Will Iron Man 2 Be OK For Kids?
The Iron Man 2 trailer is out. The movie looks like it will be nothing short of awesome. But will Iron Man 2 be OK for kids?
Take a look at the trailer and then let’s discuss, shall we?
Now. If you don’t think that looks like a great superhero movie, you weren’t paying attention. Or maybe you just don’t like superhero movies. Or movies at all. Because man oh man does this thing look great. Characters from the comic include Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark/Iron Man (duh), Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, Scarlett Johansson as the Black Widow, Don Cheadle as James Rhodes/War Machine (replacing Terence Howard), and Mickey Rourke as Whiplash. (Aside: Rourke should only play supervillians from now on. In fact, he should play The Joker in an upcoming Batman sequel. One based on the great comic book — sorry, graphic novel — The Killing Joke by Alan Moore. I’ll keep saying this so that if/when it happens, I can take full credit for saying it first.)
Now to the issue at hand — will Iron Man 2 be OK for kids? The first Iron Man movie was great and lots of kids saw it, including my son, who I think has now seen it five times. It’s a fairly violent film, with lots of guns and bombs and implied death. There are no severed limbs that I can recall, and it had a PG-13 rating, like every other movie these days. There was no overt sexual content, no nudity, and like I said, no severed limbs. Still, it was no ‘Benji.’
The sequence in the first Iron Man that bothered me as a parent was the opening scene where Tony Stark’s military convoy gets blown up in Afghanistan. Stark is taken prisoner and builds his first suit of weaponized armor, the Iron Man Mark I. (Aside: in the original comic book, this happened in Vietnam and the bad guys were communists. Hey, it was the 60’s.) My son was not, as far as I know, traumatized by seeing it (five times). It was, however, fairly intense and psychologically violent.
Obviously I haven’t seen the movie yet. (Which makes me sad. Yes, it hasn’t opened. But I really really really want to see it. Wahhh!!!) And my son will also want to see it, and I will take him. But what about my youngest, who is now 4 years old? Will he be too young to come with us? He will probably want to go, and I’ll feel bad about leaving him at home. On the other hand, I don’t know if I want him to watch something really violence. Is that too wimpy of me? I’m not sure. What I can say for certain is that I will make the ultimate sacrifice and go see the film as soon as it opens, just to check it out and make sure there’s nothing in it that I wouldn’t want my children to see. Am I a great dad, or what?
So what do you think? What’s the right age for a movie like Iron Man 2? Did you take your kids to see Iron Man? Will you take them to Iron Man 2 when it opens in May of 2010 (which can’t come soon enough for me)?
Comments: (8)
Tags: Brett Singer, entertainment, iron man 2 trailer, Movies, Will Iron Man 2 Be OK For Kids
8 Comments
Mistress_Scorpio commented on Dec 19 09 at 5:25 pmDoes a four year old have the capacity to sit through a movie that long? As for me, I will be getting a sitter and going with my husband to experience the kick-assedness of this movie kid free.
Jared Bailey commented on Dec 20 09 at 12:55 amI dont think its such a bad idea to bring your kids, and im 14, but…just hear me out. i mean, kids loves superhero movies, and where there’s a superhero movie, theres bound to violence in it. just no escaping that. your concern as a parent, is understandable, but iron man 2 is most likely going to be pg-13, which is an average superhero movie rating, the kids just wanna see their favorite comic book hero beat the living snot out of their enemies on a big screen, in live action. (well, at least thats how i was when the first spiderman movie came out), but i doubt it to be too violent, its not like youre taking them to see watchmen, or kick-ass……now that… that’s a problem
Brett Singer commented on Dec 20 09 at 10:51 pmWatchmen and Kick-Ass… ha. Yeah, that would be a really bad idea.
As for sitting through a movie, my 4 year old can do it, especially if there’s a lot to look at. And it looks like there will be with the new Iron Man.
Adam commented on Dec 26 09 at 11:27 pmFrom the trailer it looks like it will be very much like the first film– a fun action flick with a dark under-current and some fantasy violence. So the question is, would you feel comfortable bringing your 4 yr old to the first film?
relong26 commented on May 05 10 at 3:50 pmOur kids (3 and 6) have seen Iron Man dozens of times. We own the DVD and it’s a favorite for sure. However, after our experience with Transformers and its sequel, we are cautious about taking them to see Iron Man 2. We also own Transformers, and they’ve watched in many times as well. We don’t go to theaters often, but as soon as Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen came out on DVD we purchased it. We decided we should “screen” it before letting the boys watch it, and we’re glad we did. We don’t worry much about violence – our kids know the difference in real life and make-believe – but I don’t like a ton of harsh language. Revenge of the Fallen was full of language – not necessarily profanity but name-calling and suggestive phrases that kids WILL repeat! It also had alot more sexual innuendos than the first. I would love to take our boys to the theater to see Iron Man 2, but will wait until we either see it first or can get a review from a trusted source.
marlene commented on May 07 10 at 11:52 pmComments
just saw it with my 4 and 6 yo…fine for both
DK commented on May 15 10 at 6:10 amMy 4-year old has been begging to see this movie for weeks now.
With all the Burger King promotions and tv commercials aimed at little kids I’ll be really disappointed if it turns out to be inappropriate for him.
BTW he has not seen the first movie. He want to see it on dvd. The only thing making me think twice about letting me see it is that whole opening scene. After that it all becomes comic book fantasy violence so I don’t have an issue with any of that.
He has seen all 6 of the Star Wars movies dozens of times – he LOVES them – and even though those have what could be called over-the-top violence, everything happens within a simple framework of good-vs-evil that I can explain to him when he asks why certain things are happening.
Garcia commented on May 25 10 at 8:02 amWhat advice would you give me about raising my own kids?
