Guardians Of The Galaxy

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Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2: Parental Review- Is It Kid Friendly? (No Spoilers)

Not all PG-13 rated movies are rated equally. While I had no reservations about my 6 year-old son seeing Jurassic World or Rogue One, I would not be okay with him seeing Suicide Squad or The Hunger Games or the Fast and Furious movies.

So where does Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 end up on this unpredictable gradient scale of PG-13 movies?

Ultimately, imagine combining the constant non-bloody fantasy violence of the Star Wars movies with the more mature plot lines of the Star Trek movies, mixed with the irreverence and casual profanity of the Shrek movies. Put that in a blender, and that’s the PG-13 essence of Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2.

I say this because Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 is sprinkled with nearly every major “bad word” there is, except for those two classic biggies: “g.d.” and the “f-word.”

Perhaps there is a paradox in that if a child recognizes “bad words” when he or she hears them, and knows them to be “bad”, then the movie instantly becomes inappropriate, to a certain degree. But if a child doesn’t know the word, and doesn’t know it to be taboo, I would argue that ignorance might be bliss.

Likewise, the same could be said about the movie’s sci-fi plot line, which revolves around a god who makes his purpose to interbreed with one willing member of every other species he can, in an attempt to produce offspring who share his same powers.

Granted, this is a Disney movie- and I’ve noticed Disney specifically avoids any obvious sexual dialogue or situations in their Marvel movies.  I do feel it’s quite possible that this seemingly mature plot line could easily fly over the heads of many younger children.

It’s likely the language in this movie, which contains “guy humor” and poop jokes throughout, that would question most conservative parents about letting their child see this movie.

My job is not to be responsible for telling parents whether Guardians of the Galaxy, Vol. 2 is appropriate for their children to see.

Instead, I simply want to provide the basic information to guide you making this decision for your child.

Do what you feel is right, based on the information I have provided today. I don’t judge you either way.

Obviously.

 

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This is 36: Without Saying a Word, My 1 Year-Old Daughter Convinced Me to Buy Her a Stuffed Animal from Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2

Last Saturday as our family was out running errands, since our plans to visit the Nashville Zoo for my daughter’s 1st birthday were cancelled due to the rain, we ended up at the classiest Wal-Mart I’ve ever been to in my life: It’s just the one in our neighborhood; we can basically see it from our house.

My wife and I were counselling our son as he tried to pick out the best birthday present for one of his classmate’s birthday parties coming up at Chuck E. Cheese’s. I was holding my daughter in sort of a rickshaw position as we followed my wife and son down the toy aisles.

As we journeyed through the classiest WalMart this side of the Mississippi, my daughter was over all not impressed by the toy selection that she was being exposed to, as it all was for “older kids”. Like Shopkins and action figures kind of stuff.

But then, she saw it…

A fury face on the shelf. She was mesmerized.

It was a Hero Plushy of the mutant raccoon named Rocket, from the cast of the upcoming movie, Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2.

But it wasn’t just a normal stuffed animal. It had a tiny body and a big head, like a caricature.

My daughter’s tiny hand was the perfect size for the undersized body of the toy.

She could easily hold it like an ice cream cone.

By this point, my wife had already picked up on what was going on, as she had turned around to see the two of us petting an arguably ridiculous stuffed animal.

It was pretty obvious at this point that not only would my 1 year-old daughter not have to even attempt to ask for the toy, but that I myself wouldn’t even have to have a conversation with my wife about the fact we were about to spend $10 on a Marvel character plush toy.

My wife’s only attempt to thwart the inevitable was to reach out a grab a pink girly-looking pony stuffed animal that cost $6.

But our little girl definitely didn’t have the same glimmer in her eye as she did for the Guardians of the Galaxy raccoon that she was already turning back to.

As if I needed to give a seemingly legitimate excuse as to why we were about to make this impulse purchase, I suggested to my wife:

“We can let this be my gift to her for her birthday.”

I have to give my little girl what she wants. Especially when it’s a cool mutant raccoon from a Marvel movie.

This is 36.

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Guardians Of The Galaxy: Family Friendly Movie Review By Nick Shell

There is no question that Guardians Of The Galaxy is an excellent, successful movie… not to mention hilarious! But the question I’ve already been asked is this: What age is appropriate for a child to see it?

Guardians Of The Galaxy: Family Friendly Review By Nick Shell

Like what I said in my recent review of X-Men: Days Of Futures Past, the movie follows a certain formula which ensures a PG-13 rating for an action/comedy; which is much more profitable than R, and completely more profitable than PG.

Therefore, the movie contains constant violence and on screen deaths; however, virtually no blood.

As far as profanity, again like X-Men: Days Of Futures Past, they casually use pretty much every word in the book once, except for “the f-word” or “g.d.” or references to female genitalia. The main character also “shoots a bird,” uncensored; unlike in the preview.

Regarding nudity, just like X-Men: Days Of Futures Past, there is a brief shot of a man’s bare butt. But female nudity is not a problem whatsoever.

Rocket-Raccoon-Groot-Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-Character-Poster

I assumed that for a science fiction comedy, there would probably be reoccurring shots of scantily clad female aliens, but unless you’re really making a point to scan the background shots of crowds of people, you won’t find that in this movie.

That’s especially opposed to X-Men: Days Of Futures Past, which contained constant coverage of Jennifer Lawrence in a very form-fitting, yet non-explicit, skin suit.

As expected, Guardians Of The Galaxy contains a steady amount of “boy humor.” There is also an ongoing reference to the main character (Peter Quill, played by Chris Pratt) being a playboy with female aliens across the universe, yet nothing explicit is ever mentioned.

So over all, I would project that the youngest safe age for a child to see this movie would be around eleven years old; 6thgrade, which is how old I was when I saw Jurassic Park in the theatre back in 1993.

Russian guardians-of-the-galaxy_international-poster

I want to close by pointing out that Guardians Of The Galaxy is a very well done movie. It’s nostalgic, action-packed, and contains a great script and plot.

Think of it as the underdog version of X-Men: Days Of Futures Past. Unlike the X-Men, the Guardians of the Galaxy were not brought together as an all-star team.

It’s more like they ended together, not even liking each other for most of the movie.

However, they recognize they are all “losers,” all having lost something important in their lives; like their families and homes. That’s what brings them together.

Something else I particularly appreciate about the movie is that it has a perfect and happy ending, yet creatively leaves the door open to make a trilogy of the movie.

Thanks for reading my review today. You’re welcome back anytime!

*Click on “movie reviews” below to see other movies I’ve featured!