Not suitable under 12; parental guidance to 13 (violence, scary scenes, themes, language)
This topic contains:
Children under 12 | Not suitable due to violence, scary scenes, themes and language. |
Children aged 12–13 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and language. |
Children aged 14 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: | Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Science fiction themes and violence |
Length: | 115 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Peace has been restored to the planet, with Kong living in Hollow Earth, a magnificent but vastly uncharted subterranean ecosystem, and Godzilla roaming the world. Then, strange seismic activity begins emanating from Hollow Earth, and when Kong makes his way back to the surface in need of medical attention, Dr Ilene Andrews is worried that his presence above ground will summon Godzilla. When Jia, Dr Andrews’ adopted daughter, and only surviving member of the Iwi tribe, begins receiving telepathic SOS signals that mimic what the scientists are seeing, they organise a team to investigate what is happening in the subterranean realm.
Almost immediately, the team happens upon a destroyed outpost and soon learns that neither Jia nor Kong are the last of their kind. An ancient Iwi community immediately recognises Jia as the promised one who is destined to save Kong and their world along with him. A long time ago, an evil gorilla king, similar to Kong, was imprisoned in the remote fiery regions of Hollow Earth, this ‘Scar King’ turned a band of gorillas and primates into his personal slaves and henchmen. He also imprisoned a Godzilla-like creature who can shoot ice out of its mouth. He keeps the creature locked away and immobilised, only bringing it out to create terror in his subordinates. When Kong stumbles upon this band of apes, he is nearly killed. An unlikely friend helps him find his way to Jia who has been tasked with awakening an ancient creature and asking an impossible task. Will Godzilla come to Kong’s aid or will the pair fight to the death, paving the way for the Scar King to rule both realms?
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.
Loneliness; Loss of family and identity; Cruelty; Death; Subjugation; Vengeance.
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:
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:
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:
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.
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some coarse language in this movie, including:
Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire is a fantasy action film and the fifth in the Warner Bros. MonsterVerse series. The film features some strong female role models, including the lead scientist and young Jia who, though deaf, is more capable than most. There are a couple of scenes with flashing lights, especially around the journeys to and from Hollow Earth, that may be problematic for people with photosensitivity, and the cinematography during some of the flight and chase scenes can be momentarily nauseating.
The main messages from this movie are that love and kindness are far more powerful than hatred and fear; that everyone belongs somewhere; and that your family may not be those who are related by blood but rather those who love you for who you are and who care for you no matter what.
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with their children include:
This movie could also give parents the opportunity to discuss with their children attitudes and behaviours, and their real-life consequences, such as:
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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