PG, 2020
WISE Score
A foster-care-to-cartel drama that tries to be a faith-based thriller but lands more like a low-budget after-school special.
This is a skip. It tries to bridge the gap between a gritty crime drama and a faith-based redemption story, but it doesn't have the budget or the script to pull off either.
It’s the kind of movie you find buried in the 'Free with Ads' section of Tubi for a reason. If you want a movie about foster care or faith that actually lands, there are dozens of better-produced options that won't make your kids check their phones every five minutes.
Best for kids 11 and up who can handle the crime elements, though realistically, most teenagers will find the low-budget production too boring to finish.
It attempts a redemption arc centered on faith and community, but the heavy focus on cartel kidnapping and systemic abandonment makes for a pretty bleak experience.
Relies heavily on standard tropes—the abandoned orphan, the 'war for the soul,' and the sudden criminal underworld involvement. Nothing particularly fresh here.
While it leans into spiritual themes, the cartel elements involve kidnapping and implied peril. The low production value might actually make the 'scary' parts less impactful, but the themes are heavy.
Offers some surface-level entry points for discussing resilience and foster care, but the low-quality execution makes it hard to take the message seriously.
Before you hit play, make sure you’re actually looking for this specific film. If you were searching for the high-stakes historical survival story about a shipwreck and mutiny, you’ve taken a wrong turn. You’re likely looking for the David Grann adaptation, and you’ll want to check out our guide to The Wager: Shipwreck, Mutiny, and How Much Grit Your Teen Can Handle instead.
This version of The Wager is a 2020 indie drama that lives in the "faith-based thriller" niche. It’s a very different vibe—modern, low-budget, and focused on the foster care system—and it doesn't have the narrative weight of the historical epic you might be expecting.
There is a specific kind of movie that thrives on Tubi and the free-with-ads side of Amazon Prime. They often have dramatic posters and high-stakes synopses, but the moment the first scene starts, you realize the budget wasn't there to support the vision. This is one of those movies.
The 4.3 IMDb rating isn't just about the story being "slow"—it’s a reflection of the technical hurdles. We’re talking about lighting that feels like a home movie and acting that often feels like a first table read. For a generation of kids raised on high-gloss YouTube creators and Marvel-level polish, this lack of craft is a massive barrier. If your teenager is used to snappy editing and professional sound design, they will likely spend the entire runtime making fun of the production rather than engaging with Brucie’s struggle.
The movie tries to tackle some incredibly heavy topics: the trauma of moving through 17 foster homes, the predatory nature of organized crime, and the "war for a soul." These are great starting points for a conversation, but the execution is clunky. The Cartel elements feel generic and "TV-safe," lacking the tension of a real thriller.
If your teen is genuinely interested in stories about young men navigating the fringes of society or the "tough-love" reality of the streets, there are better ways to spend your time. For something with much higher artistic merit that covers similar ground of brotherhood and bad influences, consider Rumble Fish: The Gritty, Artsy Older Brother of The Outsiders.
If you’re looking for a crime drama that actually delivers on the "good vs. evil" tension with actual stakes—though with a lot more blood—you’re better off looking at The Untouchables: Is This 80s Bloodbath Too Much for Your Teen?. This movie stays in a weird middle ground: too amateur for movie night, but too focused on the "Cartel" to be a simple Sunday school lesson.
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