Godzilla vs. Kong

image for Godzilla vs. Kong

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Not suitable under 12; parental guidance to 15 (frequent action violence, depictions of monsters, frightening scenes)

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This topic contains:

  • overall comments and recommendations
  • details of classification and consumer advice lines for Godzilla vs. Kong
  • a review of Godzilla vs. Kong completed by the Australian Council on Children and the Media (ACCM) on 30 March 2021.

Overall comments and recommendations

Children under 12 Not suitable due to frequent action violence, depictions of monsters, and frightening scenes.
Children aged 12–15 Parental guidance recommended due to frequent action violence and frightening scenes.
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 vs. Kong
Classification: M
Consumer advice lines: Science fiction themes and action violence
Length: 113 minutes

ACCM review

This review of the movie contains the following information:

A synopsis of the story

After a period of peace between Titans and humanity, Godzilla suddenly starts attacking research facilities across the globe. To the dismay of Madison Russell (Millie Bobby Brown), whose life was previously saved by the Titan, the world appears to be preparing for war. Madison, with the help of her friend Josh (Julian Dennison), decides to find answers about Godzilla’s strange behaviour by locating the elusive conspiracy theorist and amateur Titan sleuth, Bernie (Brian Tyree Henry). On the other side of the globe, Walter Simmons (Demián Bichir), a wealthy tech businessman, recruits Nathan Lind (Alexander Skarsgård), a disgraced theoretical physicist, to locate a mysterious energy source that he is certain will allow them to defeat Godzilla. Believing King Kong can lead them to the source, Nathan enlists Ilene Andrews (Rebecca Hall), a King Kong researcher, to help him with his task. In doing so, Nathan unknowingly brings along the one person who can communicate with Kong, Jia (Kaylee Hottle), a young Skull Island native. As a new threat looms, King Kong and Godzilla battle for the title of alpha but must learn to work together to save humanity and each other.

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.

Science fiction; Fantasy monsters; Animal harm.

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:

  • Action violence throughout between Godzilla and King Kong (as well as with other Titan characters and humans in aircraft) – this includes biting, punching, kicking, throwing, attacking with a giant axe, use of explosives, and Godzilla’s atomic breath.
  • Godzilla and King Kong destroy buildings, aircraft, ships, bridges, and other structures – people can be seen running, screaming, falling from high places, and presumably being stepped on.
  • Humans are killed by flying monsters, generally off-screen, with one instance of a character being visibly stepped on and crushed to death (this is brief and not gory).

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:

  • Godzilla and King Kong are visually frightening and frequently roar loudly – this will frighten young children.
  • King Kong is attacked by numerous monsters that are visually frightening – Kong rips the head off one monster and eats it (entrails and green blood are visible).

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:

  • The young child, Jia, frequently approaches King Kong – her proximity may distress younger children as she initially appears in danger.
  • A man is violently electrocuted by a headpiece he is wearing and dies.
  • King Kong is badly wounded during his battle with Godzilla and appears to be dying – this may distress younger children as Jia becomes upset that her friend may die.
  • A giant Mecha-Godzilla (a mechanical version of Godzilla) is created and battles Godzilla and King Kong – this will likely frighten younger 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:

  • King Kong’s shoulder is dislocated during his battle with Godzilla – he is shown to be distressed and in pain and later pops his shoulder back into place.
  • King Kong and Godzilla battle underwater and Kong is dragged under until he nearly drowns – this may distress younger children as Kong is depicted as a sympathetic character.

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.

  • Nothing further of concern.

Product placement

The following products are displayed or used in this movie:

  • Dell laptop
  • Apple iPhone
  • Apple Airpods
  • Apple Watch.

Sexual references

  • None noted.

Nudity and sexual activity

There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:

  • Nathan kisses Ilene on the cheek without her permission.

Use of substances

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

  • Spirits are discussed and consumed by adults.
  • Bernie offers Josh (who is underage) a drink of a spirit.

Coarse language

There is some coarse language in this movie, including:

  • Fuck.
  • Shit.
  • Goddamn.
  • Hell.

In a nutshell

Godzilla vs. Kong is the third instalment in the Godzilla franchise and the second instalment in the King Kong franchise. With a thin plot surrounding large scale monster battles, this film is likely to entertain those who have seen the other films in these franchises and who have an interest in similar science fiction action films. Godzilla vs. Kong is not suitable for children under 12 due to frequent action violence, depictions of monsters, and frightening scenes and parental guidance is recommended to age 15.

The main message from this movie is that Nature is at peace when people do not interfere with its natural order.

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

  • Trying to communicate with others to better understand their experiences (sign language is used throughout the film and allows people to communicate across language boundaries and communicate with King Kong).

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

  • Real life consequences of stealing vehicles, driving without a licence, and dangerous driving.
  • The risks of underage drinking.
  • The dangers of conspiracy theories, such as not drinking tap water due to an unfounded fear that fluoride is used to control the population.