Why is “The Amateur” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “some strong violence, and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few kissing scenes, a couple of nightclub scenes with people dancing in crowds, a terrorist attack that leads to hostages being shot and killed, a couple of people dying in explosions, a person falling to his death from a rooftop swimming pool, a person being struck and killed by a car, several arguments, and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

A CIA tech specialist (Rami Malek) undertakes a mission to find and kill the people that murdered his wife (Rachel Brosnahan) when his superiors will not take the attack seriously. Also with Jon Bernthal, Evan Milton, Nick Mills, Tiffany Gray, Adrian Martinez, Holt McCallany and Julianne Nicholson. Directed by James Hawes. [Running Time: 2:03]

The Amateur SEX/NUDITY 2

 – A husband and his wife kiss and embrace as she prepares to leave for a trip. A man imagines his wife being in the room with him in a few scenes; she folds down the covers of a bed in one scene and kisses him on the neck in another. A man touches a woman’s face tenderly and kisses her forehead.
► A wife asks her husband on the phone, “What are you wearing?”
► People dance in a club and we see women wearing low-cut tops that reveal cleavage, bare shoulders and backs. A woman sits on a bed next to a man and asks if she can sleep next to him; they lie in bed together, sleeping (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details).
► A man changes clothes and we see his bare chest, abdomen, side and back. A man showers and we see his bare shoulders and partial back. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage and a short skirt that reveals her bare thighs. A man wears swim trunks that reveal his bare shoulders, chest, abdomen, back and legs. A woman wears a low-cut dress that reveals cleavage.

The Amateur VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – Two men fight with punches, kicks and throws, slamming each other against tables and walls; one man draws a knife and stabs the other in the chest and one man uses a taser to zap the other a couple of times, one man is slammed into a large dryer door and both men shoot each other (we see blood splatter). A man and a woman are awakened by armed people outside, they run through passages and speed away in a car while being shot at and the driver is shot (we see a bloody chest wound).
► A man swims in a rooftop swimming pool and tries to get out when the glass supporting the pool shatters and he washes out and to the ground far below. A man opens a trunk and sees that it is rigged with explosives; he is told that if he closes the trunk or tries to leave, they will detonate; another man walks away and we see and hear a large explosion, implying that the first man was killed.
► A man locks a woman into an allergy therapy containment area and pumps pollen through the tube that feeds into the area; the woman gags and gasps for air, the man tells her to give him information, the woman pounds on the door and pleads to be let out, he opens the door and they fight with punches and kicks and throws exchanged; she then runs out of the room and into the street where she is struck by a van and thrown to the ground (we see her motionless with blood on her face and head).
► A man is struck hard in the back of the head and taken away in a boat to meet another man in a ship; the ship’s engines roar and it changes course causing Navy vessels to surround it and the people on board are detained. Several TV reports are shown covering a hostage situation where people are taken at gunpoint, we see CCTV footage of a woman being forced to her knees, and we understand that she was shot and killed. We see scenes of people taking hostages in a crowded building and meeting room; gunshots are heard and people scream and scatter.
► We hear about drone attacks that killed 150 people. A woman describes her husband having worked for the KGB and that he “accidentally” fell out a window and died. A man slaps another man twice in the face and tells him to point a gun to his chest. A man gives another man a gun and tells him to shoot him (the man does not shoot). A man takes target practice in a shooting range and misses the target; he shoots several more times getting closer and closer to the target before finally hitting it. A man builds an explosive device.
► A man watches and follows a woman; he breaks into her apartment, searches, takes a gun from a drawer and hides in a stairwell watching her and aiming the gun at her when she returns (he does not shoot). A man watches another man and follows him; he chases him through streets and the other man hides in a public restroom, comes out and approaches the first man before an explosive blows up behind them causing people to panic and run out of the building, allowing the man to get away.
► A man waits at an airport for his wife’s body to arrive (we see a box being offloaded from a plane) and he signs a document as next of kin. A man grieves and cries when he opens his wife’s suitcase and finds a gift intended for him. A man in a psychiatric evaluation is told to describe his feelings after the murder of his wife.
► People are shown while they are being arrested and taken into custody. Security scanners and checkpoints are shown in several scenes. There are references to top-secret attacks, drone strikes and suicide bombers. A small plane missing a wing and with a rumpled fuselage is shown as a woman describes it not having been tied down and that it was blown around in a windstorm.
► A man opens his car door and vomits on the ground (we see him spit goo). A man raises his arms for a weapons search and people remark about the perspiration stains under his arms.

The Amateur LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 1 F-word derivative, 12 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 7 mild obscenities, name-calling (annoying, ghost, useless, insane, idiot, stupid, crazy, John Does, reckless, dude, too vague, slight little nerdy fella), exclamations (I swear, bang bang), 1 religious profanity (GD), 4 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, God Almighty, Jesus Mary and Joseph). | profanity glossary |

The Amateur SUBSTANCE USE

 – A man goes to a club with loud music and flashing lights and drinks several shots of liquor (he appears inebriated), a man sits in a bar with a beer in his hand, a man and a woman drink glasses of wine, and two men drink from bottles of beer.

The Amateur DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – CIA, terrorist attacks, murder, cover-ups, clandestine operations, anonymity, revenge, bravery, guilt, Sadam Hussein, disappointment, Islamabad, politics, responsibility, ethics, treason, murder of a loved one.

The Amateur MESSAGE

 – Mild-mannered people can use their own means to exact revenge.