Moonfall | 2022 | PG-13 | – 0.6.5

Why is “Moonfall” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, disaster action, strong language, and some drug use.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes discussions of divorce, a couple of scenes of an attack on three astronauts by a cloud of particles, a scene of the death of an astronaut after an attack by a cloud of particles, many scenes of debris falling from the sky causing a lot of property damage, many scenes of massive floods, many scenes of cities being destroyed and buildings burning, a few threats at gunpoint, scenes of looting and panic, several arguments, and about 3 F-words and other strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

---

When the moon is knocked off its orbit and it’s on a collision course toward the Earth, the last hope of humanity lies with a disgraced astronaut (Patrick Wilson), a NASA executive (Halle Berry) and a conspiracy theorist (John Bradley), who insists that the moon is an alien superstructure. To save life, the three remove a decommissioned shuttle from a museum and fly to the moon. Also with Charlie Plummer, Wenwen Yu and Michael Peña. Directed by Roland Emmerich. [Running Time: 2:10]

Moonfall SEX/NUDITY 0

 – Discussions of exes and divorce.

Moonfall VIOLENCE/GORE 6

 – A space shuttle drops a probe into a hole in a crater on the moon and we see images being sent to the shuttle; the probe stops and begins climbing out of the hole as we see a giant cloud of particles shoot out, it swirls through the atmosphere and toward the shuttle, breaks through the hull, the three astronauts inside the shuttle put on their helmets, and the cloud takes on the shape of a metallic tentacle and slams through their visors as they scream, killing all three (we see video of the attack again later). A person in a space vessel is engulfed in a cloud of particles as an explosive is detonated.
► Two astronauts conduct satellite repairs outside their capsule when onboard electronics flicker and malfunction: the two astronauts outside the capsule see a swirling cloud of particles moving toward them, it crashes into the capsule and the satellite throwing the astronauts and breaching the suit of one of them (he calls out that he is losing air); one astronaut is pulled by his tether cord back into the capsule, where he finds a third astronaut unconscious but alive, and the other is engulfed by the cloud and we do not see him again. A man thrashes when he is caught in a beam of light. A young man is struck and pulled through the air by a tree; we see him pinned under it but seems to be uninjured later. A man is slammed by a wall of water and another man struggles to pull him to safety when the first man says that he cannot swim.
► People with guns in two vehicles chase another car and they shoot at each other while speeding through roads, dodging debris and avoiding being lifted off the ground when a gravity wave passes through; a freight truck crashes down onto one vehicle, another jumps off a ledge and crashes into a boulder while the third makes the jump without incident. Three people with guns surround a car and force the occupants out; one person punches the driver in the stomach and they steal the car and speed away leaving the other people stranded. Three people with guns try to steal tanks of oxygen from a young man and a man until the young man holds a gun on one of them and they get away. A man draws a gun and threatens other people in a control room where they are about to launch nuclear weapons. A woman shoots at three people as they approach a gated area (no one is struck). Two young men speed in a car and are chased and eventually stopped by police; we see a TV news report as the young men kneel on the road and they are handcuffed. News reports show people looting and refer to “Moon Terror” after predictions of the moon breaking up and striking the Earth are made public. A man threatens to hurl another man out a window. A man yells at a woman and accuses her of “screwing over your friends.” People struggle to breathe when the atmosphere loses oxygen; a man collapses on the ground, struggles to breathe and dies.
► A lander is launched and a cloud of swirling particles moves toward it, the cloud changes direction and engulfs a shuttle, and then backs off and moves away. A vessel flies into a hole in a crater in the moon and moves deeper and deeper as we see a shuttle destroyed by space debris; the vessel is chased through narrow passages by a cloud of particles. A rocket fires up its engines for takeoff and it is splashed by a wall of water and a helicopter nearby struggles to get away from the water and doesn’t make it; the rocket gets free, drops its rocket boosters and an empty fuel tank to try to increase speed and make it to the moon with only two engines. Space debris crashes into a shuttle and one piece breaks off a piece of its tail. After a shuttle makes a hard landing an indicator says that oxygen levels are low (three people in the vessel are seen unconscious). A giant gravity wave rolls across the Earth’s surface and equipment and vehicles are thrown through the air; a rocket is slammed against its launch housing and an engine is damaged.
► Tides on Earth rise and water washes through city streets, and yachts are carried on waves toward a city and slam into tall buildings. Buildings shake and the ground breaks up during earthquakes in a couple of scenes. Many scenes show debris hurling through the sky and crashing into cities and mountains causing a lot of damage. The moon scrapes the surface of the Earth and we see sparks fly. News reports show severe flooding and people struggling to stay afloat in fast moving water.
► People talk about and predict a shift in the moon’s orbit and we see a computer-generated trajectory of the moon nearing Earth and breaking up as it gets closer. Men prepare to launch nuclear weapons to destroy the moon. A man accesses another man’s computer and determines that the moon’s orbit is shifting; he tries to tell people in several scenes and is not taken seriously. People in a NASA control room report data that shows an emission from a crater on the moon. We see and hear newsreel footage and voice recordings of the Apollo 11 lunar landing.
► A security guard holds a gun on a man searching through a dumpster. People are shown stealing gasoline and other items from a convenience store. A young man is walked into a courtroom and taken away by a bailiff when the judge delays the hearing and a man in the room yells about what is taking place. A man is awakened by a knock on his door and he climbs out a window, stumbles to the ground and speeds away on a motorcycle to avoid the person at the door. A man talks to a group of children about the moon and space travel and makes loud sounds startling them. A man complains about being broke and divorced. We see images of the creation of Earth and DNA.
► Cat urine is shown on a newspaper when a cat does not use its litter box. A man says that he has IBS, severe anxiety and motion sickness. Fish flop on the ground when water drains off a flooded area. Dead birds flop to the ground out of the sky and someone says that there is no oxygen. A young man and a young woman compare tattoos on their arms.

Moonfall LANGUAGE 5

 – About 3 F-words (1 in graffiti on a space shuttle), 9 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 20 mild obscenities, name-calling (crackpot, crazy, idiot, reckless, unbelievable, schmuck, insane, ludicrous, Mr. Smart [anatomical term deleted], weird, moon terror, religious fanatics, stupid), exclamations (oof, freaking, uh-oh, heck, no freaking way, no effing way, shut-up), 2 religious profanities (GD), 19 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, Holy [scatological term deleted], oh God, Holy moly, thank God, God help you, God help us all, Jesus Christ). | profanity glossary |

Moonfall SUBSTANCE USE

 – A judge refers to illegal substances being found in a car after a car chase, a man smokes marijuana, a man says that another man “smokes a lot of weed,” and a man takes capsules for anxiety and IBS in a few scenes.

Moonfall DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Space flight, alien technology, the creation of humankind, human error, eviction, AI, mistakes, nature of the universe, top secret information, budget cuts, mega-structures, fear, panic, sacrifice, social conflict, war, nanotechnology, divorce, responsibility, cover-ups.

Moonfall MESSAGE

 – Fight for the people you love.