Face/Off (1997) - Parents Guide Movie Rating

MPA: R BBFC: 18 Maturity Rating 18+

MPAA Reason: Rated R for intense sequences of strong violence, and for strong language.

BBFC Reason: Contains strong violence

BBFC Ratings info: In order to foil a terrorist plot, an FBI agent undergoes facial transplant surgery and assumes the identity of a criminal mastermind, who murdered his only son. The plan turns sour when the criminal wakes up prematurely and seeks revenge.

Sex & Nudity

mild

A teenage girl is shown scantily clad, but nothing inappropriate is shown Moaning sounds in several scenes. Several sexual references/jokes throughout. There is an old school "8bit" animated picture of a woman with large bare breasts and underwear on. A man and woman kiss; he puts his tongue into her mouth and asks her to suck on it. Castor licks on Jamie's cheek. Castor grabs a teenage girls' behind. This is played for laughs. A man takes off his shirt and is shown in his boxers before he goes to sleep. Sex is implied to have happened off-screen

Violence & Gore

severe

A man cuts his face off then gets pierced by a harpoon gun Several intense shoot-outs from beginning to end. Many characters are shot, but none are very graphic, though in many shootouts blood mist and splatter can be seen. In some shootouts bloody wounds can be seen. The film opens on a man being shot in the back and his son is killed from that same shot. Minor blood. Many characters are held at gunpoint. A woman is held hostage, and then shot in the back. she is shown on the ground with wounds. A character driving an airplane is shot in the head with little blood splatter (shooting is offscreen). A character's ear is blown off by a bullet (from a distance). A character in a prison is subjected to shock treatment which makes him foam at the mouth. Two prisoners fight with many punches, kicks and elbow strikes. One prisoner cuts his opponent's chin with a metal tray before slamming the tray in the other guy's face. He then continues to hit and kick his defeated opponent. however, he stops after realising what he is doing, and he was only doing this to act tough. Prison guards hurt prisoners with night sticks and tasers. Carl attempts to rape Jamie. He is thrown out of his car and kicked in his groin by Castor. He is then thrown over the car after being forced to apologize. Boat chase with a lot of dangerous stunts at the end of the film. A surgery scene involving a double face-transplant is shown, sometimes in graphic detail, though these shots are rapid and only seen for a split second and in the background. Castor's skinless face is seen reflected in another man's glasses for about eight seconds. A team of surgeon's are seen tied up and gagged, they are then showered in petrol and set alight by a gang of criminals, this is a quick scene and we only see flames, no blood or gore. An FBI agent is shot in the head by Castor, blood is seen and he falls to the ground. A butterfly knife is presented with glamorous and instructional detail to a teenage girl and is seen in use. Castor is stabbed in the thigh with a knife by Jamie which is then turned so the wound cannot heal. (very little detail) After a long fight scene containing several punches and kicks, Castor is shot with a harpoon gun by Sean. We see it lodge into his stomach graphically and later see him twitching. Prior to this, Castor begins cutting the edges of his own face with a broken piece of glass. Victor is struck on the back of the neck, then on the chest by Castor. He dies of a heart attack. Pollux is thrown from the roof of a building by Sean, crashing through several glass ceilings before falling to the ground. We see his bloodied dead body. Dietrich is shot in the neck by Castor. We see the bullet hole in his neck and blood splatter out before he drops dead.

Profanity

severe

There are 30 uses of "f--k" and frequent uses of "sh-t". "Hell" is used at least five times. "Bitch" is used a few times. "Ass" is used multiple times. "Sh-t" is used many times. "Goddamn" is used at least 5 times. "Damn" is used at least twice.

Alcohol, Drugs & Smoking

moderate

The villain smokes throughout the film. A teenage girl is caught with cigarettes and they are taken away by a man. However, later she is given a cigarette by the same man and they smoke together. A character guzzles a drink spiked with a powdery drug and is later shown to have delayed reaction times. Several male and female criminals snort cocaine and powder from pills. One character is extremely disoriented after this. Characters smoke and drink alcohol.

Frightening & Intense Scenes

moderate

While not designed to be frightening or tense in the traditional sense, many of the action oriented scenes come across that way. A standoff occurs in a church and it, and the moments leading up to it, are tense. Castor aims at and shoots Sean and his son on a carousel with a sniper rifle, killing just the son. Two characters have their faces removed and placed on one another in a graphic surgical procedure. One character wakes up after the procedure without his face and we see the bloody result for a moment in a reflection.