Iron Man TDK too dark for kids??? Iron Man... good for kids???

[GregComicFan]

I think this deserves a separate topic.....PLEASE dont turn this into a "The Dark Knight versus Iron Man" thread. I think both movies will be great and I have no desire to fight over which movie will be better or earn more money at the box office.

But I do think it's worth talking about...... Everybody says TDK will be "too dark for kids". Let's discuss kids and superhero movies for a second, shall we? Both TDK and Iron Man are rated PG-13. To be honest, people say TDK will be too dark for kids, but I don't think Iron Man was all that great for kids either (I'm talking about the age 6 to age 14 or 15 range)......

I'm a college graduate, firefighter/paramedic-in-training, and I work as a substitute teacher for elementary schools. I'm not sure I would take those elementary school kids to see The Dark Knight OR Iron Man.....

Let's see...

*The movie is taken seriously, and adult-themed.
*Tony Stark flirts with the news reporter in the first 5 minutes of the film and makes it clear he wants her BODY and nothing else. In the next scene, they're in bed together....in the following scene, the news reporter girl is naked in bed.....and Tony Stark obviously ditched her......
*Just like TDK will most certainly show, people are shot, killed, Tony is tortured, people are bloody......
*Tony drinks alcohol and gambles

Okay, so I'm an adult, and all this makes Tony a more developed, interesting, flawed character. But is he for kids? ummmm......I dont think so. So why is everyone saying only TDK is "too dark for kids"????????

 

[Tony Stark]

I don't think anyone ever said Iron Man was kid friendly. There are certainly scenes (and you mentioned a few) that are innapropriate for younger children.

However, they might as well have made TDK rated R. That seems to be what Nolan wants to go for. The studio is probably pressuring him to keep it PG-13 for monitary reasons.

 

[smooth3006]

I don't think anyone ever said Iron Man was kid friendly. There are certainly scenes (and you mentioned a few) that are innapropriate for younger children.

However, they might as well have made TDK rated R. That seems to be what Nolan wants to go for. The studio is probably pressuring him to keep it PG-13 for monitary reasons.

theres no way tdk will be rated R.

 

[FaT_tONle]

IM isn't really kid appealing if you ask me... the fact that we'll be getting numerous family films over the next three weeks is the reason why IM won't be able to capitalize on that market/demographic. IM B.O will be hurt in the long run because of that.

 

[Keymaker]

Tony is just a playboy with a few vices, but TDK's main characters are a seriously messed-up bunch...that's what makes the difference.

 

[Ixion]

I've seen IM twice and the 2nd time there was a little girl there with her parents, could only have been 3 or 4 (although I don't think she should have been there in the first place, but thats her parents decision) and she seemed to enjoy the film. She kept telling her parents how funny it was, things like the slapstick nature of Stark testing out his suit, or the robotic arms in his lab, that sort of thing she got a kick out of. As soon as it finished she told her dad "That was really funny".

So yeah based on what I've seen I can see kids enjoying this movie a lot, a lot more so than Dark Knight.

 

[PowersOfMind]

Well I think that Batman has always been a darker character compared to Iron Man. Sure Iron Man has it elements of darkness but Batman's whole idea is fixed around it. I do think that visually IM is more suited for kids, because truthfully they are there for the eye candy while adults are there for the eye candy and intriguing story. Not to say that TDK wont be stunning visually but that film is more wrapped up in deep dark storytelling.

 

[Bren]

I think both are too dark for kids under 16. I've been told I'm ridiculously old fashioned, but I don't care...

But if I had the proverbial gun to my head, I'd take my under 13 kids to Iron Man rather...

 

[The Major]

Nolan's Batman filmed never came across to me as family friendly.

If parents want their kids to watch films about Batman they can see Schumacher's films, Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, Batman: Sub-Zero, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm and Adam West's tv show dvd's.

 

[HiddenDragon]

I think this deserves a separate topic.....PLEASE dont turn this into a "The Dark Knight versus Iron Man" thread. I think both movies will be great and I have no desire to fight over which movie will be better or earn more money at the box office.

But I do think it's worth talking about...... Everybody says TDK will be "too dark for kids". Let's discuss kids and superhero movies for a second, shall we? Both TDK and Iron Man are rated PG-13. To be honest, people say TDK will be too dark for kids, but I don't think Iron Man was all that great for kids either (I'm talking about the age 6 to age 14 or 15 range)......

I'm a college graduate, firefighter/paramedic-in-training, and I work as a substitute teacher for elementary schools. I'm not sure I would take those elementary school kids to see The Dark Knight OR Iron Man.....

Let's see...

*The movie is taken seriously, and adult-themed.
*Tony Stark flirts with the news reporter in the first 5 minutes of the film and makes it clear he wants her BODY and nothing else. In the next scene, they're in bed together....in the following scene, the news reporter girl is naked in bed.....and Tony Stark obviously ditched her......
*Just like TDK will most certainly show, people are shot, killed, Tony is tortured, people are bloody......
*Tony drinks alcohol and gambles

Okay, so I'm an adult, and all this makes Tony a more developed, interesting, flawed character. But is he for kids? ummmm......I dont think so. So why is everyone saying only TDK is "too dark for kids"????????

I think the reason for this is because based on the previous Batman movies which for the most part was campy this is a darker version of Batman. But I also believe most kids know about this darker Batman it's just the parents don't know anything about him.

 

[Infinity9999x]

You know, quite honestly, in today's world the kids can handle a lot more then they used to. Heck, some of my friends were watching moves like Chucky, Friday the 13th, and Nightmare on Elm Street when we were in 2nd grade.

Now, I do think a movie like TDK might scare some kids in the 5-8ish range, but I seriously doubt any kids in the 9-12 would have troubble handing TDK or Iron man. Especially not 14-15. Heck, the 13-15 year olds today are watching movies like SAW and Hostel.

I think that TDK will have more of the "scary" factor then Iron Man does, because the Joker looks extremely freaky, and the way he kills people is much more gruesome and graphic then the way Iron Man does it. Iron Man blows guys up with guns or shoots them mostly. That kind of violence is easier for kids to handle because it's not as real to them. The guy gets shot and he falls out of the picture.

In TDK Joker will probably be killing people in a very graphic way, you'll probably see them begging for their lives, crying, screaming, or laughing themselves to death (if his trademark Joker Gas appears). That's much more intense. You really see the persons pain and fear as they die that way, and it's more frightening then when you just see a person get shot.

 

[Man-E-Beers]

These films may be too dark for kids, but the thing that ticks me off about this situation is that the studios market these films towards children. They make toys, role playing outfits(like IronMan helmet and glove), shirts, etc., and then turn around and make a PG-13 film. TDK,and Hulk is doing the same thing. It's one thing to make action figures or statues for collectors, but toys geared towards young kids is just wrong! It's all about the money. I have two boys, aged 11 and 8, and we are big superhero fans. I have to be very careful about what they watch. It's what being a parent is about. It gets me when people say that "today's kids can handle much darker stuff than before". Just because they are exposed to it, it doesn't mean they can handle it! I don't know what's gotten into the heads of today's parents, but we have got to do a better job of raising our kids.
Later!

 

[Man-E-Beers]

These films may be too dark for kids, but the thing that ticks me off about this situation is that the studios market these films towards children. They make toys, role playing outfits(like IronMan helmet and glove), shirts, etc., and then turn around and make a PG-13 film. TDK,and Hulk is doing the same thing. It's one thing to make action figures or statues for collectors, but toys geared towards young kids is just wrong! It's all about the money. I have two boys, aged 11 and 8, and we are big superhero fans. I have to be very careful about what they watch. It's what being a parent is about. It gets me when people say that "today's kids can handle much darker stuff than before". Just because they are exposed to it, it doesn't mean they can handle it! I don't know what's gotten into the heads of today's parents, but we have got to do a better job of raising our kids.
Later!

 

[DACMAN]

Tony is just a playboy with a few vices, but TDK's main characters are a seriously messed-up bunch...that's what makes the difference.

People getting shot in the head and women and children getting killed is pretty serious stuff.

I don't think even Batman would show kids getting killed.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

People getting shot in the head and women and children getting killed is pretty serious stuff.

I don't think even Batman would show kids getting killed.

What woman and kids were killed in Iron Man?

 

[The Major]

These films may be too dark for kids, but the thing that ticks me off about this situation is that the studios market these films towards children. They make toys, role playing outfits(like IronMan helmet and glove), shirts, etc., and then turn around and make a PG-13 film. TDK,and Hulk is doing the same thing. It's one thing to make action figures or statues for collectors, but toys geared towards young kids is just wrong!

I agree WB needs to market their stuff better to stop giving mixed signals to families.

That said there is plenty of Batman merchandise and films that your kids can watch.

It's all about the money. I have two boys, aged 11 and 8, and we are big superhero fans. I have to be very careful about what they watch. It's what being a parent is about. It gets me when people say that "today's kids can handle much darker stuff than before". Just because they are exposed to it, it doesn't mean they can handle it! I don't know what's gotten into the heads of today's parents, but we have got to do a better job of raising our kids.
Later!

There are different versions for different audiences.

It just so happens the current Batman films aren't meant for families.

 

[danoyse]

These films may be too dark for kids, but the thing that ticks me off about this situation is that the studios market these films towards children. They make toys, role playing outfits(like IronMan helmet and glove), shirts, etc., and then turn around and make a PG-13 film. TDK,and Hulk is doing the same thing. It's one thing to make action figures or statues for collectors, but toys geared towards young kids is just wrong! It's all about the money. I have two boys, aged 11 and 8, and we are big superhero fans. I have to be very careful about what they watch. It's what being a parent is about. It gets me when people say that "today's kids can handle much darker stuff than before". Just because they are exposed to it, it doesn't mean they can handle it! I don't know what's gotten into the heads of today's parents, but we have got to do a better job of raising our kids.
Later!

I agree, but I think sometimes the kids are so enamored with all of the toys that they don't even need to see the movies to enjoy them. My little cousins have still never seen a Spiderman movie. My friend's 4-year-old believes that Spiderman and Wolverine are best friends who play together and like pizza. There are so many games and toys that they just make it up, it doesn't matter if they get to see the movie or not.

 

[Catman]

Both movies are PG-13 for a reason. BUT if you were gonna take a child to one of these movies Iron Man would be the obvious choice. Yes, there is sex and violence. HOWEVER, there's also a lot of humor. The Dark Knight, ON THE HAND, has a darker tone and The Joker is scary looking.

 

[DACMAN]

What woman and kids were killed in Iron Man?

They don't show it but a woman and like 2 kids go running in a building followed by a guy who opens fire on them once inside. Very start of the village scene.

 

[Kirk Langstrom]

They don't show it but a woman and like 2 kids go running in a building followed by a guy who opens fire on them once inside. Very start of the village scene.

You said " i dont think even Batman would SHOW kids getting killed"...

Iron Man didnt either. It's barely implied, if that scene you describe even happened at all. ( i didnt notice it in three viewings)

 

[bullets]

Both movies are PG-13 for a reason. BUT if you were gonna take a child to one of these movies Iron Man would be the obvious choice. Yes, there is sex and violence. HOWEVER, there's also a lot of humor. The Dark Knight, ON THE HAND, has a darker tone and The Joker is scary looking.

I think it would be a safer bet to take your kid to iron man because there is humor that will keep them interested.

 

[The Major]

I think it would be a safer bet to take your kid to iron man because there is humor that will keep them interested.

The action is more cartoony, too. In Batman everything is extremely realistic and brutal while IM has action that are not only less bloody (no-one get shot or stabbed on screen) it can come off as campy (when IM hits a person they fly through the air like a ragdoll) or it can appear as if he didn't kill them with attacks (kids might think the repulsor rays knock people unconscious not cause death).

 

[Leto Atrides]

Iron Man has it's rating at least partly for things that younger kids wouldn't even get (he's got scotch in his hand for most of the movie, "sometimes I have to take out the trash", etc.). Other than the scene in the Middle East, there's nothing that anyone over 10 shouldn't be able to handle fine. Nothing in it that's not worse in, say, a James Bond movie.

The Dark Knight on the other hand has a scary-looking sociopathic serial killer (played by someone who is now dead keep in mind) trying to bring an entire city's organized crime against some who wants vengeance on crime by causing fear.

And really, when I was in elementary school I used to watch (at least on TV) PG-13 and R-rated movies all the time, everyone did. Robocop, Temple of Doom, Terminator, Jurassic Park, etc. If you think they're going to be scared, don't bring them to the theater so they don't freak out and bother other people, but I think it's ridiculous that anyone thinks a child older than 8 or 9 couldn't watch either movie without being traumatized.

 

[Leto Atrides]

I think both are too dark for kids under 16. I've been told I'm ridiculously old fashioned, but I don't care...

But if I had the proverbial gun to my head, I'd take my under 13 kids to Iron Man rather...

Under 16? Are you really suggesting Iron Man is too dark for someone in Junior High, let alone High School? That doesn't seem old fashioned, it seems like you have no idea what particular ages even entail.

 

[TNC9852002]

Yeah, when I think about it again, Iron Man wasn't family friendly AT ALL. Maybe a few fun scenes here and there with Tony playing around in the lab, but other than the action scenes, this movie would bore typical kids to sleep and confuse the rest.

-TNC