Unlike the MPAA we do not assign
one
inscrutable rating based on age, but 3 objective ratings for SEX/NUDITY, VIOLENCE/GORE
and PROFANITY on a scale of 0 to 10, from lowest to highest,
depending on quantity and context.
A recently retired military attorney (Tommy Lee Jones)
represents a colleague and friend (Samuel L. Jackson) who's charged for murder after
ordering his men to open fire on a group of protesters. Also with Ben Kingsley, Blair
Underwood, Anne Archer, Amidou, Conrad Bachmann, Gordon Clapp, Dale
Dye, Bruce Greenwood,
Philip Baker Hall, Nicky Katt, Jihane Kortobi, Roma Maffia, Richard McGonagle, Joshua
Nottage and Guy Pearce. [2:07]
SEX/NUDITY 3 - We see a woman breastfeeding a child (part of her breast is
visible) and a nude corpse with a garment wrapped around its waist.
VIOLENCE/GORE 9 - An extended scene in which 83 civilians and a few soldiers
are shot and killed. We see many close-ups of bloody arms and legs and dead bodies,
including a number of disfigured and dismembered bodies (many are women and children)
covered in blood. Throughout the film we see several flashbacks, slides and photographs of
this massacre (some of them close-ups of the carnage). There's also an extended, graphic
combat scene (and flashbacks of the scene) with lots of bombs, grenades and gunfire. A man
is shot point-blank in the forehead (we see a close-up of the gun against his head, hear
the shot and see the man fall down, but no blood). A man is shot in the chest (blood
gushes out). A man is shot and spits up blood. Blood spews out of another's mouth after he
is shot. We also see a soldier's face completely covered in blood when he's shot. We see
many dead soldiers lying in creeks and on the ground, many of them have blood either on
their clothes or on their skin; some are dismembered. We see protesters throwing rocks and
torches and shooting guns at an occupied embassy. A car is torched. We see some dried,
dark purple blood covering some corpses. We see a couple bloody heads wrapped in bandages.
We repeatedly see a girl with an amputated leg. There's a hospital scene in which we see
many injured, bloody civilians. A man contemplates suicide. We see a fistfight between two
men. A man vomits.
the review continues below...
PROFANITY 8 - About 25 F-words, some scatological references, lots of mild
obscenities and several insults. [profanity glossary]
DISCUSSION TOPICS - Vietnam War, military, justice, friendship, lying, perjury,
suicide, terrorism, international affairs, the courtroom
MESSAGE - Stand up for what you believe in because honor and honesty can win
over deception and lies -- even in our legal system.
A CAVEAT: We've gone through several editorial changes since we
started covering films in 1992 and some of our early standards were
not as stringent as they are now. We therefore need to revisit many
older reviews, especially those written prior to 1998 or so; please
keep this in mind if you're consulting a review from that period.
While we plan to revisit and correct older reviews our resources are
limited and it is a slow, time-consuming process.
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