Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Causes a Stir for Being a PG-13 Movie
This weekend, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 hit theaters and took the box office by storm, making a lot of fans along the way. James Gunn's third and final film in his Guardians trilogy has earned praise from both critics and fans of the MCU as one of the most emotional entries in the entire franchise. It's also one of the darkest films in the entire MCU, dealing with difficult subject matter like animal abuse as it tells Rocket's origin story. Those dark moments have led to some controversy online, with some parents complaining that the movie was too heavy or disturbing for the children they took to see it in theaters.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 is undoubtedly a difficult watch for kids. It's got some disturbing imagery that not only creates some frightening moments, but also leads to difficult, somewhat mature conversations. This movie isn't for kids, and the rating slapped on every poster and stuck front-and-center on all ticket-buying platforms made that point abundantly clear.
"Some material may be inappropriate for children under 13." That's the MPA's official definition of the PG-13 rating, which also comes with a warning that reads, "Parents Strongly Cautioned." Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 carried a PG-13 rating, indicating that it's not something that every kid will be okay to watch.
To be fair, every movie in the MCU to this point has carried a PG-13 rating, and the majority of them have been pretty mild. Guardians 3 is a darker, more intense movie than Ant-Man or Shang-Chi, yet they carry the same rating. That's why each rating comes with an explainer as to exactly what in the film caused that rating. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 was rated PG-13 for "intense sequences of violence and action, strong language, suggestive/drug references and thematic elements." Does that sound like a movie suited for small children?
The entire creation of the PG-13 rating was to avoid situations like this one, letting parents know that, while a movie may not be adult enough to earn an R rating, there does need to be some precautions taken with younger audiences.
Remember, the PG-13 rating wasn't even introduced until 1984, with Red Dawn being the first movie given that rating. Prior to that, the ratings system went straight from PG to R, with nothing in-between. That caused some pretty intense movies to earn PG ratings. Jaws, a very bloody movie that features a shark ripping human beings in half, received a PG rating. Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom, a PG movie, features the villain ripping a beating heart out of someone's chest.
PG-13 is here to help us know what movies are appropriate for what age groups. If you have a kid under the age of 13, it's important to look at the details for that specific rating to find out why the film is rated the way it is. Don't blame a movie like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 for being exactly what it was advertised to be.