MPAA Rating: PG-13

Tim Robbins stars as a Bill Gates-like software tycoon whose corporation goes about being number one in the industry by any means necessary; Ryan Phillippe co-stars as an idealistic computer genius. Also with Rachael Leigh Cook, Claire Forlani, Tygh Runyan, Ned Bellamy, Douglas McFerran, Zahf Hajee, Scott Bellis, Nate Dushku, Tyler Labine and Julie McDowell. [1:50]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A couple is shown in bed (she's sleeping) with their bare shoulders exposed. And a couple kisses in bed; he's shirtless and she is in a tank T-shirt. There are a couple of other quick kisses. A woman puts her finger in a man's mouth suggestively. Several women are seen in cleavage revealing evening gowns, and a woman is briefly seen in her bra. We read an employee's personnel file which includes details about her having been molested as a child by her father -- there are allusions to the same subject in a conversation later.

VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - A brutal scene depicting the beating of a man to death (we hear he dies after the beating) by baseball bat is shown several times, in varying detail: once "live" (including the destruction of computers and other office equipment) and the other times on video. A couple of thugs break some glass to get through a door, then break down another door and threaten several people with guns. There's a chase through a TV studio with stuff falling and breaking and people being knocked around. A man breaks through a glass pane and knocks a man off his feet. A man is kicked in the face and falls backward and down stairs. A man is shown during a life-threatening allergic reaction; he's seen on a stretcher with tubes in his nose and evidently gasping for air; an allergy test patch on his arm is also shown in close-up (swollen, blotchy, red marks). A man scratches his arm with a fork until it bleeds. We see a montage of the faces of young men and women with the words "programmer murdered" written in red across them. A bomb explodes in a closet blowing off the door. A man yells angrily in a couple of scenes; he also throws a book. A man drives recklessly and acts out of control with fear and rage. There are a few tense scenes where a character is nearly caught while trespassing. A couple is shown building a bomb on their kitchen table.

PROFANITY 5 - One F-word (uttered in a particularly boisterous manner), half a dozen scatological terms, a handful of anatomical references, several racial slurs (written and spoken), many insults, several religious vulgarities, and some milder obscenities. [profanity glossary]

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Competition, predatory business practices, monopolies, fascism, manipulation, murder, friendship, racism, hate crimes, trust, betrayal, and the real world vs. the virtual world of bytes and bits.

MESSAGE - Anything is possible and everybody has a price. Human knowledge belongs to the world.

Special Keywords: S2 - V5 - P5 - MPAAPG-13