Not suitable under 13; parental guidance to 15 (Intense violence including torture, and disturbing scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 13 | Not suitable due to intense violence including torture, and disturbing scenes. |
Children aged 13 to 14 | Parental guidance recommended due to intense violence including torture, and disturbing scenes. |
Children 15 and over | OK for this age group |
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: | Captain America: Civil war |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Action violence |
Length: | 147 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The film opens with Avengers Captain America (Chris Evans), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), War Machine (Don Cheadle), Falcon (Anthony Mackie) and Vision (Paul Bettany) in Lagos Nigeria following the exploits of Brock Rumlow (Frank Grillo). Brock is busy creating mayhem by threatening to release a highly contagious virus he has stolen. Captain America and the Avengers manage to capture the virus from Brock but at the cost of the destruction of a seven story building and numerous lives.
As a result of the collateral damage caused by the Avengers in their protection of humanity, world governments have decided that the Avengers (viewed by some as heroes and others as vigilantes) should be accountable for their actions and operate under the guidance of a panel. General Ross tells the Avengers that if they refuse to sign a document agreeing to cooperate (the Sokovia Accords) they will be retired.
Not all members of the Avengers team agree with the dictates of the Sokovia Accords and the team is split apart, with Iron-Man (Robert Downey Jr.), War-Machine, Black Widow, and Vision signing the Accords while Captain America, Falcon, and Scarlet Witch refuse to sign.
In Vienna, the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan) allegedly blows up the building where the Sokova Accords are being signed, killing hundreds of people. To avoid having the Winter Soldier killed before the real orchestrator of the Vienna tragedy is discovered, Captain America and his retired team decide to track down and capture the Winter Soldier. They are immediately labelled criminals and are hunted by Iron-Man and his team. The resulting head-on clash between the two teams of Avengers has devastating consequences.
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.
Superheroes; superpowers; suicide bombing; betrayal and revenge
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.
The film contains extended sequences of action violence and scenes of torture and suicide bombing. There are multiple deaths with the depiction of some injury and blood and gore. Examples include:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes, there are numerous disturbing scenes and scary characters, including
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 are also likely to be disturbed by the scenes and characters described above
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.
Children in this age group are also likely to be disturbed by some of the scenes and characters described above
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.
Younger children in this age group may be disturbed by some of the scenes described above
None of concern in the film, but associated products are marketed to children
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some partial nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
Captain America: Civil war is a superhero action film featuring Marvel Comic characters and targeting older teens and adult fans of the series. It is the third in this series and the most intense of the three Captain America films. The film is all about the need to consider the real world consequences of actions and the resulting fallout of grief, anguish and revenge. There are intense scenes of action violence, torture, and a suicide bombing which make the film unsuitable for children under 13 and parental guidance is recommended under 15.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
Parents may wish to discuss the beliefs of the opposing groups of Avengers, the issues involved, and whether a choice can be made as to which group is right.
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
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