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Reel World Reality A ministry of the ChildCare Action Project: Christian Analysis of American Culture (CAP Ministry) A 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Christian Ministry. www.capalert.com/ Entertainment Media Analysis Report A service to His little ones through you in His name by His Word MAR2011.130  (2011), PG-13 [Hard R-13*] (2hr 3.75min) The #1 Christian entertainment media analysis service on the Internet. We give you OBJECTIVE tools NO ONE ELSE CAN to help YOU make an informed decision for yourself whether a film is fit for your family. Over 1300 analyses for parents, grandparents, pastors, youth leaders and more. |
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(While the Scriptural references are certainly not subjective, my commentary may be and sometimes is somewhat subjective.)
 Cast/Crew Details Courtesy Internet Movie Database Production (US): Universal Pictures, Original Film, One Race Productions Distribution (US): Universal Studios Home Entertainment Director(s): Justin Lin Producer(s): Vin Diesel, Michael Fottrell, Thomas Hayslip, Amanda Lewis, Justin Lin, Neal H. Moritz, Fernando Serzedelo, Leeann Stonebreaker, Samantha Vincent Written by: Chris Morgan Characters: Gary Scott Thompson Cinematography/Camera: Stephen F. Windon Music: Brian Tyler Film Editing: Kelly Matsumoto, Fred Raskin, Christian Wagner Casting: Debra Zane Production Design: Peter Wenham Art Direction: Beat Frutiger, Andrew Neskoromny, Thomas Valentine Viewed on Universal Studios Home Entertainment DVD  After the movie was over (it is too long) and I shuffled all the note logs I found there were six pages of notes. I thought to myself "What's the use? It's going to be another R-13. Why bother with all the calculations?" But my consistency won and I decided to go ahead and do the work. Well!? If I am going to go to the trouble to sit through over two hours of crash-crash, shoot-em-up I may as well take the time to finish the report on what I found. From the looks of the content of this PG-13 film "R" has gone bye-bye and has been replaced with PG-13. Five of the six CAP content investigation areas (W, I, S, D, O) each found content equivalent to R-rated films. The other content investigation (M) areas found content to be PG-13 equivalent and it is just three points out of 12 above the top of the scoring range earned by R-rated films. So, this PG-13 film is 83% R and 17% close to R The listing in the Findings/Scoring section took too much time. I will not take the time to go through a summary commentary as I usually do beyond telling you the story is about robbery by criminals who are glorified in their robbery since they steal from a criminal. In my subjective opinion, the best thing about this movie was the color of the DVD case background. And this is the first time I can remember seeing Vin Diesel and The Rock (Swayne Johnson) facing off. Following are brief discussions of the content per individual content investigation area. As always the Findings section of this report is the best source for discovering the full accounting of the content of this film. Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 Violence and criminal activity are thick. Gunfire to kill. Gunfire killing. Torture confinement. Action violence sequences several minutes long and quite intense. There are simply too many examples of assault on morality and ethics in the film to even summarize here. Please look to the listing in the Findings section for a complete accounting of the violence/crime content. For those who have seen this film and those who will, I feel led to repeat God's warning and man's warning about violence in and as entertainment. God warns us in Proverb 16:29 that violence is "catching", that it can lead one "into the way that is not good." Man warns us that viewing violence in and as entertainment can, among other things, lead the viewer, especially the young, into real life violence and can lead one to believe that violence is an acceptable way to settle conflict. Now that God and man are in agreement, don't you think it would be a good idea to listen. Impudence/Hate (I) - Zero out of 100 Fifty four times someone utters some form of profanity. These are in addition to a number of uses of the most foul of the foul words. [Col.3:8, Eph. 5:4] Massive tattoos are present on a number of characters. I wonder whether filmmakers know what they are communicating with their plastering of tattoos on story characters. Quick! Think of the type of individual a film performer portrays who displays massive tattoos. It is typically the portrayal of a criminal or a jail or prison inmate, right? [Lev. 19:28] Having served as a jailhouse medic I can attest to Hollywood's stereotyping. Sexual Immorality (S) - 16 out of 100 For the most part, women in this film are objects of visual display, toys or ornaments, wearing little from the waist down. Women in street gatherings and beaches are best known not for their faces but for their posteriors for we see more of their posteriors than we see of their faces. Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 19 out of 100 1) Booze and drinking are relatively frequent. 2) This film is PG-13 (meaning young teens and older adolescents). One plus two is not a good mix. The American College of Physicians (ACP) found in 2002 that adolescent exposure to drinking in and as entertainment undeniably leads to abuse of alcohol among underage viewers. The finding entitled Relation Between Parental Restrictions on Movies and Adolescent Use of Tobacco and Alcohol reports that of 4544 youths from grades 5 through 8 of fifteen Vermont and New Hampshire middle schools (90% of the youths were under fourteen years old) only 16% were completely restricted in their entertainment diets. Within the ACP study population, the prevalence of having tried alcohol without parental knowledge was There is nothing to say that viewing smoking in and as entertainment does not carry the same danger of influence as viewing drinking. Actually, the same matter of behavior influence applies to any behavior demonstrated in and as entertainment, including good behavior. Offense to God (O) - 22 out of 100 Six times someone abuses God's name with the four letter expletive and six times without. God is not slack on the consequences of using His name in vain. [Deut. 5:11] It would seem that the filmmakers are trying to tell us with this film that crime does pay. Each of the key players are $11,000,000 richer for their work. It doesn't seem to matter that God is not sanguine about ill-gotten gain. [Hab. 2:9] Murder/Suicide (M) - 57 out of 100 There are portrayals of at least seven murders. Note that the vast number of defensive killings or deaths by police action portrayed in this film are not applicable to this content investigation area. They are incorporated into the Wanton Violence/Crime (W) content investigation area. SCRIPTURAL APPLICATION(S) If needed to focus or fortify, applicable text is underlined or bracketed [ ] or bold. If you wish to have full context available, the Blue Letter Bible is a convenient source. If you use the Blue Letter Bible, a new window will open. Close it to return here or use "Window" in your browser's menu bar to alternate between the CAP page and the Blue Letter Bible page. CHAPTER/VERSE --> Children who see a lot of violence are more likely to view violence as an effective way of settling conflicts. Children exposed to violence are more likely to assume the acts of violence are acceptable behavior. --> Viewing violence can lead to emotional desensitization towards violence in real life. It can decease the likelihood that one will take action on behalf of a victim when violence occurs. --> Entertainment violence feeds a perception that the world is a violent and mean place. Viewing violence increases fear of becoming a victim of violence, with a resultant increase in self-protective behavior and a mistrust of others. --> Viewing violence may lead to real life violence. Children exposed to violent programming at a young age have a higher tendency for violent and aggressive behavior later in life than children who are not so exposed. Further, God speaks darkly of violence 56 times in the Old and New Testament of the KJV.] As always, it is best to refer to the Findings/Scoring section -- the heart of the CAP analysis model -- for the most complete assessment possible of this movie. |
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(The objective heart of the CAP Analysis Model, independent of and insulated from the Summary / Commentary section.)  Wanton Violence/Crime (W) - Zero out of 100 Impudence/Hate (I) - Zero out of 100 Sexual Immorality (S) - 16 out of 100 Drugs/Alcohol (D) - 19 out of 100 Offense to God (O) - 22 out of 100 Murder/Suicide (M) - 57 out of 100 |
| There are some in the entertainment industry who maintain that 1) violent programming is harmless because no studies exist that prove a connection between violent entertainment and aggressive behavior in children, and 2) young people know that television, movies, and video games are simply fantasy. Unfortunately, they are wrong on both accounts." And "Viewing violence may lead to real life violence." I applaud these associations for fortifying 1 Cor. 15:33. Read the rest of the story. From our years of study, I contend that other aberrant behaviors, attitudes, and expressions can be inserted in place of "violence" in that statement. Our Director - Child Psychology Support, a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist concurs. For example, "Viewing arrogance against fair authority may lead to your kids defying you in real life." Or "Viewing sex may lead to sex in real life." Likewise and especially with impudence, hate and foul language. I further contend that any positive behavior can be inserted in place of "violence" with the same chance or likelihood of being a behavior template for the observer; of being incorporated into the behavior mechanics and/or coping skills of the observer. In choosing your entertainment, please consider carefully the "rest of the story" and our findings. |
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| For G rated Films with G equivalence: G PG equivalence: PG-G PG-13 equivalence: 13-G R equivalence: R-G< | For PG rated Films with G equivalence: G-PG PG equivalence: PG PG-13 equivalence: 13-PG R equivalence: R-PG | For PG-13 rated Films with G equivalence: G-13 PG equivalence: PG(13) PG-13 equivalence: PG-13 R equivalence: R-13 | For R rated Films with G equivalence: G-R PG equivalence: PG-R PG-13 equivalence: 13-R R equivalence: R | For NR rated Films with G equivalence: G-NR PG equivalence: PG-NR PG-13 equivalence: 13-NR R equivalence: R-NR |