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"GET CARTER"
(2000) (Sylvester Stallone, Rachael Leigh Cook) (R)

Alcohol/
Drugs
Blood/Gore Disrespectful/
Bad Attitude
Frightening/
Tense Scenes
Guns/
Weapons
Heavy Moderate Extreme Mild Extreme
Imitative
Behavior
Jump
Scenes
Music
(Scary/Tense)
Music
(Inappropriate)
Profanity
Mild None Moderate None Extreme
Sex/
Nudity
Smoking Tense Family
Scenes
Topics To
Talk About
Violence
Heavy Moderate Mild Moderate Extreme


QUICK TAKE:
Drama/Action-Adventure: When a sullen, Vegas debt collector discovers that his brother has been murdered, he sets out to find the killer and deliver his own form of justice and revenge.
PLOT:
Jack Carter (SYLVESTER STALLONE) is a sullen, but well-dressed Vegas debt collector who's known for his physical means of getting the job done. When he learns that his brother, Ritchie, was killed in a drunk driving accident, Jack returns home to Seattle where he tries to make amends with his brother's wife, Gloria (MIRANDA RICHARDSON), and her teenage daughter, Doreen (RACHAEL LEIGH COOK), while questioning everyone about his brother's death.

Eventually realizing that his brother was probably murdered, Jack starts snooping around, while his partner back in Vegas (JOHN C. McGINLEY) covers for him. His first stop is with Cliff Brumby (MICHAEL CAINE), the owner of the club that Ritchie managed. Brumby doesn't believe Jack's allegations of murder, but does tell him that Ritchie was having an affair with Geraldine (RHONA MITRA), a local barfly and associate of mobster and part-time porn producer, Cyrus Paice (MICKEY ROURKE).

Jack and Cyrus know each other from way back, and while he can't get anything from him, Paice unknowingly leads Jack to Jeremy Kinnear (ALAN CUMMING), a computer multimillionaire who uses Paice's services for female accompaniment, as well as Eddie (JOHNNY STRONG), one of the club's unsavory employees. Although he can't get any straight answers from any of the suspects, Jack continues to pursue the truth, carefully examining the surveillance tapes from Brumby's club, looking for anything that might offer any sort of clue.

As he continues his quest to find and punish those responsible for killing his brother, and tries to deal with his strained relationship with his brother's family as well as with Audrey (GRETCHEN MOL), his lover back in Vegas who wants to break up with him since she is his boss' girlfriend or wife, Jack begins to realize that maybe this isn't the life for him.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?
Those who are fans of anyone in the cast or of gritty, action/thrillers just might, although the film seems likely to be most attractive to teen males.
WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: R
For violence, language, some sexuality and drug content.
CAST AS ROLE MODELS:
Except perhaps for MIRANDA RICHARDSON as the protagonist's sister-in-law and RACHAEL LEIGH COOK as her daughter (who smokes and has a pierced nostril), it's highly unlikely that many, if any, parents would consider any of the other major characters as good role models for their kids (due to the violence, profanity and overall generally slimy characteristics they possess).
CAST, CREW, & TECHNICAL INFO

HOW OTHERS RATED THIS MOVIE


Curious if this title is entertaining, any good, and/or has any artistic merit?
Then read OUR TAKE of this film.


(Note: The "Our Take" review of this title examines the film's artistic merits and does not take into account any of the possibly objectionable material listed below).


OUR WORD TO PARENTS:
The following is a brief summary of the content contained within this R-rated drama/action-adventure film. Violence is listed as extreme due to people being punched, beaten and pummeled (with bloody results), as well as shot and killed (or simply being shot at), with another apparently being tossed to his death from a balcony (we see his body on a smashed-in car), a woman being killed via a drug overdose and a man being killed before the story begins (although we see various flashbacks to him being beaten).

Such scenes may be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers (but they're executed in such a flat fashion that little suspense is inherently present), while the actions of most of the characters (including the protagonist we're supposed to root for) exhibit extreme cases of bad attitudes. One such instance involves characters using a date rape like drug on women and then videotaping a man raping them (we only see non-explicit images of this although it's otherwise heavily suggested, while some women are seen kissing and a three-way encounter is somewhat implied).

Another character is involved in the porn industry and we briefly see extremely quick shots of his product (too fast to tell if anything explicit was shown) as well as hear some related female-based sexual sounds. Some brief sexually related talk is present, while profanity is rated as extreme due to more than 30 "f" words being used (along with other expletives and colorful phrases).

A few characters are briefly seen snorting cocaine, while others drink and smoke. Some tense family moments are present with a mother and apparent teenage daughter grieving somewhat over their husband/father's death. Should you still be concerned about the film's appropriateness for anyone in your home who wishes to see it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed content listings for more specific examples of what occurs in the film.

For those concerned with the repetitive flashing of bright lights on the screen, some of that occurs late in the film in a scene set at a party/dance.


ALCOHOL OR DRUG USE
  • We hear reports that Ritchie died while driving drunk, but we later learn that wasn't the case.
  • Jack and Gloria have beer.
  • Miscellaneous people drink.
  • Miscellaneous people drink in a club.
  • More people drink in a club.
  • We see a brief, flashback image of someone pouring liquor on Ritchie's face (to make his later accident look like it was drunk driving).
  • We see video footage of a man and woman who use some sort of date rape drug on women (we see the victim drinking champagne that's evidently been drugged).
  • Jack finds a woman who's been killed or overdosed (and sees a needle sticking out of her arm indicating she was given or took a lethal injection of drugs).
  • We briefly see people snorting cocaine (in the background) and drinking at one of Jeremy's parties.
  • Jack pours liquor on a man's face (in the same way that occurred with his brother).
  • BLOOD/GORE
  • A man that Carter has been punching has some blood on his lip.
  • We see Gloria with blood on the side of her face after an assailant apparently struck her.
  • Jack has some dark bruises on his face.
  • From a bit of a distance we see some blood next to a man's head on a smashed-in car (where the man landed after being thrown from a balcony).
  • A man has some slightly bloody scrapes and cuts on his face after an encounter with Jack.
  • Jack's face is rather bloody after being repeatedly punched.
  • We see more brief, flashback images of Ritchie being beaten and having a bloody face.
  • Another man's face is somewhat bloody after Jack pummels him (Jack's hands are also bloody).
  • DISRESPECTFUL/BAD ATTITUDE
  • Jack is some sort of hit man/enforcer who works for what are presumably some criminal types in Vegas. He roughs up various people and kills several others for revenge.
  • We learn that Ritchie was cheating on Gloria with Geraldine.
  • Jack bribes a security guard at the gate to a private country club.
  • Cyrus is some sort of thug who's also heavily into the porn business and is involved in Ritchie's murder.
  • We learn that Jack has been seeing Audrey, his boss' wife or girlfriend.
  • A man steals a car to get away from Jack and ends up crashing it.
  • Jeremy is a corrupt computer millionaire who uses Cyrus' services to sleep with women and is somehow involved in Ritchie's murder, as is the case with Brumby.
  • Jack's boss verbally threatens to kill Audrey (his wife/girlfriend) while talking to Jack on the phone.
  • We learn and partially see that a man and woman drug unsuspecting women so that the man can rape them and capture it all on video.
  • FRIGHTENING SCENES
  • Scenes listed under "Violence" might also be unsettling or suspenseful to some viewers.
  • GUNS/WEAPONS
  • Handguns: Used to threaten or kill people. See "Violence" for details.
  • IMITATIVE BEHAVIOR
  • Phrases: "Who the f*ck are you?" "For f*ck's sakes," "Who do you think you're f*cking with?" "F*ck you," "Give a sh*t," "Oh sh*t," "Bullsh*t," "Frickin'," "Just rip me a new *sshole," "Screwed" (nonsexual), "What the bloody hell?" "Piss," "Shut up," "That sucks," "What the hell are you talking about?" "Sorry ass," "You're going to end up like a one-legged man in an ass kicking contest," "Nuts" (crazy), "You are so freaky," "Broad" (woman) and "Breaking my balls."
  • Doreen has a pierced nostril with a stud in it.
  • Jack has various large tattoos on his arms.
  • Jack tries to terrorize Jeremy by driving down the road at night without any lights.
  • JUMP SCENES
  • None.
  • MUSIC (SCARY/TENSE)
  • A moderate amount of action-oriented and some suspenseful music plays during the film.
  • MUSIC (INAPPROPRIATE)
  • None.
  • PROFANITY
  • At least 33 "f" words, 14 "s" words, 2 slang terms using male genitals ("c*cks*cker"), 14 asses (4 used with "hole"), 6 hells, 6 uses of "G-damn," 2 each of "Christ" and "Oh God" and 1 use each of "For God's sakes," "Jesus," "Oh Christ" and "Swear to Christ" as exclamations.
  • SEX/NUDITY
  • Cyrus informs Jack that he's now in the porn business and we see some very brief images flashing by on a screen (too fast to see anything explicit if anything was there) as well as hear some female sexual sounds.
  • We learn that Jeremy uses Cyrus for arranging sex for him with various women (we don't see anything, although we do see a woman leave his place one morning).
  • We see Audrey lying down wearing a partially open robe that prominently displays one of her bra-covered breasts.
  • Geraldine shows some cleavage.
  • Jack's boss asks him (over the phone) whether he's "doing my woman" (having sex with Audrey).
  • Jack watches a video that shows a man and woman who drug other women so that the man can rape the woman, all while they videotape the whole thing. During this, we see two women kissing as well as one woman in her bra and panties. A few other brief images and related sounds flash by (including that of what looks like a threesome). Although we don't see any actual sex/rape, it's heavily suggested in one such scene on video.
  • SMOKING
  • Carter smokes more than five times (including an early montage scene showing him smoking many times, although midway through the film he states that he's quit and we don't see him smoke again). Meanwhile Doreen smokes around five times, while Cyrus and various other supporting/miscellaneous characters also smoke.
  • TENSE FAMILY SCENES
  • Gloria and Doreen grieve some over Ritchie's death (Doreen doing more of it) and we see both the ending of the funeral and the wake afterwards.
  • TOPICS TO TALK ABOUT
  • Revenge.
  • Why Jack was so suddenly interested in his family that he hadn't seen or seemingly cared about for years.
  • Date rape drugs.
  • Why the original English-version film was remade into this one less than thirty years after it was initially released.
  • VIOLENCE
  • Carter punches a man -- that he previously chased down - several times, with his associate then doing the same to that man.
  • A man tries to hit Carter who then hits that assailant on the back and then knees or punches him several times in the gut. He then hits him again, and repeatedly smashes his head against an industrial kitchen counter before throwing him to the floor.
  • Jack acts menacingly toward Geraldine.
  • Jack grabs a man and smashes his head through the driver side window of a car. He then holds a gun to that man's head and then at the driver's partner who briefly aims his gun at Jack before putting it down. Jack then gets into a car chase with another man - where they drive through/over some Christmas trees in a sales lot - and occasionally runs his car into the other man's car. After that man crashes his car, Jack pulls him from it and pushes him up against a fence.
  • Jack briefly aims his gun at Brumby.
  • Jack slams Cyrus against a trash dumpster with Cyrus then briefly holding his gun on Jack before the two part ways.
  • Taking Doreen back to her mother's place, Jack finds the front door open and the place ransacked. As he slowly enters the house, someone fires several shots at him. He then chases that person up the stairs where he encounters Gloria who was evidently hit by the assailant as we see her with blood on the side of her face.
  • Jack tears an accordion style mirror from the bathroom of his hotel room (to reflect the reverse image of a TV screen).
  • Jack tells Geraldine that if she's lying to him, he'll break "every beautiful bone in your body."
  • Jeremy accidentally breaks something with a hit golf ball in one of his offices.
  • We see a brief, flashback image of someone punching Ritchie.
  • Jack's boss verbally threatens to kill Audrey (his wife/girlfriend) while talking to Jack on the phone.
  • Jack watches video footage that partially shows and otherwise heavily suggests date rape type material (nothing explicit).
  • Jack imagines two instance of violence between him and two other men (one showing Jack's coworker repeatedly firing a gun, the other with Jack having a man in a headlock with a gun aimed at his head). Then, in reality, Jack hits one of the men in the gut and then the other in the throat. He then returns to the first man that he slams back against an elevator wall before repeatedly punching and then kicking him on the floor.
  • Jack finds a woman who's been killed or overdosed (and sees a needle sticking out of her arm indicating she was given or took a lethal injection of drugs).
  • We see various shots of Jack throwing a man around a room. Later, we see that Jack apparently threw this man to his death from a balcony (we see his body lying on a smashed-in car with some blood next to his head).
  • A man fires several shots at Jack's car, blowing out the back window. A car chase then ensues with that man repeatedly firing at Jack's moving car. During this, various vehicles crash into others with the pursuing car eventually crashing part of the way down a stairwell (we don't know the status of the two people inside it).
  • Jack punches a man at a gate.
  • Carter tries to attack Cyrus who sends him crashing through a door. Cyrus then repeatedly punches Jack until he's lying beaten on the ground, his face rather bloody.
  • We see more brief, flashback images of Ritchie being beaten and having a bloody face.
  • Jack punches a man and then proceeds to pummel him in the face on the floor, eventually holding his gun to the man's somewhat bloody face, but he's either dead or unconscious and doesn't respond.
  • Jack holds a man by the throat and then holds his gun to the back of that man's head (as if he's going to execute him), but then fires many shots over the man's head, purposefully missing it.
  • Jack shoots a man several times as that man walks away from Jack (he's a bad guy), presumably killing him.



  • Reviewed October 6, 2000 / Posted October 7, 2000

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