by Michael Foust | Mar 8, 2019
The much-anticipated Captain Marvel opens this weekend. It’s a fun ride, but it includes a few content problems that will concern some parents.
Her name is Vers, and she’s a Starforce soldier from Hala,
the capital planet of the alien Kree civilization.
At least,
that’s what she’s always been told.
She remembers little about her past, but she often has
flashbacks to a more peaceful time when she was a happy child and then a
free-spirited teenager on another planet—a planet that had beings that looked
just like her. You know, human beings.
But enough with the reminiscing. She’s currently on an
intergalactic mission against Kree’s long-time alien nemesis, the lizard-faced
Skrulls, who have the ability to change into any shape they desire. Vers has
her own powers. She has super strength and can fire energy projectiles—think,
“laser balls”—from her hand.
She’s nearly unstoppable. Yet during a spaceship battle with
the Skrulls, she is forced to crash land on planet C-53—Earth—and continue her
search for the bad guys. Pretty soon, our planet is caught up in a cosmic fight
we didn’t expect. And Vers—better known as Carol Danvers—starts to realize she
formerly lived on this strange rock.
The film Captain
Marvel (PG-13) opens this weekend, telling how Danvers discovers who she is
and then becomes the most powerful female superhero in the Marvel Cinematic
Universe. It is a film that reveals the origins of Captain Marvel but also the
origins of other Marvel elements, including Nick Fury, his famous eyepatch and
even the word “Marvel.” It also quickly answers the obvious question: Why is
Captain Marvel void of emotion in the trailers?
“There’s nothing more dangerous to a warrior than emotion,”
she is told. “Humor is a distraction.”
It stars Brie Larson (Room)
as Danvers/Captain Marvel, Samuel L. Jackson (Avengers series) as Fury and Ben Mendelsohn as Talos, the leader of
the Skrulls.
Set in 1995, Captain
Marvel is the first Marvel movie with a female superhero in a film to
herself and the first Marvel film with a female director, too (Anna Boden
co-directed with Ryan Fleck).
It differs in other ways. It relies less on CGI (the Skrulls
are actors with masks and makeup) and it includes a few Star Wars-like space
battles. It has no romantic angle.
Those are acceptable (and even fine) changes, but there’s a
lot else to like. Larson’s character isn’t sexualized. She has role model qualities.
In many ways, she’s someone you wouldn’t mind your daughter emulating (minus
the fact she mixes it up often with the bad guys).
Still, Captain Marvel
is rated PG-13, meaning it has
content that will concern some parents.
Warning:
minor/moderate spoilers!
(Scale key:
none, minimal, moderate, extreme)
Violence/Disturbing
Moderate. Captain
Marvel has plenty of violence, but it’s less than that of the popular Avengers films. It’s mostly bloodless,
too. Danvers spars with a male partner (She wins by blasting him with a
projectile). We see a battle with laser guns. Someone is shot and dies. A
somewhat disturbing scene shows Danvers suspended upside down as Skrulls
extract her memory (It’s a lightweight form of torture). On multiple occasions,
she whips 10 or more people by punching, kicking and using her super-energy
powers. We see an autopsy performed on a deceased Skrull. The Skrulls’
transformation from alien to human being is impressive movie magic but could
give children nightmares. A plane crashes.
Sexuality/Sensuality/Nudity
None/minimal. Danvers’ suit is form-fitting, although the
camera doesn’t ogle her figure. In fact, for much of the film, she’s in regular
clothes. A young woman is seen in short shorts at the beach. Two men, at the Skrull
autopsy, make it a point to find out what sex the Skrull is (We don’t see what
they see). We see a nude female mannequin.
Coarse
Language
Minimal/moderate. About 16 coarse words: h-ll 5, d–n 3, a–
3, s–t 2, OMG 2, b—-rds 1.
Other
Positive Elements
It’s refreshing to have a lead female in a PG-13 film who
isn’t scantily dressed and sexualized. If only Hollywood held to that standard
for every film.
Other Stuff
You Might Want To Know
Captain
Marvel
doesn’t include the phrase “girl power,” but the concept is woven throughout
the film. During a flashback scene (which we see twice), she is told by a male
pilot that flying isn’t for women. She is told (by men and women) to control
her emotions. Then, in the movie’s final minutes, she beats up the bad guys as
No Doubt’s Just A Girl plays in the
background.
Life Lessons
Carol Danvers, like most superheroes, clings to what is good
and fights evil. She says early in the film: “I want to serve.” Later, we see
her put generosity and integrity on display. She’s courageous.
The Skrulls teach us that looks can be deceiving, especially
when it comes to friends, acquaintances and strangers.
The film’s primary theme—discovering who you are—can teach
us a few lessons, too, even if we don’t have amnesia. As Christians, our identity
is in Christ (2 Cor. 5:17, 1 Pet. 2:9). He has a plan for each of us (Jer.
29:11).
Worldview/Application
“Control your emotions.” It has a negative ring in some
circles. It’s what Captain Marvel is
told, over and over, at the outset.
Yet Scripture tells us to control our emotions. We are to be
“slow to anger” (Prov. 16:32), to guard against fleshly impulses (Gal.
5:16-24), and to display self-control (1 Pet. 1:5-6). Perhaps Captain Marvel’s
mentors were onto something.
Finally, Marvel itself deserves applause for giving us a
female superhero who gets attention for her talents, not her looks. Hollywood’s
history is filled with films that did just the opposite. Young girls need the
former message, not the latter.
Partners
Hertz, the WNBA, Dave & Busters, Citizen, Alaska
Airlines, Synchrony and Visible are partnering with Captain Marvel.
What Works
Rediscovering the 1990s. We experience slow-as-molasses
Internet, UNO cards and a Blockbuster store. Marvel even set up a retro
1995-like Captain Marvel website: Marvel.com/CaptainMarvel. It’s a
hilarious step back in time.
What Doesn’t
The first half hour gets lost in science fiction detail. The
last half hour has one or two plot holes.
Discussion
Questions
1. How are female superheroes different from male
superheroes? Should they be different?
2. Captain Marvel is told to control her emotions. Is that a
good or a bad thing?
3. Name three positive characteristics of Captain Marvel.
Can you think of any negative ones?
Entertainment rating: 3 out of 5
stars. Family-friendly rating: 3 out
of 5 stars.
Rated PG-13
for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and brief suggestive language.
by Michael Foust | Feb 22, 2019
DreamWorks’ “How to Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World” (PG) has plenty of positive lessons, minus a few, well, hiccups.
He’s called “Hiccup,” and despite his quirky-sounding name,
he’s the best dragon-tamer anywhere.
That’s an essential skill in a Viking-centric world where
humans and dragons have, historically, battled to the death. But that was years
ago. Hiccup, now 20, has brought peace between the two worlds, proving that
dragons are misunderstood, friendly creatures. In Hiccup’s Viking village—called
“Berk”—Vikings and dragons even live
alongside one another.
But not all Vikings agree with Hiccup. In fact, many of them
still trap and poach dragons, wrongly believing they are evil beings that
randomly steal and kill.
That’s OK, though, because Hiccup and his band of peaceful
Vikings often travel the countryside to free those caged dragons, who then are
given the option of moving in with Hiccup.
Yet with all these new dragons, Berk is getting crowded.
It’s also becoming an easy target for Grimmel the Grisly, a mean Viking who
kills dragons and is hunting for a special one known as a “night fury” that has
unique powers. Hiccup’s pet dragon, Toothless, is such a creature.
So Hiccup concocts a plan. The people of Berk (and their
dragons) will move to a place where no one will find them. It’s a hidden world,
across the ocean, that is the ancestral home to all dragons. If they can find
it, the two sides can escape the dragon hunters forever.
DreamWorks’ How to
Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World (PG) opens this weekend, properly
concluding a trilogy that began with How
to Train Your Dragon (2010) and How
to Train Your Dragon 2 (2014). They are based on the book series of the
same name by author Cressida Cowell.
The film follows the story of Hiccup as he and the Vikings try and escape Grimmel. It also follows two love angles: Hiccup and the dragon-loving Astrid, and Toothless and the white-colored night fury known as Light Fury.
Actor Jay Baruchel returns as the voice of Hiccup and
America Ferrera as Astrid. It also stars Cate Blanchett as Hiccup’s mom, Valka,
and Kristen Wiig as the annoying Viking Ruffnut.
How to Train
Your Dragon: The Hidden World may be too intense for small children but still stays in
family-friendly territory—minus a few, well, hiccups.
Warning:
minor/moderate spoilers!
(Scale key:
none, minimal, moderate, extreme)
Violence/Disturbing
Minimal. Vikings have sword fights, and dragons breathe
fire, but it’s largely cartoonish and kid-friendly. That is, no one dies, and
we never see blood. The scariest character, in fact, is not a dragon but the
eerie Grimmel, who sneaks into Hiccup’s house and threatens him in the middle
of the night, claiming to be a “night fury killer.”
Sexuality/Sensuality/Nudity
Minimal. Two characters kiss on the cheek and—at the end of
the film—on the lips when they are married. Toothless becomes giddy about Light
Fury. They go on a “date” (Hiccup’s description) and become partners.
Coarse
Language
Minimal. The Vikings of old believed in multiple gods (Odin,
Loki and Thor, among them), so the filmmakers updated today’s language: “gods
no” is heard once, as is “oh my gods” and “for Thor’s sake.” We hear “gods”
used twice alone as an exclamation. I could have done without it. We also hear
the misuse of “God” twice (although it’s garbled). Others: “butt” (2),
“screwed” (1) and “barf” (1)
Other
Positive Elements
We see Hiccup having flashbacks several times about his
childhood and his father (who is deceased). All are sweet memories. One of them
shows a young Hiccup asking his father, Stoick, if he is going to remarry and
give him another mom. The father says he will not remarry. She was the “only
woman” for him.
Other Stuff
You Might Want To Know
Vikings drink. Drunkenness is implied, including by Hiccup
(although he quickly sobers up.)
Life Lessons
For an animated film, this one has multiple positive
messages. We learn about the bond between a parent and child (Hiccup and
Stoick), the long-lasting legacy of parents (Stoick), and the love between a
husband and wife (Stoick and his wife). The film teaches us about leadership,
as Hiccup discovers he can’t “go it alone” while battling the dragon hunters;
he needs help. We learn about courage in the midst of self-doubt. Hiccup has
trouble “letting go” of Toothless in a scene that will cause empty nesters to
reminisce. If we’re paying attention, the film even urges us not to arbitrarily
kill wildlife (poaching for rhino horns, for example).
Worldview/Application
The How to Train Your
Dragon series is a cartoonish world of Nordic myths and gods. Marvel’s Thor
would fit right in.
Yet that’s just the backdrop for a message about love,
especially in this third installment. Toothless falls for Light Fury. Hiccup
and Astrid finally consider marriage. And in a scene straight out of a Hallmark
movie, a tearful Stoick thinks back to the love of his life—the only woman for
him. “There’s no greater gift than love,” Stoick says.
Yes, Hiccup has to say goodbye to a friend (Toothless), but
he welcomes a new chapter in his life while looking back at his father’s model example
of marital dedication. Not bad for a cartoon.
What Works
The animation. The messages. The story. It’s a fun film.
What Doesn’t
The “gods” exclamations. My son kept whispering to me, “Is
that a curse word?”
Discussion
Questions
- Was Hiccup’s father a good example for his son? Why or why not?
- What does the relationship between Hiccup and Toothless teach us about life? About parenting? About letting go?
- What did Hiccup learn about being courageous? About leading?
Entertainment rating: 3 out of 5 stars.
Family-friendly rating: 3.5 out of 5
stars.
Rated PG for adventure action and some mild rude humor.
Photo credit: Dreamworks
by Michael Foust | Feb 22, 2019
The faith-based film “Run the Race” (PG) opens this weekend, telling the story of two brothers who must depend on one another during life’s trials.
Zach Truett is a high school quarterback with a big smile
and a strong arm.
He’s also a confident young man who believes his football
talent is his ticket out of the small town of Bessemer, home to so many bad
memories.
His mother died in that small town. His father, an
alcoholic, abandoned them there.
Zach and his brother, Dave, live alone under the watchful
eye of a surrogate mother. Each day is a fight for survival.
“I’m gonna get that scholarship. I’m gonna get us out of
here,” Zach tells his brother.
But when Zach gets injured, his plans for a brighter future
take a turn, and he is faced with questions about God and life that he’s been
ignoring.
The faith-based film Run
the Race (PG) opens this weekend, telling the story of two brothers—one a skeptic
(Zach), the other a Christian (Dave)—who must depend on one another, instead of
their parents, during life’s trials.
The film was executive produced by Tim and Robby Tebow and
stars Mykelti Williamson (Forrest Gump)
as their coach, Coach Hailey; Frances Fisher (Unforgiven) as their surrogate mother, Louise; Tanner Stine (NCIS) as Zach; and Evan Hofer (Kickin It) as Dave.
Run the Race is a sports-themed movie—All-Pro
Dad and the National Coalition of Ministries to Men are partners—but the story
is for a broader audience. It has a love angle. (Zach’s girlfriend, Ginger, is
a Christian). It has a faith angle. It has a tragedy angle. Above all, it’s
uplifting.
It also has a different feel to it. It’s believable. Let’s
put it this way: I watch dozens of Christian movies each year. This is one of
the best I’ve seen.
Warning:
minor/moderate spoilers!
(Scale key:
none, minimal, moderate, extreme)
Violence/Disturbing
Minimal. We see high school boys throw punches in a fight.
We see a character have a seizure.
Sexuality/Sensuality/Nudity
None.
Coarse
Language
None.
Other
Positive Elements
Coach Hailey is the type of coach you’d want leading your
own children. He cares for Zach. He even says a few pointed words to Zach’s
father, urging him to become the dad Zach needs.
Ginger’s family, particularly her father, handle Zach’s
skepticism about faith with grace. It’s a model for all Christians.
Other Stuff
You Might Want To Know
Characters drink. One or two scenes take place in a bar. The
interaction between Zach and his father might trouble young viewers. “You’re
some guy that walked out on us when mom died,” Zach tells him. Zach refuses to
acknowledge him as family.
A character dies.
Life Lessons
Run the Race is packed with life and biblical lessons. Among them:
Support and encourage one another (Zach and Dave); invest in someone’s life
(Dave, Coach Hailey); and display grace and mercy to unbelievers (Ginger and
her family). The film’s themes of overcoming tragedy, loving your brother and
forgiving and reconciling also resonate.
Worldview/Application
Scripture tells us to “bear
one another’s burdens” (Gal. 6:2) and to display humility, gentleness and
patience in our interactions with others (Eph. 4:2). But we’re often too busy
to get involved. Other times, we’re more interested in winning an argument than
winning our friends and relatives to Christ.
Run the Race shows how an investment in
someone’s life can end—with that person coming to faith. It takes patience and
humility. Sometimes, it even takes teamwork.
What Works
The script and the ending.
Acting is another bright spot. I didn’t find a weak link
among the cast.
The football action is impressive, too. It looks real.
What Doesn’t
The actors don’t always look like high school-aged
kids.
Discussion
Questions
- Why didn’t Zach accept his father as a family member? What changed his mind?
- Should Ginger have dated Zach?
- How did Zach and Dave react differently to life’s trials? Why did they react differently?
- What did Dave and Ginger do to encourage and walk alongside Zach?
- Is there a “Zach” in your life who needs encouraging—and who needs to hear about Christ?
Entertainment rating: 4 out of 5
stars. Family-friendly rating: 4.5
out of 5 stars.
Run the Race
is rated PG for thematic content and some teen partying.
by Michael Foust | Feb 15, 2019
Alita: Battle Angel (PG-13), a movie aimed at tweens and teens, opens this weekend. It has plenty of positive messages, but a few content problems, too.
Alita is a confident and independent young woman living in
the year 2563 who would give anything to remember her past.
But so far, she can’t even remember how to eat an orange. It
needs to be peeled—she is told—and not eaten like an apple.
“That is so good,”
she says after her first bite.
It’s understandable Alita has a poor memory. She’s 300 years
old. She is a cyborg—part human, part robot—who was left for dead in a pile of
junk, after a major war three centuries ago destroyed much of Earth. People
called the war “The Fall.”
Yet somehow, her brain barely stayed alive. A local
scientist named Dyson Ido found her head and torso, carried it back to his lab,
and attached it to a robotic body. Incredibly, she came back to life.
“I don’t even know my own name,” she said at first. Ido
named her “Alita” after his deceased daughter.
Alita isn’t the only cyborg in town. Cyborgs are everywhere.
Alita and Dr. Ido live in Iron City, a heavily populated dystopian town where
survival is a daily chore, and police don’t exist. In their place, cyborg
bounty hunters known as “hunter warriors” walk the streets and keep the peace.
They also kill murderers… on the spot.
These hunter warriors are big and mean. Alita is thin and
short. But something strange happens late one night when she gets caught in a
fight between a hunter warrior and three bad guys. She whips the evil dudes—with
ease. She also has a flashback to her past, a time when she was a deadly
soldier with deadly skills, caught up in a war.
Alita:
Battle Angel (PG-13)
opens this weekend, starring Rosa Salazar (Maze
Runner: The Scorch Trials) as Alita; Christopher Waltz (The Legend of Tarzan, Muppets Most Wanted)
as Ido; Mahershala Ali (Green Book)
as the bad guy, Vector; and Jennifer Connelly (A Beautiful Mind) as a doctor and Vector’s romantic interest,
Chiren. It is based on the Japanese comic book series, Gunnm.
The film has the feel of the 2009 film Avatar, and for good reason. It was written and produced by Avatar creator James Cameron. Avatar producer Jon Landau also helped
make Alita. But unlike Avatar—which was fully CGI—Alita: Battle Angel features a
combination of CGI and live action. Alita herself is a mixture of both, with
Salazar’s facial skin surrounded by CGI hair and a CGI body. She also has
gigantic eyes that appear borrowed from a Ty Beanie stuffed animal. Quirky, yes,
but visually compelling, too.
The story follows Alita as she fights evil in the Iron City
and then learns the skill of Motorball, a dangerous sport for cyborgs that
looks like a combination of roller derby and handball. Every few years, the
champion of Motorball is given the chance to move to Zalem, the city in the sky
where the wealthy live. It hovers just above Iron City.
Warning:
minor/moderate spoilers!
(Scale key:
none, minimal, moderate, extreme)
Violence/Disturbing
Extreme. Alita is more violent than your average PG-13
superhero film, partially because we watch cyborgs—who have a human face but a
robotic body—get killed multiple ways during fights. Arms are cut off. Torsos
are sliced in two. A few times, we see heads decapitated. Once, we see a cyborg
sliced from head to groin. Another time, a cyborg’s human face is partially cut
off. Hunter warriors brag about how many people they’ve killed.
Sexuality/Sensuality/Nudity
Minimal/moderate. Alita’s robotic outfit is skin-tight, but
for most of the film she’s wearing regular clothes. We see Chiren in a slightly
revealing bedtime outfit. Alita’s friend and romantic interest, Hugo, is seen
without a shirt. She and Hugo share a kiss.
Coarse
Language
Moderate. The movie has little-to-no language for about half
the film until Alita drops an f-bomb in a critical scene. It seems out of place
for a character who doesn’t curse any
other time. That’s too bad, because the film otherwise has little coarse
language: h-ll (2), s–t (1) and b–ch (1).
Other
Positive Elements
Alita has no family, but Ido becomes her adoptive-like dad.
She eventually calls him “father.”
Other Stuff
You Might Want To Know
Alita’s body formerly belonged to Ido’s disabled daughter,
who couldn’t walk. He built it for her, although she was murdered before she
could use it.
Life Lessons
Alita is a likeable superhero who makes the rights choices.
“I do not stand by in the presence of evil,” she says. She’s courageous. She’s
a leader. She uses her powers for good.
But she lives in a city that knows nothing of grace and
mercy. It’s a place where innocent people die and guilty people go free. It’s
also a place where cyborgs often have their body parts—read “arms” and “legs”—stolen
during late-night street attacks. Those parts are then used by Motorball
officials.
It’s a world without police. That alone is worth discussing
with young fans of the film.
Worldview/Application
The movie’s presentation of a “city above” and a “city
below” may have spiritual parallels, but without more details, application is
difficult (Then there’s the problem of the “city above” housing the lead bad
guy). A sequel apparently will fill in the blanks.
The film’s message about death and morality is worth
exploring. Alita lives in a futuristic city where death can be cheated—sort of—by
preserving the brain. In fact, we watch Alita keep a human friend alive by
severing the head (that grotesque part is done off screen) and taking it to a
lab, where it will be attached to a robotic body.
Although futuristic, the concept is very modern. The U.S.
and Russia are home to private “cryonics” facilities that will freeze an
individual’s deceased body at a low temperature in hopes it can be brought back
to life when technology advances.
But before we criticize such people as “nuts,” we should
examine our own beliefs. We live in a society that worships youth. We’re
chasing after immortality, too.
The irony: Immortality is already obtainable to anyone who
trusts in Christ. That’s what Paul says in 1 Cor. 15:53: “For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal
body must put on immortality.” Yes, our bodies will die, but our souls—if
we’re saved—will live with God forever. Scientific advances aren’t needed.
Sponsors
For children, Carl’s Jr. is the most well-known film
partner.
What Works
Visually, the film is beautiful. Additionally, the ending
had me ready to watch the sequel.
What Doesn’t
The film has too much violence, which is magnified because
the cyborgs appears to be human.
Also, the f-bomb doesn’t fit. It’s as if the filmmakers were
begging the ratings board for a PG-13 label.
Discussion
Questions
1. What does the Bible say about immortality? What is the
message about immortality in the movie?
2. One character says, “I’d rather rule in Hell than serve
in Heaven.” What would God think of that?
3. Name three positive (even biblical) traits about Alita.
4. What did you think about the film’s violence?
Entertainment rating: 3 out of 5 stars. Family-friendly rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars.
Alita:
Battle Angel is rated PG-13 for sequences of sci-fi violence and action, and
for some language.
by Michael Foust | Feb 8, 2019
“The Lego Movie 2: The Second Part” contains a few elements that parents will want to know about before taking their children
Emmet Brickowski is an optimist, sun-is-always-shining Lego
character living in a Lego world where everyone else is miserable.
Gone are the times when—as the song says—“everything is
awesome.” Those happy days ended five years ago, when aliens wrecked Bricksburg
and took away some of the population, too. Emmet’s town is now known as
Apocalypseburg, a desolate place where people often argue and no one smiles.
Even the Statue of Liberty has been toppled.
That’s OK, though. Emmet still has his friend and romantic
interest, Lucy. Yet even she believes Emmet should see the world for what it
is, and not for what he hopes it to be.
“You’ve got to stop pretending that everything is awesome,”
she tells him. “… We have to grow up sometime.”
Emmet, though, doesn’t believe her. But that begins changing
when another alien, the masked General Sweet Mayhem, invades Apocalypseburg and
kidnaps a few more citizens, including Lucy. Emmet quickly builds a Lego ship
to chase Lucy to the other end of the galaxy. He begins wondering: Maybe
everything isn’t awesome, after all.
The Lego
Movie 2: The Second Part (PG) opens this weekend, picking up five years after the
events of 2014’s The Lego Movie. It
stars Chris Pratt (Guardians of the
Galaxy series) as Emmet, Elizabeth Banks (The Hunger Games series) as Lucy, and Will Arnett (The Lego Batman Movie) as Batman.
The film, in essence, is a pretend world told through the
eyes of two children in the movie’s real world: Finn and his younger sister,
Bianca. At the end of the first Lego
Movie and the beginning of The Lego
Movie 2, their father allows Bianca to play with the Legos—a decision that
upsets Finn, who believes she will destroy them.
Finn’s instincts prove to be true. This explains the
destruction of Bricksburg (Bianca did that) and the kidnapping of Lucy and
Batman (Bianca took them to her room). It also explains the film’s out-there
plot: In the Lego world, Batman is taken to the “Systar System,” where he is
forced into a marriage with a chameleon-like alien, Queen Watevra Wa’Nabi. Only a girl would do that.
Here’s the good news for parents: The Lego Movie 2 is mostly squeaky-clean, with no language (not
even an OMG) and only Lego-style violence.
Here’s the bad news: It’s not as good as its predecessor.
It’s slow at times and, often, downright weird. It also contains a few lines
and angles that had me scratching my head, but most of them will go over the
heads of children.
Warning:
minor/moderate spoilers!
(Scale key:
none, minimal, moderate, extreme)
Violence/Disturbing
Minimal. Picture a child picking up two Lego characters and
“making” them fight. That’s about as bad as it gets. The film does imply
punches are thrown, and a few explosions do occur, and a Lego city is invaded,
and there are guns with lasers, but it looks a lot like what you’d see in a
kid’s bedroom floor.
Sexuality/Sensuality/Nudity
None. Other than Batman saying he has “ribbed pecs.”
Also, see “Other Stuff You Might Want to Know,” below.
Coarse
Language
None. The worst we hear is “butt” a couple of times.
Other Stuff
You Might Want To Know
One character is called “Larry Poppins” —a knockoff on Mary Poppins. He has a flower on his head. Another character who looks like Dracula says he enjoys wearing women’s jeans.
We hear Z.Z. Top’s Tush
and Motley Crue’s Kickstart My Heart.
One character tells another one, “Just listen to the music
and let your mind go.” Someone says he/she has been “meditating.”
The Queen built a “space temple” where the wedding will take
place. The wedding is called the “matrimonial ceremony.”
Life Lessons
It’s an ultra-goofy movie with few lessons until the final
minutes. Still there, are a few. Lucy saves a “bad guy” from dying, displaying
mercy. In a scene that borrowed a page from Back
to the Future, Emmett faces a bad, future form of himself and declares that
he wants to do good. The final scenes also include lessons on forgiveness,
repentance and love between a brother and sister (Finn and Bianca).
Worldview/Application
Is everything awesome? That’s what we are told in the first
movie through a hit song with catchy lyrics: Everything is awesome, everything is cool when you’re part of a team;
everything is awesome, when you’re living out a dream. It added: Life is good ’cause everything awesome; lost
my job, there’s a new opportunity; more free time for my awesome community.
That’s certainly true, but then the song goes south. Dogs with fleas are
awesome. Clogs are awesome. And “everything you see or think or say is
awesome.”
Umm … no.
Everything is not awesome, even if the song’s positive outlook is attractive.
Sin certainly isn’t awesome.
The Bible would tell us that some things are awesome and some things are not.
That’s why the new song in The Lego Movie 2 — Everything’s
Not Awesome — may be closer to Scripture: Everything’s not awesome; things can’t be awesome all of the time; it’s
not realistic expectation; but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try; to make
everything awesome.
Sponsors
McDonald’s is a partner. Lego-themed Happy Meals are on
their way.
What Works
The humor. It’s funny for kids and adults, too, without
being inappropriate. The filmmakers also give us plenty of flashbacks to the
film’s real word (the brother and sister) to help explain the movie’s quirky
plot.
What Doesn’t
The plot. Sure, the story could have been imagined by a child, but it would have been more
relatable had it been a little less weird.
Discussion
Questions
1. What did you think of the song Everything Is Awesome? What about the new song Everything’s Not Awesome?
2. What can we learn from Finn and Bianca about getting
along? About siblings and forgiveness?
3. What can adults do to recapture the God-given creativity
and imagination that makes childhood so fun?
Entertainment rating: 3 out of 5
stars. Family-friendly rating: 4 out
of 5 stars.
Rated PG for
mild action and rude humor.