Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Moderate
- restless
- gritty
- provocative
- late night viewing
- coming of age double feature
What critics said
Critics broadly regarded the film as an uneven and underdeveloped teen thriller, with its provocative premise receiving limited support.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Luke, Malachy, and Michelle treat drinking, drugs, shoplifting, and car theft as an escalating weekend game until the consequences become deadly.
The central trio's bond is strained by attraction, rivalry, and their shared participation in increasingly dangerous acts.
The film follows Northern Irish teenagers through recognizable urban misbehavior rather than stylized criminal mythology.
The compressed weekend premise and reckless movement through drinking, theft, and stolen cars suit an intimate, kinetic observational style.
Films like Cherrybomb, and why
Kids
teenage recklessness, illicit partying, friendship under pressure, and a dark coming-of-age trajectory
This Is England
youthful alienation, drug use, volatile friendships, and gritty social realism
River's Edge
teen protagonists, escalating criminal behavior, moral collapse, and an intense thriller edge
The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys
adolescent rebellion, reckless desire, and a tragic shift from playful freedom to serious consequences
Movie Details
- Directors
- Lisa Barros D'Sa, Glenn Leyburn
- Release Date
- 2009-02-08
- Runtime
- 86 min
- Rating
- 5.5 / 10 (125)
Cast
- Rupert Grint
- Robert Sheehan
- James Nesbitt
- Niamh Quinn
- Paul Kennedy
- Conor MacNeill
- Greer Taylor Ellison
- Kimberley Nixon
- Kathy Kiera Clarke
- Lalor Roddy
Common questions
- What is Cherrybomb about?
- A reckless teenage weekend of intoxication, theft, and desire spirals into a dangerous coming-of-age thriller.
- What is Cherrybomb like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Cherrybomb as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Cherrybomb violent?
- Somewhat. Ember rates the violence in Cherrybomb as moderate.
- What did critics think of Cherrybomb?
- Critics broadly regarded the film as an uneven and underdeveloped teen thriller, with its provocative premise receiving limited support.
- Which films are like Cherrybomb?
- Films with a similar feel include Kids, This Is England, River's Edge, and The Dangerous Lives of Altar Boys.
- How long is Cherrybomb?
- Cherrybomb runs 86 minutes.
