The Rhythm Section | 2020 | R | – 6.6.7

Why is “The Rhythm Section” rated R? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, sexual content, language throughout, and some drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a passionate kissing scene and implied sex, sexual sounds in a brothel, a call girl visits a man for sex, and several cleavage revealing outfits as well as a nude female painting; many scenes of flashbacks and news reporting about a plane crash that killed all of its passengers, many scenes of gunfights, hand-to-hand fights and knife fights that end in death or injury with bloody wounds shown, a car chase, a car explosion with four left dead, and a bus explosion with two left dead; a scene of heroin use, and at least 28 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.”

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After the tragic death of her family in a terrorist airliner bombing, a woman (Blake Lively) is determined track down those responsible and exact revenge. To do that she meets a former spy (Jude law) who teaches her shooting, fighting and survival skills. Also with Daniel Mays. Directed by Reed Morano. [Running Time: 1:49]

The Rhythm Section SEX/NUDITY 6

 – A man and a woman kiss passionately while standing against a wall and it is implied that they have sex. A woman lies on top of a man and he pushes her head toward his crotch, she struggles and remains at his face (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details) and she holds a knife to his throat as he pleads with her not to kill him. We hear sexual moaning behind closed doors in a brothel.
► A painting of a nude woman is shown in the background of a scene (bare breasts, abdomen, pubic hair and full legs are visible). A woman enters a room where a man is waiting and she asks him for money upfront; he says that he just wants to talk (implying that this is a brothel); she is wearing a T-shirt and when she leans over we see her bare buttock from the side (please see the Violence/Gore category for more details). A woman tells a man, “You can’t have sex with men,” and he replies, “That’s a relief.” A man tells a woman to take off her clothes and swim across a lake; she does and we see her wearing bra and underwear that reveal cleavage, bare abdomen and legs to the hips. A woman wears a low-cut T-shirt that reveals cleavage. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage in a few scenes. A woman is shown wearing bra and underwear (we see cleavage, bare shoulders, abdomen, legs and partial buttocks/hips). A man wears an open robe that reveals his bare chest and when he removes the robe, we see his bare chest and abdomen. A woman removes her coat and we see her wearing a skimpy bra and underwear (cleavage, bare abdomen and legs to the hips are shown, as well as hip flesh through straps on the sides of the underwear).

The Rhythm Section VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A woman holds a gun on a man that turns and attacks her: they fight throwing each other to the floor, he gets her gun and shoots at her, he holds a syringe over her and we see blood on her face, he has difficulty breathing and gasps for air as he reaches for an oxygen mask, and she holds him and he dies (the woman remove shards of glass from her very bloody hand). A woman lies on top of a man (presumably for sex) and he pushes her head toward his crotch, she struggles and remains at his face and holds a knife to is throat as he pleads with her not to kill him; she cuts him and runs away and we see him still alive but with a lot of blood on a towel at his throat.
► A woman with a gun drawn sneaks into an apartment, shoots a man, then shoots another man as he shoots at her, and she chases a third man and woman onto a bus where she holds a gun to the man’s head, tells the bus passengers to get off and the other woman presses what appears to be a detonator to blow up the bomb vest the man is wearing (it does not blow up) as the woman with the gun shoots her and stabs the man in the leg; the woman with the gun runs off the bus leaving the other two onboard as the bus explodes in the street. A woman injects a man in the back with a syringe of poisonous snake venom and we see him twitch, sweat, gasp and die.
► A car speeds along a street and blows up; we hear later that two men and two young children died in the explosion. After realizing that her bag has been stolen a woman returns to an apartment to find it ransacked and the occupant dead on the floor with blood pooled under his head.
► A woman threatens a man on the sidewalk with a gun, hits him in the head with the gun, steals his car and speeds away chased by the man and another man; they speed through narrow winding roadways and crash into carts being pulled behind cars, one car slams into the bumper of the other car and the woman in the car is nearly pushed over a ledge; the woman speeds in front of an oncoming truck and the chase car is struck and left crumpled. A man wearing a bulletproof vest tells a woman to shoot him in the chest and she does (we see a hole blow in the fabric of the vest; the man is not harmed). A man grabs a woman’s head and pushes her toward a bowl of food on a table; she flips the table over and they fight with shoving, punches, head-butting, slamming into walls and tables and with a knife that is taken away and the fight ends with the woman kicking the man hard in the groin. A woman attaches a silencer to a pistol, enters an apartment and holds the gun to the back of the head of a man seated in a wheelchair (the scene ends). A woman with a gun under a table points it at a man across the table from her in a crowded cafeteria (she does not shoot). A woman holds a gun on a man in his home as she talks to him about the death of his son in a plane crash and that she wants him to pay her expenses so that she can find the people responsible and kill them. A man straps a bomb vest on a woman and instructs her about what to do. A man slams a woman against a wall and threatens to break her neck until she holds a knife to his leg/crotch and they separate uninjured.
► A woman drives on a dirt road and another car slams into her bumper a couple of times pushing her off the road and into a tree and the driver of the other car shoots at her breaking out the windows (she is not hurt); she then releases the emergency brake of the other car when it is parked causing it to roll off the road also.
► A woman walks alone along a dirt road to find an isolated house; she peers into the window and she is grabbed from behind by a man, she reaches for a gun in her pocket, the man takes it from her and pushes her into a building where he locks her inside. A woman enters a room where a man is waiting and she asks him for money upfront; he says that he just wants to talk, she leaves the room and a man (he’s a bouncer) enters the room, grabs the man and forces him to leave (we hear punches landing and later see the man with bruises on his face). A man grabs a woman by the coat lapels and admonishes her. A woman pounds on a locked door for a man to let her out (he does not).
► A man tells a woman that if she isn’t going to run, she can swim across a lake or quit; the woman strips to her underwear and slowly walks into frigid water and swims a long distance across a lake. A man grabs a woman and tells her to jog with him, she tries and she leans over in pain almost immediately. A woman takes target practice and shoots a handgun several times. A husband and his wife argue. A man tells a woman to dress like a call girl, spray a gas into a man’s face to incapacitate him and cut his throat from ear to ear. Many protestors chant and carry placards in a street.
► An extended sequence shows a teary-eyed woman remembering loving moments with her family (parents and siblings) before their death. A woman sees many photos of people, including her family members, and newspaper clippings about the crash of an airliner that killed all on board; she then collapses. A woman becomes nervous when a plane hits turbulence and she shudders. A woman buys a gun from a man.
► A man talks about another man having been killed by a drone strike. A man and a woman discuss the identity of a bomb maker. A man describes the massive blood loss caused by a hollow point bullet. A woman says that she is asthmatic and needs an inhaler.
► A heartbeat accompanies the opening credits. We see a woman covered with bruises on her arms, back and chest; they resemble handprints and it is implied that she has been beaten during sexual encounters in a brothel. A woman vomits in a toilet after running (we see goo). A woman thrashes and frantically scratches her skin presumably going through heroin withdrawal. A woman inhales heroin smoke and collapses on the floor.

The Rhythm Section LANGUAGE 7

 – About 28 F-words and its derivatives, 4 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, name-calling (prostitute, radical Islamic cleric, fraud, thief, coward), exclamations (shut-up), profanities, 1 religious exclamation (Oh God). | profanity glossary |

The Rhythm Section SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman looks at heroin in a piece of foil and walks away and then later returns to use it, a woman buys drugs from a man in what looks like a pawn shop, a woman says that she is not an addict but we see her seemingly going through withdrawal, and a woman injects a man in the back with a syringe of poisonous snake venom. People drink wine and beer at a family dinner, a man drinks a beer in his apartment, a woman drinks vodka, a man drinks a glass of wine, and people drink in a bar scene. A woman asks a man for a cigarette and he does not have one, and a woman smokes a cigarette in a man’s apartment even after he tells her not to.

The Rhythm Section DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Terrorist bombings, radical groups, revenge, death of family and loved ones, happiness, regrets, MI6, CIA, trust, commitment, survival.

The Rhythm Section MESSAGE

 – Revenge is always a deadly game.