Not recommended under 6; parental guidance recommended 6 to 12 (Violence and themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 6 | Not recommended due to violence and themes which may not be understood.. |
Children 6-12 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and themes. |
Children aged 12 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: | Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 |
Classification: | PG |
Consumer advice lines: | Mild violence |
Length: | 94 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 is an action comedy that continues the story of Paul Blart (Kevin James), a security guard who has been struggling after the end of his marriage and the death of his mother. Paul travels with his daughter Maya (Raini Rodriguez) to Las Vegas for a security convention held at a very up-market casino. He has high hopes that he will finally receive some recognition for work he did at a New Jersey mall six years previously (the story told in the first film of the series).
Paul finds himself increasingly disappointed as he realises that that the convention is in fact not about celebrating his small-time victory in Jersey. While dealing with this blow to his ego, he also finds himself becoming entangled in a heist. A group of international art thieves intend to steal invaluable items from the casino, including one of Van Gogh’s most famous works.
Although the general manager and head of security at the casino initially look down on him, Paul hopes that his accidental involvement with the thieves will enable him to redeem himself.
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.
Crime; divorce; family relationships
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 limited violence within the film, including:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Children this age are likely to find the thieves, and the violence described above, scary.
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.
Some children in this age group may also find the violence and thieves scary.
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.
Nothing of concern
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 of concern
There is some product placement in the film, including:
There are mild sexual references in the film, including:
None of concern
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
None of concern
Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2, the second film in this series, is a comedy about a hard-working underdog looking for the recognition he deserves. The movie makes the point that awards and accolades are insignificant in comparison to genuinely loving what you do, but also demonstrates the very human desire to want validation and respect from one’s peers. The film also displays a compassionate relationship between Paul and his teenage daughter, highlighting the difficulties parents may face in regard to balancing care with overprotection.
There is some violence in the film and the themes are more likely to be understood by children aged 12 and over. Parental guidance is recommended for younger viewers.
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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