Eternals | 2021 | PG-13 | – 5.7.4

Why is “Eternals” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “fantasy violence and action, some language and brief sexuality.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a sex scene, a couple of kissing scenes between two men and a man and a woman, men and women wearing form-fitting suits, many scenes of battles between superheroes and giant creatures with some ending in the death of the creatures and a few with the death of the superhero with some blood and goo seen, many discussions of faith and the end of Earth and humankind, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Set after Avengers: Endgame, a group of near-immortal beings that have lived quietly among humans for thousands of years, are called back into action when a powerful foe is back and threatening the destruction of Earth. With Gemma Chan, Richard Madden, Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek, Kit Harington, Kumail Nanjiani, Lia McHugh, Brian Tyree Henry, Lauren Ridloff, Barry Keoghan, Ma Dong-seok, Harish Patel, Haaz Sleiman and Esai Daniel Cross. Directed by Chloé Zhao. Many lines of dialogue are in sign language with English subtitles. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in unidentified languages with English subtitles. [Running Time: 2:37]

Eternals SEX/NUDITY 5

 – A man and a woman kiss and he professes his love for her; they kiss passionately and we see them nude and lying on the sand as they continue kissing and the man thrusts briefly (we see the man’s bare back and shoulders and the woman’s bare arm and shoulder). A man and woman are married and they kiss during the ceremony. Two men kiss goodbye, tenderly.
► A man and a woman touch hands and embrace in a couple of scenes. A man and a woman kiss. A man asks a woman to move in with him and she declines the offer. A teen girl tells a man and a woman to “get a room” when she sees them kissing. A young man and a young woman flirt and press their foreheads together. Men and women dance together in a pub scene.
► A man tells a woman, “I’ll see you tonight,” in front of a classroom of elementary school children and they giggle.
► Superhero suits are form-fitting and outline the women’s breasts and buttocks. Women wearing cropped tops that reveal cleavage and bare abdomens dance on a Bollywood movie set.

Eternals VIOLENCE/GORE 7

 – There are many scenes of encounters with creatures referred to as demons and deviants (they have large claws, pointed teeth, piercing tails and tines) and people with superpowers fight them using laser blasts, super speed, powerful punches and using a glowing sword and shield; most scenes show the creatures being destroyed, a few scenes show the creatures healing themselves, others show them transforming into more refined beings (sometimes into humanoid figures), and we hear creaking and stretching as this occurs.
► A giant creature tries to reach a superhero and another superhero interferes: the creature holds the superhero as he struggles, and it stabs him through the neck and chest (we see tines moving into and through his flesh with some blood as the man falls limp). A superhero falls off a cliff and is attacked by several creatures: one large creature spears her in the back and neck with pointed tines (we see some blood as the points move through her flesh) and she falls unconscious and then dead. A giant creature swims through a canal as three people walk nearby, it pops out of the water and a woman turns the ground into quicksand, trapping the creature and then solidifying the ground to keep it from moving; it breaks free and chases the woman that faces it as another superhero creates many holograms of the two of them to throw the creature off their scent; a bus crashes into the creature and flips over but a superhero transforms the bus to flakes and no one is harmed, while the creature grabs one of the superheroes and another superhero shoots it with lasers, the creature heals itself and falls into the water. Many creatures fight humans and superheroes and we see slashing and punching and throwing; one creature’s head is blown off by an energy charge (we see it separate and goo splatters on a superhero’s face); one superhero is pinned on the ground and his laser eyes cannot shoot the creature, and another is thrown into a pond where the creature attacks her and she turns it into a tree. Many creatures surround people and superheroes and the heroes fight them. A young child guts a fish as his father fishes on rocks nearby (we see some fish blood); the child calls out to his father just as the man is swallowed by a large creature that comes out of the sea, it then threatens the child until a superhero shoots it with a laser, and the boy is swept away to safety by another superhero with super speed when another creature tries to grab him. A superhero shoots lasers at something that blows up and throws others into the air. A superhero is stabbed through the back with a dagger and we see blood (she heals herself later). A superhero fights a creature in a cave and she is struck by a lava rock, she stabs the creature in the abdomen and it throws her back, picks her up, wraps her with tentacles, stabs her in the neck with a tine and she frees herself and slashes the creature into pieces (we see it in pieces on the ground).
► A superhero is overcome (described as her mind fracturing under the weight of her memories) in a few scenes and her eyes turn white as she says, “Everyone is going to die,” and she fights with other superheroes until one manages to calm her down; in one scene the superhero that calms her slams her to the ground knocking her unconscious after she stabs another superhero. A superhero yells in frustration and sprays the ground with lasers setting a patch of land on fire. A superhero grabs another superhero by the throat and throws him to the ground, slams him into a stone wall and shoots him with lasers (we see him OK later), and shoots a flying vessel out of the sky with lasers. A couple of scenes of war among humans are shown with people using swords, guns, and bombs that leave the Earth scorched (as with Hiroshima); superheroes talk about the frustration of not being able to interfere in human self-destructive behaviors and refer to wars as genocide.
► A superhero has cuts and scars on his arms from where another superhero attacked and slashed him with her sword. A superhero takes a cast iron pan out of a flame with his bare hands and twists it to snap it in half (he is not burned and doesn’t react to the heat). A giant space vessel rises out of the ground leaving a gaping crumbled hole and superheroes go onto the ship. A superhero using super speed races around another superhero and throws him. A superhero is held to the ground by several glowing cables strapped around his arms and legs and he yells eventually breaking free. Three superheroes are surrounded by glowing rings and lifted into the air where a giant being tells them that it will be determined if their memories are worthy of remaining.
► Wind blows through a remote house and a dead woman is found outside; we see her discolored flesh on her face and others talk about a creature killing her and absorbing her power as a glowing orb rises out of her chest and moves into another woman’s chest. A creature is shown dead on the ground in a puddle with goo on its wounds. A dead superhero is burned in a funeral pyre and his ashes are sprinkled over water. Several superheroes attach themselves together with glowing strands of energy and lift off the ground. Large creatures that resemble wolves prowl around on an ice-covered lake; we hear that they have appeared as the ice has melted and that they have killed a group of oilrig workers. A large creature moves through a river and toward a dog on the bank (we do not see the dog being harmed). A superhero flies into the sun. Two superheroes fight with laser blasts and a glowing sword.
► A superhero makes people fighting with each other drop their weapons and tells others, “If you want to stop me, you’ll have to kill me.” Several people in a bar shove each other and a fight breaks out; a superhero engages his powers that make them stop fighting and they hug each other. A large space vessel appears in the sky and several superheroes lower out of the vessel and to the ground where many people surround them holding sticks and weapons; one superhero uses his power to make them lower their weapons. A superhero makes herself and others around her disappear in a few scenes. A superhero uses his power to draw a glowing orb out of another superhero’s chest. A couple of scenes show predators attacking (and eating) prey in different settings.
► A superhero asks to be changed into a human. A few scenes show a glowing being that speaks with a booming voice about responsibility, faith and purpose and tells superheroes not to get attached to the people of Earth, and that they are just fodder. We hear news reports of an Earthquake and see images of crumbled bridges in cities. Superheroes discuss creatures evolving without predators, which would make it impossible to destroy them. A man is frustrated when he is told that he cannot share his invention of a steam engine with people that are less technologically advanced; another person says that it will “freak them out.” A superhero talks about following the directive to not interfere in matters on Earth unless “deviants” were involved. A man asks a woman, “Are you a wizard?” A superhero asks, “Are we really helping these people build a better world?” A superhero says that a man thought he was a vampire when he first met him. Superheroes talk about Thanos. A superhero asks if humans are worth saving. Superheroes discuss having to erase another superhero’s memories. Superheroes talk about the Avengers and who would take over from Captain America.
► A volcano rumbles and lava spews from it as it throws glowing boulders. A giant hand pushes out and through the Earth in a few scenes causing the ground to rumble and the seas to churn. An earthquake rumbles in a city and a building shakes; a woman instructs her classroom of elementary school children to get under their desks as a large stone carving hanging on a wall nearly falls on a child; the woman changes the stone into powder and the child is unharmed. A superhero makes a man throw his camera against a wall breaking it, and another superhero throws another camera to the ground shattering it. A superhero punches a table and it breaks in half. Superheroes drink a fermented beverage with a meal and one describes how he makes it by chewing each kernel of corn and fermenting it in his own spit (one superhero spits out a mouthful of the drink).

Eternals LANGUAGE 4

 – 1 obscene hand gesture, 3 scatological terms, 1 anatomical term, 5 mild obscenities, name-calling (grossness, pawns, hideous, deviant, saliva beer, creepy, murderers, bleak, broken, damaged, useless, archaic, cranky, procrastinator, cowardice), exclamations (ouch, jeez, oh no), 3 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, oh God). | profanity glossary |

Eternals SUBSTANCE USE

 – Men and women drink in a pub scene, people drink a fermented beverage with a meal, a superhero says that there was a global earthquake and another says that he thought he was drunk, and people drink at a celebration.

Eternals DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Chaos, superheroes, optimism, human behavior, evolution, purpose, faith, war, friendship, abandonment, loyalty, myths, being late, technological advancement, disappointment, birth, lies, self-pity, choices, space colonization, Peter Pan and Tinkerbell, sacrifice, ignorance, destruction, memories, social skills, truth, legends.

Eternals MESSAGE

 – Faith without question can lead to unwanted consequences. Find your own purpose.