Why is brick rated r

Hoping to defuse his power, the authorities solicit the help of an undercover cop Paul Walker , and a convicted cop killer David Belle. Why is Brick Mansions rated PG? Run Time: 90 minutes. Take out all the fistfights, the arsenal of weapons, the illegal drugs and the scatological slang plus a sexual expletive and a few modifications of that word and about all you have left in Brick Mansions is a five second product placement spot for Under Armour clothing.

After closing down schools, hospitals and police stations in the area, the city government erected a wall around the neighborhood and essentially turned it over to drug dealers and criminals.

But now one group of thugs, under the control of a drug lord named Tremaine RZA has stolen a neutron bomb. And they have it aimed at downtown Detroit. The Mayor Bruce Ramsay , along with a couple of sidekicks in expensive suits, asks undercover officer Damien Tomaso Paul Walker to slip into the area of town also known as the cesspool and secure the bomb before it goes off.

Damien has good reason to accept the assignment. His father, who was also a police officer, was killed by Tremaine. Back in his apartment, Damien has his own personal wall of most wanted and Tremaine tops the list. While the violence is relatively bloodless, it is excessively gratuitous—especially when Lino and Damien confront a thick-necked villain known as the Yeti Robert Maillet. Despite the fact that individually Damien and Lino have repeatedly fought off throngs of thugs with little more than their fists and wits, the two of them together are stymied when they come up against Yeti.

All their usual disarming tactics fail. So after ineffectively punching, kicking and employing metal pipes, they finally wrap him up in electrical cords and bash him on the head with a cinderblock—yes a cinderblock! Only moments earlier he was wheezing in the stairwell while trying to catch up with the pair. BRICK stands out from the cinematic crowd because it defies the stereotypical teenage storyline. After all, who said teenage movies need to have an abundance of sex, gore or nudity to be a winner?

BRICK contains none of these and very little cursing. There is implied drug abuse but it is strongly rebuked throughout the story. Violence is used sparingly but it, too, is subdued far below what viewers might expect in a murder mystery. The plot may occasionally feel coerced but the story delights far more than it disappoints.

BRICK does not entirely succeed at developing a few superficial characters, but then these flaws are very easily overlooked. Lukas Haas also turns in a fine performance as The Pin i. It is rated R for some violence and drug references, but it has a strong moral worldview rebuking evil. A secondary character is a drug dealer, and though a "brick" of cocaine is shown, characters are not seen using drugs or high on drugs.

Add your rating See all 1 parent review. Add your rating See all 3 kid reviews. High schooler Brendan Joseph Gordon-Levitt receives a mysterious call for help from his ex-girlfriend Emily Emilie de Ravin , who turns up dead not long after.

He goes undercover to meet "The Pin" Lukas Haas , a notorious drug dealer who may have had something to do with Emily's death. On top of it all, the vice principal Richard Roundtree is breathing down Brendan's neck. Can Brendan solve the mystery and make it out alive? Rian Johnson made his writing and directing debut with this remarkably unique item -- an old-fashioned, stylized detective film transplanted intact to a modern high school setting.

The dialogue in BRICK is the high point, mixing antique terminology and made-up slang with extreme conviction and coolness. The characters seem to have evolved to play certain kinds of roles in this enclosed universe; no two are alike, though each knows exactly what he or she wants. Some viewers will no doubt be put off by the oddness of it all, and the stoic way the characters behave toward one another. But for the patient, a few very satisfying moments of tenderness provide entry points.

Above all, Joseph Gordon-Levitt , who is onscreen almost all the time, gives an extraordinarily confident performance, channeling classic movie tough guys, but with his own personal touch: his floppy hair, glasses, and hands permanently clenched inside his jacket pockets tell volumes about him. Families can talk about the movie's violence. Does this high school seem more or less dangerous than a real high school? What reasons would a high schooler have for trying drugs?

What can adults say to teens to influence them away from drugs? Does this movie glamorize drugs or drug dealing at all? Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate. Streaming options powered by JustWatch. Common Sense Media, a nonprofit organization, earns a small affiliate fee from Amazon or iTunes when you use our links to make a purchase. Thank you for your support. Our ratings are based on child development best practices.

We display the minimum age for which content is developmentally appropriate. The star rating reflects overall quality. Learn how we rate. Parents' Ultimate Guide to Support our work! That puts me six up on the lot of you.

What is the audience for this movie? It is carrying on in its own lifetime a style of film that was dead before it was born. Are teenage moviegoers familiar with movies like " The Maltese Falcon "? Do they know who Humphrey Bogart was? Maybe it doesn't matter. This mixing of styles and ages has been done before.

Alan Parker's " Bugsy Malone " was a s gangster movie cast with pre-teen kids including Jodie Foster. Once you accepted the idea, it worked, and so does "Brick.

The movie opens in James Ellroy territory, with the hero Brendan Joseph Gordon-Levitt finding the dead body of his onetime girlfriend in a drainage ditch. From the mouth of a tunnel comes the sound, perhaps, of her murderer escaping. The victim is Emily Emilie de Ravin , who called him earlier for help; from a lonely phone booth itself a relic of pre-cellular movies he sees her being taken past in a car, possibly a captive.

Brendan turns into a classic s gumshoe, tracing her movements back through a high school drug ring and ignoring threats from a high school principal who tries to pull him off the case this is the role police captains filled in old private eye movies.

True to the genre that inspired it, the movie has tough and dippy dames, an eccentric crime kingpin, some would-be toughs who can be slapped around like Elisha Cook Jr.