The Flash | 2023 | PG-13 | – 3.6.5

Why is “The Flash” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “sequences of violence and action, some strong language and partial nudity.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes sexual references, some non-sexual nudity, a woman dying from a stab wound with visible blood, many fights between superheroes and supervillains in several scenes with deaths and injuries shown, discussions of planets being terraformed while sacrificing their populations, a few arguments, and at least 1 F-word and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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When a young man (Ezra Miller) uses his power of super speed to find a way to save his parents, he also causes a time shift that threatens to destroy everything else. Also with Sasha Calle, Ben Affleck, Michael Keaton, Michael Shannon, Ron Livingston, Kiersey Clemons, Jeremy Irons and Maribel Verdú. Directed by Andy Muschietti. [Running Time: 2:24]

The Flash SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A young man stands fully nude on a street and we see his bare back, buttocks, legs, chest and abdomen (his crotch is in shadow). Several scenes show superheroes wearing latex suits that cling to and outline their buttocks, genital areas and abdomens; one costume is low-cut and short revealing cleavage and bare legs to the upper thighs. A young woman wearing a hospital gown kicks her legs during a fight sequence and we see her bare legs to the upper thighs. We see a shirtless man and his bare chest and abdomen are shown. A young man steals an elderly man’s pants and an elderly woman’s sweater to wear over his super suit. A young man puts on a super suit and complains that it hurts his genitals.
► A young man says, “I know sex exists, I’ve just never had it.” A young man is speechless when he sees a woman that he seems to have a crush on and she tells him, “Looking good.”
► A young man wraps his leg around a man’s waist, holding on before the other man lifts himself off the ground with a cable.

The Flash VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A flashback scene shows a young boy at home with his mother, he hears a disturbance in the kitchen, he investigates and finds his father kneeling over his mother and she has a knife in her chest with blood on her shirt and the floor.
► Several scenes show clashes between armed beings from an alien space vessel fighting several superheroes and soldiers with shooting, throwing, fighting, and stabbing; one guard is slashed across the throat, one superhero is stabbed in the back, and later in the abdomen, and a device is attached to the superhero’s abdomen where it collects blood. Many guards open fire on two young men and a man as they race through a network of tunnels to find a captive held in a large metal sphere; one young man moves around the other young man shifting the bullets so the young man will not be struck after moving the young man across the room and the young man vomits a lot of goo on the floor (we see goo); the captive is picked up and carried out of the cell and we see that she is pale and seems sickly, and when they exit the area, one man lunges toward another man in the hallway trying to scare him, but he doesn’t flinch; one young man throws the man and he is shot through the leg (we see the bloody bullet pass through his leg as he yells in pain), the rest of the group is shot at, one spreads large bat wings to block the bullets, and a giant metal sphere drops through a passage toward them as they try to escape. A superhero attacks a villain, shooting him with laser eyes and slamming him repeatedly into the side of a vessel making an indention in the hull. A man sets off an explosive that throws him, two young men and a young woman up and through a passage to escape being crushed by a giant metal sphere, and they are surrounded by armed people on the snow-covered ground. A plane is struck midair and the occupant is unable to eject so he crashes the vessel into a larger ship.
► A vehicle speeds through streets chased by a motorcycle, shoots at the motorcycle, and it steers into an alley to avoid children in a crosswalk; police cars join the chase and one car flips over nearly crashing on top of the motorcycle, a truck flips on its side and explodes and the motorcycle rider is pulled by a cable that is attached to the vehicle and along a bridge, fights several men in the vehicle, crashes through the railing of the bridge and toward water below and the man with the cable catches another man with a case that contains a contagion in vials and they dangle briefly before being pulled up to the bridge again. A large, glowing, spike-covered being charges into a scene and punches a young man knocking him to the ground. Ejector seats lower out of a flying vessel and two young men drop to the ground with parachutes; a man drops out of the plane and spreads large bat wings to fly to the ground. A large glowing and spiked creature slashes a young man and he falls back with blood on the wound.
► A young woman floats in the air and fights many guards as they shoot at her (she is not harmed). The ground around a hospital crumbles and the building begins to collapse; we see an ambulance fall into a hole in the ground and a superhero wraps a fire hose around the driver and pulls him to safety, many newborn babies in a nursery fall through shattering windows and toward the ground below with dangerous sharp implements and liquids floating near them as the superhero slows time to be able to shift the objects and the children, saving them all (we see one stuffed animal sliced in the tummy by a surgical implement); a woman and a therapy dog also fall and are saved by the superhero. A superhero fights with a giant being and we see him thrown to the ground where he has blood on his mouth and chin and appears to die. A superhero flies to catch a helicopter before it crashes to the ground, and she places it softly on the ground but a villain blows it up.
► We hear and see reports of a large alien vessel hovering over Earth and we see buildings being turned to rubble as roads collapse and people run and scream; a superhero saves a young boy from being sucked up into the ship, but the boy’s father is pulled out of sight. Many worlds or timelines are shown crashing together and disappearing. A giant spider shoots lasers at a superhero and he shoots laser eyes at it, blowing it up. A giant glowing spiked being stabs a superhero and the being disintegrates into dust. A man stitches a bloody wound on his arm.
► A young man is strapped into a seat where a blast of lightning moves toward him after a man flips a switch and the young man is shown with a bloody nose and mouth and his veins are seen through his charred flesh; a young woman picks him up and flies into the clouds among lighting and the young man revives. Two young men are struck by lightning and one is struck in the back while the other is struck in the chest; one young man has a tooth knocked out and he spits it on the floor and they both fall to the floor moaning. A young boy runs away from his house after his mother has been killed, a young man with powers of super speed runs very fast, and then seems to stretch unnaturally and then runs backward seemingly altering time (he sees events from his past). Two young men “phase” through doors and walls (passing through as we see bubbles and cells moving on the screen). A young man tries to pass through a wall and slams into it. Two young men slap each other, struggle when they confront each other, and realize they are the same person from different timelines; one ends up with a pair of briefs over his face. A young man tries to run at super speed and is unable to do so. A young man falls through the floor to an apartment below and we hear a woman scream. Many small bats swarm through a cave while a young man explores a cave and nearly falls over a ledge, and says, “I almost died in an abyss.” A young man faints when he meets a man that he is told is Batman. A young woman floats off a railing at the top of a building after developing her strength by standing in the sun; she flinches when she hears loud sounds of traffic and people talking. A young man dresses in a special suit and leaves a coffee shop when called to help with an emergency; on the street he is distracted by teens cheering for him, he asks one to throw him the candy bar she is eating, it hits him in the head and he runs away leaving streaks of glowing energy in his wake.
► A man describes a young man wanting to douse himself in industrial chemicals and electrocute himself, and the young man confirms that that is his plan. A character says, “The infant did not survive.” A character says, “This world dies today.” A young man puts on a super suit and complains that it hurts his genitals. A young man says, “I could go lunatic on you.” A young man’s boss yells at him when he is late for work again. A young man is upset about his father having been imprisoned for the murder of his mother. A young woman is angry with the people that locked her in a cage. A young man complains about having to clean up the messes left by another person. A young man seems in a hurry and uncomfortable waiting for an order in a coffee shop. After a traumatic event, a young man suggests that a woman seek therapy. A man talks about trying to overcome a childhood trauma.
► A young boy complains about a math problem. Two cabinets open and many cans and other items pour out and onto the floor. A young man hacks a Batman suit and cuts off the ears of the helmet.

The Flash LANGUAGE 5

 – At least1 F-word, 2 possible but not-fully enunciated F-words, 10 scatological terms, 7 anatomical terms, 1 mild obscenity, name-calling (curly-haired lady, dude, bat mess, catastrophic, insane, abrasive, exhausting, brosky, idiot), exclamations (shut-up, yeesh, holy speedballs, come on, what’s wrong with you, you wanna get nuts let’s get nuts), 16 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, thank God, Holy Funions, Holy [scatological term deleted], oh God, Holy cow, Holy speedballs). | profanity glossary |

The Flash SUBSTANCE USE

 – A young man says he’s having a mushroom flashback. A man stumbles out of a bar holding a bottle and seeming very drunk as he falls into a puddle and tells another man to get him more beer, a young man and a young woman hold bottles of beer and the young man’s bottle spurts when he opens it (they don’t drink), a man drinks a glass of whiskey, and a woman drinks a glass of wine while cooking.

The Flash DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Death of a parent, wrongful conviction, guilt, childhood trauma, truth, superheroes, speed of light, butterfly effect, mistakes, tragedy, loneliness, failures of the justice system, fate, sacrifice, a mother’s love, paradoxes.

The Flash MESSAGE

 – The scars we have make us who we are. Not every problem has a solution and some situations are inevitable.