The Gray Man | 2022 | PG-13 | – 1.7.4

Why is “The Gray Man” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “intense sequences of strong violence, and strong language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes many scenes of gunfights and fistfights leading to death and injuries with some blood, covert operations, kidnapping, two scenes of torture, some arguments and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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When a super-duper assassin (Ryan Gosling) working for an ultra-secretive CIA program discovers that his bosses are corrupt, he launches his own campaign to destroy them. Joined by a similarly disillusioned agent (Ana de Armas) and chased by a ruthless operative (Chris Evans), he also has to save the kidnapped niece of his mentor (Billy Bob Thornton). Also with Jessica Henwick, Dhanush, Alfre Woodard and Regé-Jean Page. Directed by Anthony & Joe Russo. [Running Time: 2:02]

The Gray Man SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A man makes a remark about a woman’s appearance when they meet in a professional situation and she says that would be considered harassment; when he touches her arm and sits very close to her, she tells him to remove himself from her personal space. A man tells a woman talking to him dismissively, to remove herself from his personal space.
► Women wear low-cut tops and dresses that reveal cleavage in a couple of dance club scenes. A man lifts his shirt and we see part of his abdomen (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).

The Gray Man VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – A man stabs several men in a crowded club, he fights with others, a woman shoots a few men and fights with others, and one man jumps through a window shattering it and landing on a rooftop where the first man jumps as well; they fight among exploding fireworks, one man’s face is burned by an exploding firework, and one man is stabbed with a box cutter (we see a bloody wound on his chest, blood on the attacker’s hands and weapon, and the man’s charred flesh on his face and he dies). A man with a knife approaches a sleeping man on a transport plane; the sleeping man sprays the attacker with a fire extinguisher, they fight and several others join in using knives and guns and throws; one man sets off a flare and fills the plane with smoke, a hole is blown in the plane’s fuselage and a man is thrown through the opening (without a chute), another man falls through the opening and hits an engine causing it to explode, the plane loses altitude and men continue to fight inside until the plane breaks in half and two men fight and fall using one parachute (the plane explodes in the background, one man using the parachute survives and the other dangles from the chute caught on a rock cliff). A man and a woman fight another man in an operating room with kicks, punches and throws; one man is stabbed in the side with a pair of surgical scissors, one man is zapped with paddles and a man jumps out of a window and down a roof where he is confronted by police and held at gunpoint; he takes a gun from one officer and speeds away on a motorcycle. Several armed men on a street shoot into an apartment where three people hide; one woman gets out, a man climbs through a floor hatch and another woman remains and sets off an explosive that blows up the building with several gunmen inside.
► A man shoots another man three times in the chest and we see blood on his shirt. A man stabs another man through the hand and we see the blade through his hand; the man pulls the blade out and yells. Two guards are shot in the back and fall to the ground without blood shown. A man shoots a dead body on a floor and kicks another dead body in anger. A man’s fingers are shot off and he is struck in the back by a flare (we see missing digits and blood and a bloody patch on his back). Two men fight with shoves and kicks, one man yells from pain from previous wounds, one man holds the other man underwater in a fountain, one man is slammed into a stone vase and we see a cut on his face, one man is stabbed in the leg and in the back twice and he slumps from the blood loss, one man is held in a head lock, and one man is shot in the chest (we see blood) and the other man is shot in the leg (we see one man with bloody wounds floating dead in the fountain).
► Many armed police handcuff a man to a bench while many gunmen shoot up the area; people run screaming for cover and there are many explosions from RPGs and a lot of rapid gunfire with gunmen and police falling dead. A man runs away from people shooting at him in a crowded town square, he boards a tram and he fights several gunmen and others that are outside the tram shoot at him from a car; the driver of the car is shot and the car crashes into another car and flips over, the man climbs on the roof of the tram and jumps off and lands on the hood of a car. A man is chased by police and he is struck by a car and lands hard on the ground where he is handcuffed (he has blood on his head). A helicopter is shot out of the sky and crashes into water. An RPG is shot into a mission control room and it explodes. A man and a pre-teen girl are shot at as they run away and the man is struck in the chest (we see blood). A man releases a grenade and it blows up throwing a few men that are threatening him. A man and a woman fight and each of them are wrapped around the neck with a cable; they struggle not to be choked and the man cuts the cord and eventually gets away. A pre-teen girl plays music loud and holds her ears as we hear gunfire and fighting in a hallway outside her room.
► A man shoots a pilot in the leg when he refuses to land. A man shoots through a wall and hits someone on the other side (we hear a thud). A man with a gun enters a house and another man gets the gun and the men fight with punches, kicks and throws until one man is slammed into a rock wall and collapses. A man falls through a trap door and lands hard on a stone floor where he coughs and spits blood; he tries to shoot out the trap door but the glass is bulletproof.
► A man is tied into a chair and questioned; another man twists his ears and the man moans, and the torturer then uses pliers to pull out two of his fingernails (the tortured man laughs and we see the bloody nails on a table). A man is tortured by being zapped with electricity through battery cable clamps attached to his face; the man screams when he is zapped. We see videos of violent activity including explosions, gunfire, etc. while people talk about things that have been done by a nefarious group. A flashback shows a man holding his young son’s head in a water-filled tub as the boy struggles and the man threatens, “I will end you.” Two men fight and one pulls a pin on a hand grenade that blows up and the men jump away unharmed. A flashback shows a young boy with a fresh cigarette burn on his arm and his father tells him to cover it up so his mother wouldn’t see it. A pre-teen girl is held around the neck by a man, he drags her, holds a flare gun next to her head and fires it (we see a char mark on her cheek), and she screams. A pre-teen girl is picked up and carried out of a room a couple of times by men holding her against her will. A man loads a large weapon and prepares to shoot a human target; he stops when a child gets in the way. A man kicks another man in the nose (we see blood on his face). A man fills a well where he is trapped with water and plants an explosive at the opening that he detonates, blowing up several other men and allowing him to get out. A young girl collapses on the floor and is rushed to the hospital where we are told there was a problem with her heart pacemaker but it was repaired. A woman shoots two men with tranquilizer darts; she puts one man in the trunk of a car and leaves the other unconscious. A man lifts his shirt to expose a bloody wound on his abdomen and he bandages it.
► A man is shown handcuffed in a prison interrogation room where he is recruited to become an assassin for a government agency. A man orders another man’s killing. A man threatens to cut another man’s head off. A man yells at people in several scenes. A man is accused of not having any impulse control. A few corrupt people talk about having gone to Harvard together. Many people are shown in a hospital emergency room after an encounter with many people shooting at each other. A man and a woman argue about a gun being empty. A woman yells at and threatens a man.
► A woman smokes cigarettes in a few scenes and we see her using oxygen later and she seems ill; she says she has a few months to live. We hear that a child was born with a heart defect and she uses a pacemaker. We see a scar on a man’s arm.

The Gray Man LANGUAGE 4

 – At least 1 not fully enunciated F-word derivative, 13 scatological terms, 11 anatomical terms, 11 mild obscenities, name-calling (glib, very bad dude, toxic personality, absurd, troglodytes, sideways, knuckle-dragger, ugly chick, cupcake, sitting duck, Ken doll, meatball, boring, pessimist, brat, scapegoat, child, fussy, the old man, bunch of idiots, heathen, hermit), exclamations (shut-up), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. Jesus, oh my God, Jesus Christ, for Christ’s sake). | profanity glossary |

The Gray Man SUBSTANCE USE

 – People are shown drinking cocktails in a club. A woman smokes cigarettes in a few scenes (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).

The Gray Man DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – CIA covert operatives, torture, sociopathy, child abuse, ethics, harassment, honor, failure, shadow governments, reputation, weakness, impulse control.

The Gray Man MESSAGE

 – Harvard University produces privileged sociopaths, while even some assassins can have a conscience.