Batman movie

Khannie

Anyone seen this? Suitable for a 10 - 11 year old? It's under 15's accompanied, but you know yourself.....

Talking about "The dark knight" btw.

The Black Oil

I'm not a parent but I've seen it and given how the Joker explains how he got his scars I would say no.

no.

zAbbo

It's 2.5hrs long, and the storyline would be far too complex for a 10 year old.

How about -
Journey to Centre of Earth 3D (PG)
Kung Fu Panda (PG)
Wall-E (G)
Hancock (12)

Nevyn

I won't be bringing my 10 year old to watch it.

MissyN

Definitely not, I saw it yesterday and there was a little boy beside me and I couldn't believe it....he looked around 10 years old. Way too scary for that age.

marti101

Depends on the child,did he see the 1st one.Does he scare easily that would be the main thing.

nesf

I was brought to see the first Batman movie at 8. I really enjoyed it but then it was not exactly "suitable" for my age to be honest..


From a PC point of view, probably not suitable. A 10 year old would probably get more enjoyment from Wall E or whatever etc.

Cokehead Mother

Make your decision based on your child and the content on the film. There are huge differences in development between children at 10/11.

http://www.kids-in-mind.com/d/darkknight.htm

^ List of every single thing in the movie with the potential to cause harm/offence.

It's probably worth noting that it's a 12A in the UK.

Khannie

Thanks for all the replies.

Cokehead Mother wrote: »

Make your decision based on your child and the content on the film.

To be honest, I want to see the film myself (I've heard that it's really good) so I'm trying to avoid any spoilers. That's making it hard to make an informed decision.

Thanks for the list though.

Cokehead Mother wrote: »

It's probably worth noting that it's a 12A in the UK.

That /is/ interesting.

The Black Oil wrote: »

I'm not a parent but I've seen it and given how the Joker explains how he got his scars I would say no.

I think that's enough for me tbh. I'll err on the side of caution. I'll go and watch it myself with my wife first and report back on whether or not I think it'd be suitable for someone his age.

Victor

Its not necessarily any of what is shown, in fact they seem to go a long way not to show and blood or real suffering, but a lot of what is implied is quite disturbing - I'm not sure if you want a 10 year old asking you about a fight to the death with a snooker cue.

While http://www.kids-in-mind.com/d/darkknight.htm lists low- to mid-level sex, nudity, profanity and substance abuse they are at levels that are almost un-noticeable against the violence, malice, intimidation and manipulation.

Good film. And at 2h30 really wears you down.

Khannie

Holy sh*t victor. Do you really have 37000 actual posts? I thought I was a waster. You're my hero!

On topic: Implied stuff is a fine line. It's why the simpsons wins across the age divide; It's not just innuendo that's over childrens heads. They imply stuff but kids just wont pick up on it for the most part (smithers sexuality for example).

Anyway....I'll watch it during the week and see what I think. Will report back.

BostonB

Khannie wrote: »

Holy sh*t victor. Do you really have 37000 actual posts? I thought I was a waster. You're my hero!

On topic: Implied stuff is a fine line. It's why the simpsons wins across the age divide; It's not just innuendo that's over childrens heads. They imply stuff but kids just wont pick up on it for the most part (smithers sexuality for example).

Anyway....I'll watch it during the week and see what I think. Will report back.

The simpsons has some woeful stuff in it. Lots of gore and violence, mooning. I like the simpsons but its really for adults.

Khannie

BostonB wrote: »

The simpsons has some woeful stuff in it. Lots of gore and violence, mooning. I like the simpsons but its really for adults.

Get out of it. Ye big bush voter ye.

nesf

Khannie wrote: »

Anyway....I'll watch it during the week and see what I think. Will report back.

I watched it last night. The violence is implied and they definitely went to great lengths to avoid bloodshed on screen. Whether a 10 year old would pick up on what was going on would depend on the 10 year old I think but as a film, weighing in at 2.5 hours and having a dark (yet still important) message I'd say that there are better options out there for kids. Many of the themes were mature, not in a sexually explicit or violent way but in a gritty real life is a bitch kind of way where essentially there's a blurring of the lines between the anti-hero and hero stereotypes. Depending on the kid and the family this may or may not be a problem but it really comes down to how complicated your morality discussions have been with them. If they're still living in a black and white good/bad world, then the underlying story might not sit well with their world-view.

Victor

Cokehead Mother wrote: »

It's probably worth noting that it's a 12A in the UK.

I was thinking about this and I suppose that proves its not suited for a 10 year old.

MissHoneyBun

I'm not a parent but after seeing the film I really don't think it's suitable for a ten year old child. The content is very adult in nature as well as being consistently violent throughout. Heath Ledger's intense portrayal of the Joker was aptly chilling and left me feeling frequently unsettled. The overall tone to the movie is dark and raises many unorthodox questions in the realm of Good versus Bad, Hero versus Villain. In general I would say that the movie lacks any fairytale qualities that would warrant a child's viewing.

Khannie

Victor wrote: »

I was thinking about this and I suppose that proves its not suited for a 10 year old.

How so? It's "under 12's accompanied by an adult", no?

nesf wrote: »

If they're still living in a black and white good/bad world, then the underlying story might not sit well with their world-view.

Hehe. Interesting that you should bring it up....we had a discussion about war the other night....it was prompted by "war is stupid". In general I agree with that statement, but I played devils advocate for a bit and asked him if he was the leader of a nation where people are starving, would he consider using force to acquire food from a more affluent neighbouring nation (who had sufficient food to feed both themselves and his nation), or let his people suffer and possibly die. He had no trouble saying that he'd take the food by force.

Anyway....I'm looking forward to this film now. Sounds like very good stuff.

Weidii

The movie is great, but I definately wouldn't take a 10 year old to it.

Khannie

Going to see it tonight if we can get a babysitter. Can't wait! 9.3 / 10 on imdb after 175000 votes! Savage!

Eyeofthetiger

Went to see this last night and I agree with the other posters the violence/gore is implied rather than shown.

I'm the mother of a 4 yr old girl so maybe that might influence my opinion but I wouldn't take any child under 12 to see it and even over 12 I would have my doubts.

There were 3 young fellas that looked about 10 behind us laughing during some of the more depressing/disturbing scenes and to be honest them laughing actually disturbed me more.

Mr Magnolia

Heading tomorrow night myself. Also looking forward to it.

Burial

Being honest, I'm 19 and if I was a parent (Hopefully not for awhile ) I'd let my children of ten years watch it. It is dark, it is violent, but why, might I ask, should you protect your child from it? Do you honestly see your child becoming a Joker type character in the future? Do you see him robbing banks or becoming a criminal after watching it? What negative aspects after watching it would the child do? I'm genuinely curious. I've always known movies to be fake and just entertainment, way before I was ten. To that person who said the story was too complex, at that age I watched complex movies and sometimes understood the meaning. (Even at 19 some movies meaning are hard to get) The story shouldn't be a reason to not let them watch it.

I wouldn't take my child, only if they were bullying people or they only answer their problems through violence. Maybe my views might change when I have a child, but I honestly can't see what the big fuss is.

Khannie

Well....quality film. Definitely the best of the Batman series.

Honestly though....You're all a bit more sensitive than me. The film is borderline suitable / unsuitable for my youngfella IMO (and you should bear in mind that we left one of the harry potter movies a few years ago because he was scared). I definitely wouldn't be saying "OMG! NO WAY!". Another year and I'd have no problem letting him watch it. He is 11 at the start of September so that's worth bearing in mind.

Sure, it's dark, it deals with difficult moral questions, but let's face it, there's no gratuitous sex and basically everything really dark is implied (with one very visual exception).

I think Cokehead Mother's right in that differences in development are as much a part of the decision as your individual concerns as a parent.

Loopy

Very well said Khannie.. I saw it the other day and really loved it (especially the joker) and there was lots of kids at it, some definitely under 10, which I was surprised at.

The Black Oil

Plenty of children's stories and books have a dark edge which is fine, positive even, and I think Bill Bailey or Eddie Izzard have filled us in on some of that. I guess it comes down to what people feel their kids can handle which is pretty subjective really.

Piste

From a different perspective: When I went to see the film there were some kids in the audience (deginitely no older than 10) with their parents and as the film got scarier they started to cry very loudly and it was SO irritating for other people in the audience. >:(

So if your 10 year old's a complete pussy keep him way from it for the sake of the rest of the people in the cinema

Decis

There is no way I would let a 10/11 year old see that movie. 2 Face and "watch me make this pencil disappear" are enough to rule it out
Good flic though
Decis

LolaDub

I saw it at the 10.10 showong on Sun night and there were a few kids at it, didn't finish till about 12.30. There was one toddler who was playing on the steps for pretty much the whole film. He wasn't making any noise or disturbing the film but his parents were in one of the front rows and he went the whole way up to the back without them coming for him, he was small enough that he was a bit wobbly on the steps. I thought that was pretty bad!

Sleepy

Way too dark for me to consider bringing a child to it, the entire plot-line is quite a dark moral concept, the Joker's the most genuinely scary bad guy since Hannibal Lector, Two-Face looks grotesque, the explanation of the scars etc. The movie is very clearly edited to avoid the 18's cert. Adherance to the specifications doesn't necessarily make it any less likely to induce nightmares imho.

Couldn't believe when I saw a guy in the cinema I watched it in there with two kids that were definitely under 8 (I'd have guessed at 4 and 6 respectively).

Maybe as an expecting father I'm being overly sensitive but I genuinely feel at the moment that Dark Knight is a movie for Adults or 16+ at the very least.

Khannie

Sleepy wrote: »

Maybe as an expecting father I'm being overly sensitive but I genuinely feel at the moment that Dark Knight is a movie for Adults or 16+ at the very least.

Don't be mental. There isn't a 14 year old in the country that would be genuinely disturbed by that film.

Burial

I can't imagine a 14-year old would have a problem with the film. However, it's your kids, so your choice. I think back after watching a film and decide, at what age would I have understood that film and apply it to my (future) kids. I don't know if I would've gotten all of the theme's in the movie back then, however I do know it's just an action movie, and not real. So, I'd definatly say this movie would be fine for my 14 year old. (As long as they aren't bullys or violent)

Sleepy

Khannie wrote: »

Don't be mental. There isn't a 14 year old in the country that would be genuinely disturbed by that film.

Probably true, I guess I'm just getting too used to being around very little kids!

I suppose I'm also looking at it from the perspective of the fact that ratings tend to be little more than guidelines and most people I know have little problem allowing their 14 year olds to watch an 18's movie once they know the contents of it.

IamBeowulf

Khannie wrote: »

Don't be mental. There isn't a 14 year old in the country that would be genuinely disturbed by that film.

If you're right, then God help us all. Kids that age should be learning to understand that violence should be avoided at all costs. In fairness to the film-makers, they did everything they could to include the dread, intimidation, fear and agony that comes with violent acts. In contrast to the previous films (by Tim Burton and Joel Schumacher) the last 2 have gone out of their way to be as realistic as possible.

A mature kid will understand the meaning behind the film---I won't spoil it but even Batman's actions come into question, something usually kept solely for the bad guys---but an immature kid (which, if they're ten, is to be expected) will love the Joker for his fearlessness in the face of authority, his callous disregard for human life and his joy in maiming, manipulating and terrorising countless people.

I'd rather a kid be frightened out of their wits by the film. least then they won't imitate what they see.

Personally I don't think 15A is an appropriate rating. Cutting blood out of screenshot doesn't soften the psychological effects of violence, only softens the consquences. They should have elft the gore in and made it a solid 15 or 18 (I think they got rid of 15 didn't they???---If they did, then the parents should know well enough by the trailers)

If you're looking for a fun superhero film try Iron Man (is that still out?) or Hellboy 2. Both have suitably "soft" violence, but they have nice messages too.

lemon_sherbert

Personally, I wouldn't approve of kids that young seeing it. I'm 19, and I thought bits of it were pretty scary, and at 10/11, it would have given me nightmares... though maybe I'm just a wimp

Victor

IamBeowulf wrote: »

Personally I don't think 15A is an appropriate rating. Cutting blood out of screenshot doesn't soften the psychological effects of violence, only softens the consquences. They should have elft the gore in and made it a solid 15 or 18 (I think they got rid of 15 didn't they???---If they did, then the parents should know well enough by the trailers)

There is a newish 16 rating as well.

the glass woman

LolaDub wrote: »

I saw it at the 10.10 showong on Sun night and there were a few kids at it, didn't finish till about 12.30. There was one toddler who was playing on the steps for pretty much the whole film. He wasn't making any noise or disturbing the film but his parents were in one of the front rows and he went the whole way up to the back without them coming for him, he was small enough that he was a bit wobbly on the steps. I thought that was pretty bad!

Hold on, did i get that right, there was a toddler at The Dark Knight at a showing that didn't finish til 12.30 am?! Are you serious?!

the glass woman

Sleepy wrote: »

Way too dark for me to consider bringing a child to it, the entire plot-line is quite a dark moral concept, the Joker's the most genuinely scary bad guy since Hannibal Lector, Two-Face looks grotesque, the explanation of the scars etc. The movie is very clearly edited to avoid the 18's cert. Adherance to the specifications doesn't necessarily make it any less likely to induce nightmares imho.

Couldn't believe when I saw a guy in the cinema I watched it in there with two kids that were definitely under 8 (I'd have guessed at 4 and 6 respectively).

Maybe as an expecting father I'm being overly sensitive but I genuinely feel at the moment that Dark Knight is a movie for Adults or 16+ at the very least.

I totally agree. I walked out of it telling my husband that our son won't be watching that til he's 16. (He's just turned one!)