I think so, but read on…
Last week I previewed Dreamworks Pictures’ new robot action-drama, Real Steel, and it’s safe to say, I LOVED IT! As I mentioned in my Real Steel review, I knew nothing of the film, other than it starred Hugh Jackman, a young boy and robots. On the surface, this looks like a great family movie– but, it may not be for every child younger than 13.
With a PG-13 rating, Real Steel has some violence, intense action and brief language.
As I screen movies, I always keep my seven-year-old daughter in mind and how she would react, and use that as a guide instead of the actual rating for a PG-13 film.
I am going to break down the rating for Real Steel, to give you a better understanding of the movie and to help you decide if it is something you want to bring the entire family to…if not, it will make a fun date night 😉
Some Violence – There is one scene in the movie where Charlie Kenton’s (Hugh Jackman) past catches up with him and he gets beat up in front of his son, Max (Dakota Goyo). Max tries to intervene and is restrained by Charlie’s attackers. In the end, Charlie is left hurt on the ground with his son watching nearby. It is somewhat hard to watch because more than anything you feel bad that the kid has to see his father in a vulnerable position, that was completely motivated by choices Charlie made before Max re-entered his life. There is no blood in the scene, and once it’s over, we see Charlie resting in his trailer.
Intense Action – All of the robot boxing sequences would fall under intense action. For any kid that plays with robots, this would be the highlight of the movie. The action is loud with a lot of banging metal, if your child has any sensory issues with loud noises, you may want to wait to see this movie. Since the robots are boxing, there is no blood –though, there is some lost robot oil — and when the robots “die”, they just basically fall apart into pieces.
Brief Language – Both Charlie and Max use mild language throughout the film. I didn’t sit and count how many times the kid cussed, but it was a handful. There are so many visuals that I think it will go unnoticed or be forgotten by the end of the movie for most children. A non-event if your child has ever heard a curse word, in my opinion.
Other than the above, there are abandonment issues that Max has to go through as he is reunited with his estranged father, Charlie.
I think a good starting age for Real Steel is 7 or 8– my seven-year-old will see it (and I think love it).
Hugh Jackman said his 6-year-old daughter loved Real Steel, and this was actually the first of his movies that he let his children watch– “And they loved it. And I saw the movie with my mother in law who’s 75 and my wife and my two kids. And all of them were cheering and they were like crying and they just — they just loved it.”– Jackman’s son is 11.
Director Shawn Levy has four daughters, three of which made appearances in Real Steel. The three oldest — 12, 9 and 4 yrs. — saw and loved the movie. Levy says, “they so fell for Atom [the robot]”.
Boxing great and consultant, Sugar Ray Leonard brought his wife, two youngest children (10, 14) and mother-in-law to see Real Steel– “And so I knew that we, we kinda’ hit home with demographics from across the board because the kids loved it and… and my wife and my mom– mother-in-law truly liked it. It was really cool. It was satisfying. It really was. And they talked about the whole time on the way home. So I knew we, we did okay.”
Producer Susan Montford said Real Steel is intended as a family film– “You know, we think, we would ideally like the whole family to go and see it and all get different things from it, ’cause we think it’s got something for kids and something for parents.”
Like everything else, there is no short answer to what age it is appropriate to view a PG-13 movie, such as Real Steel. You know your children best, and if they enjoy action, can handle intense scenes and not react to brief language, I think Real Steel is an action-packed, heart-warming and FUN movie the whole family can enjoy.
Real Steel opens in theatres October 7– For more action, check out Real Steel on Twitter and Facebook.
What do you think? Are you bringing your family to see Real Steel?
Special thanks to Disney/Dreamworks for bringing me out to L.A. to preview Real Steel.
