Firewall parents guide

Firewall Parent Guide

Overall C

Jack Stanfield (Harrison Ford), a security systems expert, is forced to use his knowledge to help some thieves steal millions of dollars, after their unscrupulous leader (Paul Bettany) breaks through his home Firewall and takes his wife and family hostage.

Release date February 9, 2006

Violence D
Sexual Content D+
Profanity D+
Substance Use A-

Why is Firewall rated PG-13? The MPAA rated Firewall PG-13 for some intense sequences of violence.

Run Time: 105 minutes

Parent Movie Review

It’s been a while since Harrison Ford sped through the galaxy as Han Solo in the early Star Wars films or cracked a whip as Indiana Jones. Still, graying hairs and well-defined wrinkles aren’t keeping the aging actor from remaining a force in the movie industry.

In Firewall, Ford plays Jack Stanfield, the vice president of high-level security at the Landrock Pacific Bank. For twenty years, he’s stayed off hackers and other fraudulent schemes aimed at theft. A man of precision and caution, he doesn’t take unnecessary risks. He lives with his wife Beth (Virginia Madsen, an actress 21 years Ford’s junior) and his children Sarah (Carly Schroeder) and Andrew (Jimmy Bennett) on an ocean front property in Seattle.

Without their knowing, the Stanfields are being watched. High-tech surveillance equipment and regular routing in the garbage have allowed Bill Cox (Paul Bettany) and his thugs to learn a lot about the family—enough to give the film’s baddies the upper hand when they barge into the house and take Beth and the kids hostage.

Installing cameras and computer systems to keep Jack and his family under constant observation, Bill demands the V.P. use his software expertise to help the thieves steal millions of dollars from the accounts of wealthy clients. With his offspring held for ransom, the bank officer doesn’t have much choice but to comply.

However as the criminals’ plan develops, Jack realizes he is being set up as the fall guy for embezzlement and murder. It’s then the computer wizard puts down his mouse in favor of more hands-on retribution.

Using a kitchen appliance to dispose of one captor and a pickax to kill off another, Jack’s retaliation tactics are equally as violent as the kidnappers who routinely shoot underperforming members of the group and batter their captives with fists and guns. With cool indifference, Bill feeds a nut-laced cookie to their son Andrew, causing an episode of anaphylactic shock and leaving Jack and Beth begging him for the return of the antidote.

The gratuitous and often graphic violence along with the use of an extreme sexual expletive and hand gesture strains the PG-13 guidelines. The unremitting tension and bloody, action-packed scenes also push the film’s suitability for family audiences way out of bounds.

Highlighting the unethical spying tactics of the crooks, the script plays on society’s obsession with individual and family safety. With their home security measures breached, the Stanfields are left unprotected in the hands of the hostage takers who modify the alarm system and cell phones to work in their favor. In an era of heightened sensitivity, those kinds of compromises may leave many viewers anxious to hurry home and update the features on their own firewall.

Starring Harrison Ford, Virginia Madsen. Running time: 105 minutes. Theatrical release February 9, 2006. Updated

Firewall
Rating & Content Info

Why is Firewall rated PG-13? Firewall is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some intense sequences of violence.

Gratuitous portrayals of bloody violence are rampant in the film with numerous characters being shot point-blank. Other causes of death include being beaten with a blender, speared with a pickax and run over by a car. The captives in the film frequently have guns held to their head or are hit and shoved by their captors. As well as physical violence, the thieves’ spy on the family, steal personal identity information and rack up gambling debts. Repeated expletives (including a sexual term) and profanities are contained in the script

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Firewall Parents' Guide

What measures does Jack take to protect his family? How do the thieves break into them? What security devices are most important to protect your personal identity?

Do screenplays like this one add to the amount of fear in our society?

Home Video

The most recent home video release of Firewall movie is June 6, 2006. Here are some details…

Burn through the mysteries behind this Warner Home Video DVD release with Firewall Decoded (a conversation with actor Harrison Ford and director Richard Loncraine). Or discover the secrets to Writing a Thriller. All this info is on the DVD, which provides audio tracks in English (Dolby Digital 5.1), French (Dolby Digital 5.1) and Spanish (Dolby Digital 5.1), as well as subtitles in English, French and Spanish.

Related home video titles:

In addition to his action hero roles, Harrison Ford stars in the romantic comedy about the young daughter of a chauffer who falls in love with her father’s employer in Sabrina. British actor, Paul Bettany plays roommate to Russell Crowe’s character in A Beautiful Mind.