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The Sum of All Fears | 2002 | PG-13 | - 2.5.5

Jack Ryan (Ben Affleck) is back saving the world from nuclear devastation, when rogue factions manage to get their hands on some plutonium and three Russian scientists who can build a bomb. After the bomb is detonated at the Super Bowl, can Ryan convince the Pentagon that Russia wasn't responsible before the U.S. retaliates with weapons of mass destruction? Also with Morgan Freeman, James Cromwell, Liev Schreiber, Alan Bates, Philip Baker Hall, Bruce McGill, Colm Feore, Ciarán Hinds and Bridget Moynahan. [2:07]

SEX/NUDITY 2 - A man and woman are shown in bed together; they kiss, he kisses her neck and chest and they roll around (he is bare-chested and she appears to be in a negligee). A man and woman kiss a few times. A man and woman embrace. Cheerleaders wear outfits that reveal bare abdomens, cleavage and bare thighs as they dance on the football field.

VIOLENCE/GORE 5 - A nuclear bomb explodes and the shock wave causes a great deal of damage: A helicopter is blown out of the sky (the pilot is killed and we see his bloody head and face, and a passenger is wounded); cars are blown off the road (we see several wounded people in the wreckage with blood on their faces); and windows shatter, blowing into buildings (we see people being blown back and glass shattering). Airplanes launch bombs at a carrier in the sea causing explosions and leaving many fires burning on deck. Bombs are dropped on military targets and we see the explosions on a screen. A man wraps a scarf around another man's neck and strangles him (we see the man struggling and hear him gagging), a man holds a knife to a man's neck (although we don't see it, we presume the man's throat is slit), a man is chased and shot several times by two men, and a man's car explodes into flames with him inside. We see a dead man with what appears to be a bullet hole and blood on his head and, as we scan the room we see many dead and bloody bodies and wild dogs tearing at the bodies. A man hangs dead with a chain wrapped around his neck. A man is attacked by a man who wraps a chain around his neck (he gags and struggles), they fall back on the ground and fight with punches and one is hit in the face a few times with a heavy metal object (both men have very bloody faces). A plane is shot out of the air and breaks into small pieces: we see the rubble and a bomb it was carrying on the ground. A man is threatened by two men with guns and they are then threatened by another man with a gun. A bomb is hoisted out of a hole and dropped on the ground (nothing happens). A man falls over dead (apparently after having some kind of medical attack), and another man seems similarly afflicted and falls to the floor moaning. We see bloody, burned bodies in a makeshift hospital, and then more wounded people inside a hospital and we watch a man die. We see a man sick from radiation poisoning (pale, frail and losing hair). People are fearful when the President is rushed out of a football stadium and shoved into his limo, which speeds away. There is a discussion about a massive artillery attack with chemical weapons on a country; apparently it wiped out 80 percent of its population. A man talks about people having died in the line of duty. There are scenes of tension and impending doom: people struggle over decisions about what steps to take in case of nuclear retaliation, and two men are given briefcases that contain the "buttons" that will launch nuclear weapons. A man drives a truck through burning rubble-covered streets, crashes and then runs through the streets. We see some tackling and ramming on a football field. Men argue bitterly in several scenes.

LANGUAGE 5 - 1 F-word, 12 scatological terms (one in subtitles), 2 sexual references, 2 anatomical terms, 11 mild obscenities (one in subtitles), 10 religious profanities, 9 religious exclamations.

SUBSTANCE USE - People smoke cigarettes and drink alcohol. During a speech given by the President of the U.S., he says, "I smoked marijuana."

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Nuclear war and weaponry, chemical warfare, communism, fascism, capitalism, tactics, strategy, terrorism, Nazis, Hitler, Aryans, the CIA, commitment, plutonium, the START Missile Treaty, stability, betrayal, Hiroshima, Nagasaki.

MESSAGE - Appearances can be deceiving.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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