Not suitable under 15; parental guidance 15 and over (violence, horror)
This topic contains:
Children under the age of 15 | Not suitable due to violence, horror, disturbing visual images, and drug use. There is a strong possibility that horror content and the scary visual images in this film, could seriously disturb children under the age of ten years. |
Children aged 15 and over | Some susceptible older adolescents may still need parental guidance to view this movie. |
This section contains details about the movie, including its classification by the Australian Government Classification Board and the associated consumer advice lines. Other classification advice (OC) is provided where the Australian film classification is not available.
Name of movie: | Batman Begins |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Moderate violence, Moderate themes |
Length: | 134 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Eight year old Bruce Wayne, while playing on grounds of Wayne Manor, falls through a disused well and is attacked by a large flock of bats, as a result being left with a fear of bats. A number of years later, Bruce (Christian Bale) is an inmate in a prison somewhere in Asia. The mysterious Henri Ducard (Liam Neeson) aids Bruce’s release from prison, and trains Bruce in the ways of the League of Shadows, an age-old secret society that fights corruption and evil. At the end of his training, Bruce has a falling out with Ducard and returns home to Gotham City.
Once home, Bruce finds that crime boss Carmine Falcone (Tom Wilkinson) is in control of Gotham City, which is now full of crime and corruption. To fight the criminal element of Gotham, and with the support of Alfred (Michael Caine), and Wayne Enterprises’ Applied Science division run by Lucius Fox (Morgan Freeman), Bruce acquires all the equipment necessary to transform into his Batman persona, a terrifying batlike creature able to strike out of shadows and vanish without a trace.
Batman learns that there is an even greater evil at large than Falcone. Dr. Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy) uses a fear-inducing psychotropic drug to make his victims see him as a terrifying Scarecrow, resulting in permanent brain damage and psychotic behaviour. Crane/ The Scarecrow is backed by Ducard and the League of Shadows, who have been supplying Crane with the fear inducing drug. Batman and his ally Detective Gordon (Gary Oldman) join forces to defend the population of Gotham City against their evil plans.
Children and adolescents may react adversely at different ages to themes of crime, suicide, drug and alcohol dependence, death, serious illness, family breakdown, death or separation from a parent, animal distress or cruelty to animals, children as victims, natural disasters and racism. Occasionally reviews may also signal themes that some parents may simply wish to know about.
Superheros
Research shows that children are at risk of learning that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution when violence is glamourised, performed by an attractive hero, successful, has few real life consequences, is set in a comic context and / or is mostly perpetrated by male characters with female victims, or by one race against another.
Repeated exposure to violent content can reinforce the message that violence is an acceptable means of conflict resolution. Repeated exposure also increases the risks that children will become desensitised to the use of violence in real life or develop an exaggerated view about the prevalence and likelihood of violence in their own world.
Batman Begins contains many scenes of brutal physical and psychological violence, and fear is used as a major weapon. Violent scenes include:
The violence presented in Batman Begins is more disturbing than any other Batman film as the violence is presented a realistic manner rather than comic book style. Both good and evil characters use physical and psychological violence to intimidate and control those who oppose them. Batman’s use of vigilante violence was glamourised, and portrayed as successful, justifiable and acceptable.
Most of the fight scenes in the movie are represented as a whirl of movement leaving the viewer with an impression of what happens rather than actually seeing it. The fight scenes still give the appearance of being very violent and brutal, and Batman’s victims demonstrate a genuine fear of Batman’s wrath.
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned scenes, there are many scenes that could scare or disturb young children. Two scenes of Bruce as a young boy could be particularly distressing:
Visual images that could disturb children under the age of eight include:
Other scenes of concern are:
Children aged five to eight will also be frightened by scary visual images and will also be disturbed by depictions of the death of a parent, a child abandoned or separated from parents, children or animals being hurt or threatened and / or natural disasters.
Children in this age group may be disturbed by the above mentioned scenes.
Children aged eight to thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic threats and dangers, violence or threat of violence and / or stories in which children are hurt or threatened.
The violence and violent visual images in Batman Begins are presented in a very realistic manner and setting, and are still capable of scaring or disturbing children aged eight to fifteen.
Children over the age of thirteen are most likely to be frightened by realistic physical harm or threats, molestation or sexual assault and / or threats from aliens or the occult.
Some older adolescents could still be disturbed by the horror-like images presented in Batman Begins. It is recommended that parents consider the film’s contents and carefully assess their own teenager’s ability to cope with it.
None noted.
There are no explicit sexual references, although there is some mild sexual innuendo, including the implication that Bruce Wayne is a playboy, accompanied by beautiful, provocatively dressed playgirls.
None noted.
The movie contains some use of substances, including:
Mild, and occasional use of coarse language, including what the hell and bloody.
Batman Begins is about the struggle of a sole vigilante against injustice and corruption. Batman struggles with his ideals, his own anger and uses fear to fight his own fear.
Parents of teenagers who view this film may wish to discuss the portrayal of violence as an acceptable method to fight injustice and corruption, and what the real life consequences can be of vigilante justice.
Tip: Leave out the first A, An or The
Selecting an age will provide a list of movies with content suitable for this age group. Children may also enjoy movies selected via a lower age.
Content is age appropriate for children this age
Some content may not be appropriate for children this age. Parental guidance recommended
Content is not age appropriate for children this age
Children and Media Australia (CMA) is a registered business name of the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM).
CMA provides reviews, research and advocacy to help children thrive in a digital world.
ACCM is national, not-for-profit and reliant on community support. You can help.
ABN: 16 005 214 531