Not suitable under 12; Not recommended 12-15 (Violence; Disturbing scenes; Coarse language)
This topic contains:
Children under 12 | Not suitable due to violence, disturbing scenes and coarse language |
Children 12-15 | Not recommended due to violence, disturbing scenes and coarse language |
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: | Transformers: Dark of the moon |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Action violence and coarse language |
Length: | 149 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
The opening scenes of Transformers: Dark of the Moon depict the final stages of a war between the Autobots and the Decepticons with their home planet of Cybertron being all but destroyed. In the final moments of the battle we see an Autobot spacecraft attempting to escape, and learn that the ship referred to as the “Ark” was carrying a cargo that could win the war for the Autobots. However the ship is hit by enemy missiles and appears to be destroyed before it can escape.
In the present day we find Sam Witwicky (Shia LaBeouf), who has just graduated from college living with his new girlfriend Carly Spencer (Rosie Huntington Whiteley) in Washington D.C., while the Optimus Prime, leader of the Autobots, and the other Autobots are working with the US government to keep the planet free of Decepticons.
While on a mission to investigate the happenings at Chernobyl’s deserted nuclear plant, Optimus Prime discovers a fuel cell from the lost Ark. Optimus Prime demands answers from the head of National Security (Frances McDormand), who informs him about a crashed spaceship on the dark side of the moon. Optimus and a team of Autobots go to the moon where they discover that the crashed ship is the lost Ark.
Meanwhile, Sam has landed himself a new job, while Sam’s girlfriend Carly is working for a wealthy accountant named Dylan Gould (Patrick Dempsey), who we later learn is working for the Decepticons. As soon as Sam starts his new job he finds himself involved in “dark side of the moon” conspiracies, and is attacked by Decepticons. Sam manages to escape to an army base and is reunited with his Autobot friend Bumble Bee. He also enlists the aid of an old friend, Seymour Simmons (John Turturro) in the latest fight to save the world from the Decepticons
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.
Robots; conspiracy theories; alien invasion; betrayal and revenge
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.
Transformers: Dark of the Moon features prolonged sequences of intense science fiction action violence and destruction. While most of the violence is enacted between giant metal live robots, the violence is brutal, with copious amounts of blood and gore depicted. Examples include:
Children under five are most likely to be frightened by scary visual images, such as monsters, physical transformations.
Parents of younger children are strongly cautioned that, in addition to the violence described above, Transformers: Dark of the Moon contains frequent images and scenes capable of disturbing young children. Examples include:
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 will also 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.
Children in this age group are also likley to be disturbed by the above-mentioned scenes.
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 be disturbed by the above-mentioned scenes.
The following products are displayed or used in this movie:
There are some sexual references in this movie, including:
There is some partial nudity and sexual activity in this movie, including:
There is some use of substances in this movie, including:
The film contains coarse language, name calling and putdowns, including:
Transformers: Dark of the Moon is the third in the Transformers series It is a science fiction action adventure, targeting an adolescent male audience. Parents should note that this film seems to have been raised a notch or two from its predecessors in terms of the amount of violence, the level of brutality and the amount of blood and gore. At 149 minutes, it is also very long. Although Transformers toys are specifically marketed for very young children, this film is not at all suitable for children and contains scenes and characters capable of scaring and disturbing young children.
The main positive messages from this movie are:
Values in this movie that parents may wish to reinforce with older children include selflessness, courage and bravery.However, parents may wish to discuss the portrayal of female characters in this film, including amount of time given to them and the stereotypical manner in which they are depicted.
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