Star Wars: The Last Jedi dismantles franchise lore to push a specific agenda of subversion. It systematically deconstructs icons like Luke Skywalker and dispenses with the previous trilogy's mysteries to argue that anyone, not just a special bloodline, can be a hero. This approach prioritizes delivering thematic messages about failure and renewal over delivering a satisfying or cohesive continuation of the saga's core myths. | © Walt Disney Pictures
Wonder Woman 1984 uses a superhero premise to deliver a heavy-handed lesson about truth and reckless desire. The plot contorts itself around a magical, morality-tale MacGuffin to force Diana into a somber choice between personal happiness and global responsibility. Ultimately, the film sacrifices action and pace to preach its core, simplistic message: the easy path is wrong, and truth must prevail. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
No Time To Die breaks the classic Bond formula to push a modern agenda of emotional vulnerability and passing the torch. It sidelines traditional spy thrills to focus on Bond's retirement, fatherhood, and a sacrificial death, fundamentally changing the character's invincible mythos. The introduction of a new, diverse 007 and a convoluted plot about bioweapons serve this overarching goal: to retire the old, emotionally detached Bond for good. | © MGM
Argo crafts a gripping thriller with a clear patriotic agenda, lionizing American and Canadian ingenuity during the Iran hostage crisis. It skillfully downplays the real-life contributions of other nations and amplifies Hollywood's role to create a USA-centric victory narrative. The film serves as a tense, entertaining piece of propaganda that reaffirms a heroic vision of American intelligence and resolve. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Birds of Prey is a film built first and foremost around a specific empowerment agenda, often at the expense of its own narrative. It assembles a team of female characters primarily to make a loud statement about independence and sisterhood. While fun in moments, the plot feels like a forced framework to deliver this theme, resulting in a movie that champions its girl-power intent more skillfully than it tells a compelling story. | © Warner Bros. Pictures
Terminator: Dark Fate aggressively erases the original legacy of the franchise to push a female future. It dismisses John Connor's story to position Dani Ramos as the destined savior, backed by an aging Sarah Connor and an enhanced female guardian. The film's primary agenda is a heavy-handed passing of the torch, sacrificing narrative coherence for a statement on female empowerment. | © Paramount Pictures
The Hustle is a gender-swapped remake whose entire agenda is built on a simple premise: women can con rich men, too. The film leans heavily on the comedic personas of its leads rather than crafting clever or original cons, resulting in a series of flat, socially awkward jokes. Its primary goal isn't to be a great caper, but to serve as a passable, one-time comedy that puts heroines in the driver's seat, however clumsily. | © Paramount Pictures
The Hurt Locker is often celebrated for its ground-level portrayal of bomb disposal in Iraq, but it carefully avoids the larger politics of the war itself. By focusing entirely on the adrenaline and trauma of the soldiers, the film glorifies their bravery while sidestepping any critique of the invasion's justification. This narrow lens ultimately serves as a pro-military character study, not an anti-war statement. | © Summit Entertainment
Men in Black: International feels engineered to check corporate diversity boxes rather than revive a beloved franchise. Its agenda to present a new, gender-flipped duo is undercut by a hollow script that gives its characters no real wit or chemistry. The movie serves as a stark lesson that swapping cast demographics is meaningless without a compelling story to back it up. | © Sony Pictures Releasing
The Marvels faced a cultural backlash that overshadowed its actual agenda, which was to forcefully accelerate Marvel's diversification plan. The film prioritizes assembling a new, female-led team and setting up future Young Avengers over crafting a coherent or compelling standalone story. Its real mission is clear: to make a statement about the MCU being female, regardless of narrative execution. | © Walt Disney Pictures
Zero Dark Thirty crafts a gripping but morally contentious narrative around the hunt for Osama bin Laden. Its most controversial agenda is framing enhanced interrogation as a brutal yet necessary tool that produced vital intelligence. This dramatization served to justify post-9/11 CIA tactics, despite real-world debates about torture's effectiveness and ethics. | © Columbia Pictures
Top Gun: Maverick serves as a spectacular, high-altitude recruitment ad for the U.S. Navy. The film deliberately avoids naming a specific modern enemy, instead presenting American military prowess as an unambiguous global good. Its entire thrilling spectacle is engineered to celebrate and reinforce the heroic image of the armed forces. | © Paramount Pictures
Bowling for Columbine is less an even-handed inquiry and more a direct indictment of America's gun culture. Michael Moore connects the dots from the Columbine tragedy to broader societal fears, arguing a violent national mindset is the true culprit. The film's pointed, one-sided approach is its entire purpose to passionately advocate for gun control, not to debate the Second Amendment. | © Universal Pictures
Snow White represents a clear pivot for Disney, trading classic fairy-tale magic for a box-ticking exercise in modern representation. The story is stripped of its original essence and emotional core to fit a predetermined agenda of political correctness. This results in a hollow adaptation that feels less like a creative vision and more like a manufactured statement, alienating audiences in the process. | © Walt Disney Pictures
Dr. Strangelove is a masterclass in using satire to push a deadly serious agenda. The film dismantles the nuclear paranoia and military brinkmanship by portraying its leaders as buffoons trapped in a logic of insane tradition. Its enduring power lies in making you laugh at the sheer incompetence that could end the world, ensuring its anti-war message remains brutally relevant. | © Columbia Pictures
Some films entertain, while others have a mission. These movies put their message first, using the screen to persuade or reshape a legacy. From overt propaganda to reboots with a new agenda, here are 15 films made purely to push an idea.
