Why is “Superman” rated PG-13? The MPAA rating has been assigned for “violence, action and language.” The Kids-In-Mind.com evaluation includes a few kissing scenes and flirting, discussions of relationships, many scenes of superheroes and meta-humans fighting each other and monsters causing a lot of property damage and some injuries and implied deaths, the implication that a dog has been harmed, discussions of social media impact, discussions of aliens, several arguments, and some strong language. Read our parents’ guide below for details on sexual content, violence & strong language.

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Superman’s (David Corenswet) reasons for being sent to Earth are called into question in this version, and his adherence to the old-fashioned values of pursuing truth, justice and kindness are suspected as flaws. Also with Alan Tudyk, Bradley Cooper, Angela Sarafyan, Stephen Blackehart, Giovannie Cruz, Bonnie Discepolo, Terence Rosemore, Nicholas Hoult, Skyler Gisondo, Rachel Brosnahan, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced. Directed by James Gunn. Several lines of dialogue are spoken in unidentified languages with English subtitles. [Running Time: 2:09]

Superman SEX/NUDITY 3

 – A man and a woman kiss passionately and he lifts her up and puts her on a counter where they continue to kiss. A superhero and a woman kiss and embrace while floating into the air.
► A man and a woman hug. A robot giggles flirtatiously when a superhero looks at it. A woman throws kisses to a man and he pretends to catch them. A man hugs another man lovingly. A woman rushes toward a man and jumps into his arms wrapping her legs around his waist.
► A man makes a suggestive gesture when talking about a man’s “secret harem.” A man asks how long a superhero and a woman have been “hooking up.” A woman tells a man that she knew their relationship wouldn’t work out. A woman says that she is not good at relationships.
► A humanoid being is flesh-toned and we see it with what looks like bare buttocks, back, legs, chest and abdomen (no genitals are evident). A woman wears short and low-cut dresses in several scenes (we see cleavage and bare legs to the upper thighs). A meta-human wears a tight-fitting suit that outlines her breasts and buttocks. A man wears tight-fitting pants that accentuate his buttocks. A meta-human wears a cropped top that reveals her bare abdomen and back. A woman wears a low-cut top that reveals cleavage.

Superman VIOLENCE/GORE 5

 – A man holds a gun with one bullet in it to another man’s head and asks a superhero for information; he pulls the trigger twice and the gun discharges the second time killing the man (he falls to the ground but we do not see blood or the wound). A man is snatched off the ground by a flying superhero and he is dropped a large distance to the roof of a building (we do not see the results). Many young children make a flag calling for a superhero to save them just as they are about to be invaded; many heavy machines and tanks roll over fences and toward people.
► A meta-human sprouts weapons from her hands and uses them to attack robots cutting them with saw blades (we see sparks fly as they collapse), a super dog flies through the area and scratches the meta-human on the face, she throws unidentified items on the dog’s head, it whimpers and is unable to get them off. A superhero grabs a young child and a dog and falls into a glowing river of an unidentified substance as it moves them toward a black hole, they are attacked by flying guards and a being wraps tentacles around the superhero to pull him back to safety with the dog and the child. Lasers are shot into a superhero’s eyes and (we see the reddened flesh around his eyes, but he appears able to see) and he is punched in the face repeatedly. A superhero is surrounded by many flying attackers and shoots them with lasers as he spins in the air (we see them fall to the ground with glowing slashes on their bodies).
► Meta-humans attack an invading army and crush tanks and heavily armed trucks and soldiers. A superhero shoots into the sky and is held by two meta-humans as they leave the atmosphere and then fall back to Earth slamming into the ground; we see them in a hole that they have created when they hit the ground, the superhero crawls out of the hole and vomits black goo (we see the goo) and he coughs; a meta-human gets out of the hole and fights the superhero with many punches and throws. People in a city are evacuated when a rip in the ground moves toward the city and cuts waterways, streets and buildings in half; a building collapses onto a bridge where a woman’s car is stuck and she is nearly crushed but a superhero holds the building until she gets away. Many armed guards surround a woman and a meta-human; the meta-human creates a protective shield around the woman and fights the guards, dispatching them all. A superhero is taken to a compound where he is walked through a portal and taken to a cell where he is locked in with a being that creates an element that makes the superhero weak. Several characters crash through a portal just as it is closing and land hard on the ground. A flying vessel with six people onboard tips over the edge of a high-rise building and we hear the passengers yelling before we see it swoop back up and fly away.
► A superhero slams into frozen ground and we see blood on his face, he spits blood and seems unable to move as he wheezes; he whistles for a dog that bounds toward him and jumps on him causing him to moan and grimace before the dog pulls him to a giant ice formation that rises out of the ground where his wounds are treated by magnified sunlight and he yells (we hear that he has broken bones and organ damage). A superhero’s shoulder appears to be dislocated and we see the bone move under his suit when he pops it back into place (we hear a crack). A man is thrown across a room by a superhero and attacked by a dog (he has bloody cuts on his face and an apparent broken arm later). A superhero whistles for a dog and it does not respond; he goes to confront a man that he thinks has done something to the dog.
► Several meta-humans fight superheroes with punches and throws and one shoots a superhero and he falls to the ground where she is told to fill his lungs with something; we see slimy tendrils moving into his mouth and eyes and covering his head as he gasps (we see an X-ray of his lungs filling with the goo). A monster in a cage is released and it blows fire, then grows to enormous size and walks through a city continuing to blow fire and when it nearly steps on a dog, a superhero holds its foot off the ground; the monster blows fire into a building and people are shown charred but OK as several other superheroes arrive and surround the monster, one slams into the creature’s eye, another uses a device to poke it in the eye while a superhero saves a young girl on the ground from falling debris; several explosive devices are launched into the monster’s mouth and they explode in its stomach and it falls back dead.
► A large mechanical being attacks a superhero and punches him in the face numerous times, holds him around the neck, slams him into a building and throws him to the ground below (the ground breaks to rubble) as people at controls inside another building seem to be operating its movements. Several mechanized guards are sprayed with acid and they yell and fall to the ground. A large mechanical being sprays flames into a high-rise building and we see people inside charred but seemingly OK. A robot lying on the ground stabs itself in the head with a screwdriver and we see several other robots on the ground in pieces. A being holds a glowing element close to a superhero’s face and his skin sizzles as he yells in pain. A superhero’s flesh is pale and with darkened veins when he is exposed to an element. A being holds a glowing orb that resembles the sun and glows brightly to help a superhero recover.
► A superhero is restrained and slammed to the ground, crumbling it, when he turns himself in to authorities. A dog is held in a containment field and shown images of squirrels that it chases relentlessly; a man says that he will later, “Put the vermin down.” A woman is dragged out of a storage room as she tries to send a message to someone. Many people are shown locked in cells in a very dark place and we see a young child held in one as his father is forced to do something to keep the child from being harmed. People yell and jeer at a superhero as he walks through a city; people throw things at him and he seems to be having trouble breathing. A superhero says that there is a warrant for his arrest and he will turn himself in.
► A woman says that a man tortured a dog. A character threatens to beat two other characters to death. A man yells at a woman, calling her names and throwing something at her when he tells her to get out. A woman hears noises in her apartment and picks up a baseball bat to protect herself from an intruder (no one is harmed). A recording shows a man and a woman instructing someone to take as many lives as possible and rule without mercy. People talk about locking up all meta-humans. A man talks about his activity as a superhero and that he smashed some stuff and stopped a war. A superhero admits to flying a man to a desert and pressing him into a cactus (tearing his back) and a woman calls it torture. A meta-human says that he put nanobot trackers in a superhero’s bloodstream. A superhero yells at a dog and a robot says that he is unruly and doesn’t care if he lives or dies. A man says that a woman has dropped her phone in the toilet before. A man says that he feels vomit in his throat (he is not shown vomiting).
► A large mechanical being walks through bright spinning portals that transport it to another place. Many monkeys are shown in a room keying in posts for social media. A woman grabs a man as he walks by in an alley; she holds him and asks to be able to spend time with him if she gives him information. A dog grabs floating robot spheres out of the air and bites them, shorting them out. A superhero shows another superhero that a repair that he initiated was a little off and the other superhero walks away upset.
► A dog bites a superhero’s ankles a few times and whimpers when he leaves without him. A dog bounds toward a young woman, tackles her to the ground, and then jumps on her repeatedly (in a joyful greeting). A man walks along a crowded sidewalk bumping into people.

Superman LANGUAGE 4

 – At least 15 scatological terms, 3 anatomical terms, 9 mild obscenities, name-calling (jerk, loser, malarkey, malicious, aliens, weak, creepy, weird, jerk, tyrannical, stupider, stupid, alien threat, fake, dude, traitor, cocky, cultish acolytes, patronizing, fool, fools, sexy, big ol’ mush, idiot, chicks, reckless, dirt, petty ex-girlfriend, Punk Rock kid), exclamations (darn it, good gosh, come on, what the, be careful, shoot, unbelievable, suck, shut-up, what the hey, ow, oh wow, stop it, half-cocked, giving me guff), 1 religious profanity (GD), 7 religious exclamations (e.g. oh my God, oh God, I swear to God, Holy [scatological term deleted]). | profanity glossary |

Superman SUBSTANCE USE

 – A woman says that she parties like a rock star, a young woman acts inebriated and a superhero says that planets with yellow suns make them feel drunk, and a woman pours a large quantity of sugar in a cup of coffee and drinks it. A man smokes a cigar.

Superman DISCUSSION TOPICS

 – Superheroes, meta-humans, nanites, consequences, taking responsibility for actions, social media, sound bites, obsession, cloning, hypno-glasses, parenting, envy, heroism, parental pride.

Superman MESSAGE

 – Your actions are what make you who you are and showing kindness to others is a good thing.