Not suitable under 10, not recommended 10-14, PG 14-15 (Violence, disturbing scenes, themes)
This topic contains:
Children under 10 | Not suitable due to violence and disturbing scenes |
Children aged 10-14 | Not recommended due to themes, violence and disturbing scenes. |
Children aged 14-15 | Parental guidance recommended due to themes, particularly the self-destructive choices made by the main female character. |
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: | Twilight Saga: Eclipse, The |
Classification: | M |
Consumer advice lines: | Supernatural themes and violence |
Length: | 124 minutes |
This review of the movie contains the following information:
Eclipse, the third film in the Twilight series, commences with a teenage boy, Riley (Xavier Samuel), being chased through the streets of Seattle by an unseen supernatural assailant, hurled to the ground and bitten on the hand. The film then cuts to the town of Folks where we find teenager Bella Swan (Kristen Stewart) and teenage vampire Edward Cullen (Robert Pattinson) engaged in a romantic afternoon in the countryside, oblivious to the rest of the world.
However, all is not well with the rest of the world. In Seattle people are going missing and there are reports of gruesome murders that are supposedly the act of a deranged serial killer. Victoria (Bryce Dallas Howard), a vampire seeking revenge against Edward for the death of her mate, is found lurking in the woods of Folks and chased off by the Cullen family and a pack of werewolves. To complicated matters further, Jacob Black (Taylor Lautner), a teenage werewolf, is also in love with Bella. The already fragile alliance between vampire and werewolf is stretched to the limit as both compete for Bella’s love.
The plot thickens when prescient vampire Alice Cullen (Ashley Greene) has a vision revealing that the terrible events in Seattle are the result of the vengeful Victoria creating an army of newly created vampires or “newborns” led by Riley, for the sole purpose of killing Bella.
Unable to protect Bella by themselves, the Cullens seek assistance from the werewolves and both vampires and werewolves work together to protect Bella as events build towards the final battle.
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.
Teenage relationships, the supernatural; vampires; werewolves; self sacrifice
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.
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is the most violent and dark of the three Twilight films and contains intense sequences of action violence that include violence against children, an inferred rape scene, vampires engaged in blood frenzies, and an extended brutal battle between two groups of supernatural beings. 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 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.
Children in this age group may also be disturbed by the scenes described above, particularly the death of children.
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 may also be disturbed by the scenes described above, particularly the death of children.
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 some of the scenes described above.
None of concern
There are some 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:
There is some occasional low-level coarse language in this movie, including:
The Twilight Saga: Eclipse is a fantasy romantic drama targeting teenage girls which is likely to appeal to fans of the previous Twilight films. It contains darker themes, more romance, and a higher level of action violence than the earlier films and is certainly not recommended for younger teens.
The main messages from this movie are not all positive. Self sacrifice is a strong theme. Bella is willing to give up everything for Edward, including her life, and parents may wish to discuss the self-destructive nature of Bella’s choices with teenage girls in particular. At the same time both Edward and Jacob are willing to sacrifice their lives in order to protect Bella. Jacob is willing to make these sacrifices for Bella even knowing that she has chosen Edward over himself, while Edward is willing to sacrifice his personal happiness in order to prevent Bella from becoming a vampire.
Other messages include that
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Content is age appropriate for children this age
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Content is not age appropriate for children this age
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