The Sum of All Fears (2002)

The Sum of All Fears parents guide

It stays inside its PG-13, with no sex or nudity and some strong language.

Our estimate: fine from about 13. Rated PG-13.

Scare

Mildly scary

A few tense or eerie moments.

Jump scares

A couple

One or two sudden jolts.

Gore

Light gore

Some blood or injury, briefly.

Violence

Strong violence

Violence is frequent or intense.

Sex and nudity

None noted

Language

Moderate

Some strong profanity, a few f-words.

How we rate: an AI reads what is known about each title and tags it 0 to 3; we check the tags against a hand-rated set and correct them by hand when readers tell us. Estimates, not a scene-by-scene review. Spot a mistake? Tell us.

Three questions

Is The Sum of All Fears scary?

Only a little. The Sum of All Fears has a few tense moments, nothing that follows you to bed.

How gory is The Sum of All Fears?

Light gore and strong violence.

What is The Sum of All Fears rated, and is it OK for kids?

Rated PG-13. Expect some strong language and strong violence, so it suits teens more than kids.

What is The Sum of All Fears about?

When the president of Russia suddenly dies, a man whose politics are virtually unknown succeeds him. The change in political leaders sparks paranoia among American CIA officials, so CIA director Bill Cabot recruits a young analyst to supply insight and advice on the situation. Then the unthinkable happens: a nuclear bomb explodes in a U.S. city, and America is quick to blame the Russians.

Cast and crew

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The Sum of All Fears is on our Thriller on Paramount+, Action on Kanopy, Thriller on Hoopla and Action on Hoopla lists.

More like this feeling

Prompts we typed into CouchRot, and the lists that share its tags.

• “a thriller with a twist, no spoilers”
• “a movie that will make me cry”
• “scary but not gory”

Lists with the same feel: Stressful.