dog and a man and a woman in one scene, drive by shooting occurs where man gets wounded in stomach, but he does things afterwards until he finally loses conscious and is taken to a hospital, short gunfight in a warehouse, it’s implied a man is hit in stomach with a baseball bat, two intense scenes where teenage girl is chased by a couple villains, and she tries hide and run, intense scene as teenage girl spies on a meeting of several criminals, and she has to hide, another man is shot dead in one intense scene
Sex
No sex but girl comes home as mother is lying on bed in her clothes with her shoes off while her father sits on the bed, strums a guitar and fiddles with a song he just wrote
Nudity
No nudity
Alcohol Use
Some alcohol use and brief talk about a man having an alcohol problem in the past
Smoking and/or Drug Use and Abuse
No smoking but brief references to cocaine (the plot is partly about some kind of disagreement over some cocaine being sold [movie is a little unclear on this point], plus brief talk about a man being addicted to drugs in the past;
Miscellaneous Immorality
Strong miscellaneous immorality includes father hides illicit activity from his family, a plot by some corrupt police is revealed, villain frames murder victim to make a crime scene look like a murder-suicide, and some criminals seem to place a teenage girl’s father under some kind of threats and duress.
Talk About It
Questions for the drive home, the dinner table, or the youth group.
Jack tells his friend that he prayed for the murders not to happen. What do you do with regrets and hopes that feel too large to solve yourself?
Philippians 4:6–7 · Psalm 50:15The movie urges viewers not to let go of their loved ones. What does close family care look like when someone is struggling?
Galatians 6:2 · 1 John 3:18The story shows good overcoming evil. Where do you see courage in the face of danger, and how does Scripture define the source of that courage?
Psalm 27:1 · Ephesians 6:10–13The film suggests that a prayer may be answered differently than expected. How can you trust God when the answer is yes, no, or unclear?
Romans 8:28 · 2 Corinthians 12:8–10The Final Word
DON’T LET GO offers suspense, strong performances, and a meaningful Christian moral worldview. Its violence and strong obscenities are serious concerns, and the confusing plot keeps it from greatness. For discerning adults and older teenagers, it is WORTH THE TRIP — ADULTS ONLY. For younger viewers, consider.
