Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom | 2023 | PG-13 | – 1.5.5

Why is “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sci-fi violence and some language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few kissing scenes, many scenes of superheroes fighting with others using slashing, throwing punching, kicking and laser blasts causing destruction and presumed deaths, a kidnapping and threats of murdering a child, a stabbing and a few laser blasts that cause visible injuries, many scenes of destruction, global storm systems causing fires and flooding, discussions of climate change, several arguments, and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

Aquaman (Jason Momoa) continues his role as the King of Atlantis, although his ties to the surface dwellers make him less desirable to many Atlantians. He finds himself needing to enlist the help of his banished and imprisoned brother (Patrick Wilson) when a seemingly unbeatable foe (Yahya Abdul-Mateen II) surfaces seeking revenge. Also with Amber Heard, Nicole Kidman, Randall Park, Temuera Morrison, Dolph Lundgren, Martin Short and Jani Zhao. Directed by James Wan. A few lines of dialogue are spoken in unidentified languages without translation. [Running Time: 2:04]

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom SEX/NUDITY 1

 – A man and a woman kiss. A woman kisses a man on the cheek. A man and a woman kiss and hug.
► A woman delivers a baby while seated in the surf and we see the child held up out of the water. An infant urinates in a man’s mouth while his diaper is being changed in a couple of scenes (we see the stream with no visible nudity). Several women wear tight-fitting suits that reveal cleavage and the outline of their hips and buttocks.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – Two men run for a vehicle when the ground begins to rumble and crack, the men fall through an opening and land hard on the ground below followed by the vehicle (one man’s leg appears to be broken); something crashes through a thick wall of ice, grabs one man with a large tentacle, the other man holds his arms but the man is pulled away leaving his hands behind (the other man is shown holding the man’s hands and we see flesh and bone) as the man screams and is pulled out of sight. A man imagines killing another man’s family and we see bodies strewn with no visible injuries. Men and women onboard a freighter are beaten and bound by pirates (we see some blood on their faces) until a superhero arrives and fights with the pirates hitting them with a trident and throwing and kicking them. A man is shown in shackles and chains as a voiceover describes claiming the throne from the imprisoned man. A superhero is struck hard on the face and falls back on a stone table where his face bleeds and the blood engages a reaction that frees a demon. A man enters a house, stabs another man, kidnaps a young child and leaves the house in flames (the first man is shown with blood on his mouth and later recovers from his wounds); the child is shown later and we hear him crying. A man holds a knife over a crying infant and a superhero stops him by throwing a trident that knocks the knife away; the two fight with tridents, slashing and thrusting. A trident is thrown at a demon as it is released from a spell, the demon catches the trident and another is thrown and it cuts the first trident right through the middle destroying the demon and causing the structures all around it to crumble; a man falls through a hole created in the ground and refuses to accept help allowing himself to fall to his death.
► Giant weapons are fired at a vessel and it shoots a sound wave blast back at the weapons that immobilizes the people firing them; several people riding on the backs of shark-shaped vehicles speed to the area and attack with a couple being struck by the sound blasts and they sink through the water striking their heads on rocks as they fall, a woman creates a whirlpool that catches a vessel in it and throws it and an injured person inside the vessel shoots the woman with a laser blast that leaves her with a bloody and glowing burn on her head and chest as the person from the vessel holds a trident over her to kill her (he does not). Two superheroes fight a man wearing a suit and carrying a trident that give him powers and they throw each other, and the person with the trident shoots blasts at the other two and lasers fire from a helmet he wears burning one of the superheroes on the chest and abdomen (we see wounds smoldering and hear sizzling). Many demons are freed from behind walls of ice and they swarm superheroes and others that fight them and run away.
► People wearing scuba gear dive following the tracks of a giant creature and find structures where we see tortured skeletal-looking people trapped behind ice walls; the creature grabs and slams the divers around, throwing one man that lands hard and sees a vessel and a broken trident nearby. A man holds the broken pieces of a trident together and it and he are zapped with an electrical charge that leaves the man’s eyes glowing green; he sees a monster (with sharp teeth and missing part of one arm) that speaks in a deep rumbling voice promising the man powers to exact revenge. A superhero is shown fighting a giant sea creature in what he calls a cage match and he throws the creature around the cage (we see the creature has large sharp teeth). A superhero fights several guards in a prison, punching and throwing them into walls, freeing a man that’s being held. A superhero jumps against a stone wall and causes a giant statue to fall across a crevasse; he and another superhero run across it and push it off the edge to take many flies chasing them over with it and out of sight; one fly lunges toward one superhero and he punches it in the face (we hear a crunch and see some goo). Blasts of energy strike many people, turning them into a demon army (skeletal beings with sharp teeth and skulls); they are later trapped behind walls of ice “for eternity.” A vessel deploys a sound wave weapon and many sea creatures surround the vessel making sounds that negate the weapon and it blows up. Three characters are swarmed by an army of creatures and one man climbing a tower is held by the leg and pulled until another character hacks the creature’s leg off. A man opens a tote bag that contains an explosive that blows up and throws him. A man is tasered in the back and he collapses.
► Many armed vessels approach an island and a commander orders, “Take that island down”; we see rockets being fired and striking the island causing damage and rubble as people run trying to find shelter; a man grabs onto a cable being dragged behind a vessel and pulls himself up to safety; a superhero is blasted with a sound wave and he is pinned under rubble until another superhero lifts the boulders off him. Two superheroes fight many guards on an undersea vessel, throwing and kicking and shooting at them; a man with a gun enters a room with them and closes the heavy door behind him, pleading for them to take him with them when they leave and the door explodes throwing them through the air in flames and through a window that shatters and the two superheroes crash into metal structures a few times before landing hard on the ground and they revive to fight many guards that shoot laser blasts at them. A superhero is chased by a person driving an undersea vehicle that has long metallic tentacles that try to grab and throw him, he moves through a narrow passage and he is pinned under a large claw until another superhero pulls the claw away from him; the first superhero swings a large chain and anchor to wrap the tentacles of the vessel and it crashes to the ground (we see the driver with blood on her face). Many monsters that resemble skeletons with exposed bones and skulls are released from frozen cells and attack others in several scenes. Creatures with several bony legs and bodies that resemble centipedes slither under the sea and up the walls of structures with riders on their backs. Guards resembling hammerhead sharks attack two men and they fight.
► A crustacean creature complains of someone cutting off his claw and that it took a long time to grow back; he later says that someone else cut it off again and we see the stump. People traveling in undersea vessels speed through an area where they discover a vault containing fuel cells that they steal. A man in a prison cell is shown to be thin and weak and guards beat and kick him several times. A man puts a helmet on a sea creature and begins to fill it with air to suffocate the creature, but stops the air before killing it. A man threatens to burn a kingdom to ash and says that he made a deal with the devil while holding a blade under the chin of another man; he pulls the blade away drawing a bit of blood.
► A superhero threatens to pull someone’s “tongue out of his [anatomical term deleted].” A glacier crumbles into the sea and we see many people on frozen ground searching for something. People discuss a plague outbreak and people dying; they refer to toxic blooms and global warming. People discuss the possibility of needing to reveal an undersea community to the surface dwellers in order to save the planet and one person says that the only reason to reveal themselves would be to “eradicate, not co-exist.” An undersea area is referred to as the “Devil’s Deep.” People are trapped behind a gate and we hear a voice declare they are making an illegal border crossing. News coverage reports about intense weather systems causing fires and flooding around the planet. A man tells another man, “Do not call me brother.” People discuss a fuel being burned to destroy the planet.
► A man reenacts a fight with many pirates on a freighter using action figures while his infant child watches and coos. A man on a motorcycle spins around in the dirt as his young child watches and giggles. A young child sends what look like sound waves into an aquarium and the fish inside it line up in a circle as if the child is communicating with them. A man catches a giant cockroach and convinces another man to eat it, which he does, and we hear a crunch and see some slime. A giant flower eats a giant butterfly by closing its petals on the creature. Many large fly-type creatures eat a giant dead mouse, and then chase two men through a jungle until they are snapped up by giant flowers that eat them. A man eats a hamburger, catches a cockroach crawling on the table and puts it inside the burger before biting into it and we hear a crunch as he smiles.
► A man is shown with large scars on his face and we see a suit’s helmet with a gash on the face. A man’s nose bleeds when the sea vessel he is in dives very deep.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom LANGUAGE 5

 – At least 1 F-word, 10 scatological terms, 9 anatomical terms, 10 mild obscenities, name-calling (wild goose chase, stupid squid, outlaws, tyrant, dead weight, spineless worms), exclamations (frickin’, you gotta be kidding me, shame on you, put a hook in it, shut-up), 3 religious exclamations (e.g. thank God for global warming, my God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom SUBSTANCE USE

 – Two men drink beer in a few scenes, sea creatures are shown drinking and gambling in a casino scene.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Responsibilities, family, regret, only children, dark powers, superheroes, destiny, the bond of brothers, metaphors, goals, aspirations.

Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom MESSAGE

 – Never give up. The bond of brothers is hard to break.