Not suitable under 8, not recommended 8-12, PG to 15 (Violence, Disturbing scenes)
This topic contains:
Children under 8 | Not suitable due to violence and disturbing scenes |
Children aged 8-12 | Not recommended due to violence and disturbing scenes |
Children aged 12-15 | Parental guidance recommended due to violence and disturbing scenes |
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: | Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Violence |
Length: | 111 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Based on a video game, this film tells the story of a young street orphan, Dastan (played as an adult by Jake Gyllenhaal) adopted by the Persian King Sharaman (Ronald Pickup), who admires the boy’s strength and courage. Dastan is raised alongside the king’s sons, his heir Tus (Richard Coyle) and Garsiv (Toby Kebbell).
As adults, Dastan, Tus and Garsiv invade the holy city of Alamut, whose inhabitants according to the King’s brother Nizam (Ben Kingsley) have been manufacturing and smuggling weapons (swords and spears) to Persia’s enemies. During the invasion, Dastan manages to take possession of an ancient jewelled dagger “The Dagger of Time”. This is a magical dagger which, if misused, is capable of releasing “The Sands of Time”, a gift from the gods capable of changing history or destroying the world.
With the sacking of Alamut complete, the three brothers confront Princess Tamina (Gemma Arterton), Alamut’s ruler and the rightful guardian of the Dagger of Time and Tus announces his intention to marry her. However, due to treachery and treason, King Sharaman is killed by a poisoned coat given to him by Dastan. Dastan is immediately accused of the King’s murder and forced to escape with the Princess, who hopes to retrieve the Dagger.
The pair escape into the desert and before long are captured by Sheik Amar (Alfred Molinar) and his band of followers. The Sheik and his small band eventually decide to help Dastan and the princess to hide the dagger but they are attacked by a secret order of assassins, the Hassansin who steal the dagger and Dastan’s real struggle to prove his innocence and save the kingdom begins
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.
Being an orphan and adoption; invasions, time travel, sorcery, treason and betrayal
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.
Prince of Persia contains intense sequences of violence and action throughout, but with an unrealistic lack of blood and gore, no extremely gruesome images and as much acrobatic footwork in fights as blows struck. 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 a number of 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.
Children in this age group are also likely to be disturbed by the above mentioned scenes.
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 and disturbing scenes, children in this age group may be also disturbed by the story of a young girl sacrificing herself to the gods in order to save humanity.
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 also by disturbed by some of the above-mentioned violence and disturbing scenes.
None of concern
There are some mild sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
None of concern
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time, based upon a video game, is a fantasy action adventure. Although the film has an (M) rating for violence, it is likely to appeal to young boys.
The main messages from this movie are:
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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