Godzilla: King of the Monsters

image for Godzilla: King of the Monsters

Short takes

Not recommended under 13; parental guidance to 15 (violence, frightening/dark scenes, coarse language, science fiction themes)

Age
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
classification logo

This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Godzilla: King of the Monsters
  • a review of Godzilla: King of the Monsters completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 3 June 2019.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 13 Not recommended due to violence, frightening and dark scenes, coarse language, and science fiction themes
Children aged 13–15 Parental guidance recommended due to violence, frightening and dark scenes, coarse language, and science fiction themes.
Children aged 16 and over Ok for this age group.

About the 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: Godzilla: King of the Monsters
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Science fiction themes, violence, and coarse language.
Length: 132 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

Following the events of Godzilla (2014), Monarch scientist Emma Russell (Vera Farmiga) invents a device that can control and subdue the giant monster-like creatures known as the "Titans". When a new Titan; Mothra is awakened, ecoterrorist Jonah Allan (Charles Dance) attacks the Monarch base and ‘kidnaps’ Emma and her teenage daughter Madison (Millie Bobby Brown). Using the Titans’ radiation, Jonah wants to bring balance back to the Earth and fix the damage caused by human pollution and overpopulation. Monarch scientists (Ken Watanabe, Sally Hawkins, Ziyi Zhang, Bradley Whitford, Thomas Middleditch, Aisha Hinds) and Madison’s father Mark (Kyle Chandler), team up to try to stop Jonah and reunite the family of three. As Jonah and Emma use her ‘Orca’ device to awaken the remaining Titans, they accidentally awaken another kind of Titan, King Gidorah; a giant three-headed Hydra. When King Gidorah begins controlling the other Titans and causing mass destruction, it is up to Godzilla to protect the Earth once again. 

Themesinfo

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.

Death of a child; Family breakdown; Alcohol dependence; Monsters; Death; Love; Redemption

Use of violenceinfo

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.

There is some violence in this movie including:

  • Giant ‘monsters’ (Titans) attack each other and people throughout the film
  • A man is shot in the head at point blank range
  • Close up footage of wolves eating an animal corpse – this is bloody
  • Shooting is heard and dead bodies are seen on the ground
  • People are crushed by falling objects
  • People are killed when the Titan Hydra attacks them with its lightening breath
  • A woman is eaten by one of the Titans

 

Material that may scare or disturb children

Under fiveinfo

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 some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children under the age of five, including the following:

  • The Titans are monsters that are hundreds of feet high, have loud and terrifying screeches, and attack both humans and each other – they are likely to frighten young children

Aged five to eightinfo

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.

In addition to the above-mentioned violent scenes and scary visual images, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged five to eight, including the following:

  • A child is lost and presumed dead at the beginning of the film – this is a recurring theme throughout the film
  • Cities, and the people within them, are destroyed by the Titans throughout the film
  • Godzilla (an ultimately benevolent character) is hurt by other Titans – this may distress young children

Aged eight to thirteeninfo

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.

In addition to the above mentioned violent scenes, there are some scenes in this movie that could scare or disturb children aged eight to thirteen, including the following:

  • A teenage girl and her mother are kidnapped by men with guns
  • A man goes on a suicide mission to revive Godzilla by detonating a nuclear bomb
  • A mother goes on a suicide mission to distract one of the Titans so that Godzilla has time to recover

Thirteen and overinfo

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.

It is unlikely that this movie will scare or disturb children 13 and over

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Apple Air Pods
  • Apple MacBook
  • Google home
  • Nikon camera
  • Microsoft Surface Pro tablet
  • Dell laptops and desktop computers
  • iPads
  • Microsoft Surface Studio desktop computer
  • AOC computers
  • Bank of America
  • CVS Health
  • New Balance
  • Dunkin Donuts
  • Ford
  • Fanatics
  • Budweiser
  • Cisco Systems

Sexual references

Nothing of concern

Nudity and sexual activity

Nothing of concern

Use of substances

There is some use of substances in this movie, including:

  • References to alcoholism

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Fuck
  • Shit (bullshit)
  • Son of a Bitch
  • Hell
  • Damn
  • Ass

In a nutshell

Godzilla: King of the Monsters is a sequel to the 2014 film Godzilla (that starts at the end of the events of the previous film). While the central characters from the original film do not return, Godzilla: King of the Monsters continues to provide a tense, action-packed plot that made the first film enjoyable. This film is arguably more violent and thematically dark than the first film, with the inclusion of two suicide missions by ‘benevolent’ characters. As such, this film will likely be enjoyed best by children over the age of 13, but parental guidance is recommended up to 15, due to violence, coarse language, and supernatural themes.

Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:

  • Working together
  • Not judging a book by its cover

This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as.

  • Flipping the bird at strangers or in dangerous situations may lead to getting hurt