Parents' Guide to

NARC

By Nell Minow, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 18+

Intense cop movie for adults.

Movie R 2002 107 minutes
NARC Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 16+

Based on 2 parent reviews

IssabellaKimberly483
IssabellaKimberly483 Parent of 11 and 17-year-old
August 21, 2022
age 18+

Definitely not for kids

About 296 uses of the f word, Violent beatings, shootings in the playground, interrogation scenes including the murder of a police officer. Drugs are present with substance abuse and drug dealers. Not a kids film do not watch unless you are 18.

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
uytt2
uytt2 Adult
December 19, 2009
age 13+
i say this when i was 7 i was shock then and still am. i saw it again recently and it was good but it has alot of violence

This title has:

Too much violence
Too much sex
Too much swearing
Too much drinking/drugs/smoking
See all 2 parent reviews

What's the Story?

Against the backdrop of Detroit's industrial rot, the film (actually shot in Toronto) follows narcotics officer Nick Tellis (Jason Patric) as he is reluctantly partnered with Henry Oak (Ray Liotta) to find who killed Oak's former partner, an undercover narcotics officer.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (2):
Kids say: Not yet rated

Fans of this genre will find that NARC provides a tightly edited, intense story with good dialogue and standout performances by both Patric and Liotta. Tellis' repressed electricity provides a good counterpoint to Liotta's plodding Oak, who emanates a protective paternalism for his partner(s) and their families. Oak, as solid as his name, is blankly brutal toward anyone who stands in his way and clearly doesn't trust his superiors, who sway to the political pressure to pin the crime on a white suspect. Suspects Beery (Busta Rhymes) and Steeds (Richard Chevolleau) are brutally beaten as he seeks something more than retribution.

Narc is very bloody and violent, with an adrenaline-pumping opening sequence that evokes the unblinking carnage of the beach scene from Saving Private Ryan. From the first jolting shots of the hand-held camera following the escaping drug dealer in his sprint for freedom, you know that there will be no day-saving heroics and that the protagonists are as scarred as a junkie's arm.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about whether the end ever justifies the means. Each character here has a very different idea of what "justice" means, but they'll all go to great personal lengths and endanger themselves (and others) in order to pursue what they see as the necessary course of action. What are the consequences of Tellis' actions?

Movie Details

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