How Family-Friendly is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows?

Rating: PG-13, for sci-fi action violence.

The follow-up to the 2014, live-action incarnation of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is, shockingly, an improvement. The action sequences have some real verve (and actual coherence) to them, and the humor isn’t quite as cringe-inducing. This time, the four crime-fighting turtle brothers – Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo – must stop the dreaded Shredder and his Foot Clan from teaming up with an alien enemy who’s hell-bent on world domination. Or something. That means plenty of massive chase sequences, car crashes, exploding vehicles, ninja battles and general destruction. There’s also a bit of language and some slightly suggestive content involving Megan Fox in a naughty schoolgirl outfit. I brought my 6 ½-year-old son with me to see it — nothing freaked him out, and I found nothing objectionable in it for him. But if you feel uncomfortable with your kids seeing this kind of CGI spectacle, it’s probably best suited for viewers around 10 and older.

Rating: PG-13, for thematic elements and language.

Tweens and older will probably be fine watching this earnest, well-intentioned biopic about prolific Olympic gold medalist Jesse Owens. Stephan James stars as the legendary track and field athlete who was part of the controversial decision by the American team to compete in the Nazi-run 1936 Summer Games. Given the time period and the racially charged setting, you can expect lots of language and slurs, which may be uncomfortable for young viewers to hear — but it also may provide a teaching moment about history and racial struggles. (The title is a double entendre.) The film features Jews being forced onto transport vehicles and having their businesses vandalized. It also includes some sexual humor and shows Owens cheating on the mother of his child. But there are also many worthwhile themes here for kids to learn about and discuss, including perseverance, courage, and understanding.

Rating: PG-13, for zombie violence and action, and brief suggestive material.

This time, the Bennet sisters aren’t just preoccupied with finding husbands — they’re fighting to stay alive. Because Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, like the genre-blending, best-selling novel it’s based on, is essentially Pride and Prejudice… with zombies. So that means this version of the Jane Austen classic is a whole lot more violent, filled with shootings, stabbings, beheadings, bloody faces, and smashed skulls as the undead stumble and mumble their way through 19^th century England in search of brains. Many of the classic exchanges between Elizabeth Bennet (Lily James) and Mr. Darcy (Sam Riley) take place either while they’re battling each other or teaming up to fight off a zombie attack. But the effects in writer-director Burr Steers’ film are often so poorly staged, shot, and edited, it’s difficult to tell what’s happening. I’d steer your kids toward a different cinematic take on Pride and Prejudice – the 2005 version starring Keira Knightley, for example — but if they’re insistent on seeing this one, it’s probably OK for mature tweens and older.

Rating: PG-13, for fantasy violence and action, and some sexuality.

Not that I’d recommend seeing this with your family, but if you have to for whatever reason, it’s probably OK for mature tweens and older. Gods of Egypt is just a crazy, cheesy, over-the-top mish-mosh of history, mythology, and sci-fi fantasy. It’s basically about Egyptian gods (played by actors who are either Scottish, Australian, or Danish) turning into giant, metallic flying creatures that battle each other in the sky. There’s a ton of carnage and destruction, all of which is rendered in hilariously terrible special effects. One character gets his eyes plucked out of his face. Another takes a lengthy trip to the underworld, where some fellow travelers find themselves graphically obliterated if they don’t have anything valuable to secure their passage to eternal peace. There’s also a brief sex scene with partial nudity between Gerard Butler’s character, the power-hungry Set, and his mistress. This is super-violent and overlong but also just bad. Bad in a fun way quite often, but still — bad.