What we flagged
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Our take
The Hunger Games forces teenagers to hunt and kill one another in an arena for a television audience. The camera limits blood, but the fights and deaths carry real weight because children are in danger throughout. There is mild language, a budding romance, and a mentor who drinks heavily. We put it at around 14 and up for confident teens, with a parent nearby for the sadder moments.
Uplifting themes
Sacrifice, loyalty and quiet defiance against injustice sit at the heart of it. Katniss steps up to protect her sister and shows compassion even inside a brutal contest, giving families plenty worth talking about Katniss is brave, resourceful and fiercely protective of the people she loves, making hard choices without losing her decency. She models real courage under pressure that older children can look up to
Story (may spoil tone)
In a dystopian society where the Capitol forces each district to send two young tributes to fight to the death in a televised spectacle, a girl volunteers to take her sister’s place, setting the stage for a struggle of survival and defiance.
What we flagged
Details
Violence Teenage tributes hunt and kill one another with knives, spears and arro…
Teenage tributes hunt and kill one another with knives, spears and arrows across a wooded arena, and the threat rarely lets up once the games begin. Fights come often and feel tense, but blood and injury detail stay fairly restrained
Language Swearing stays very mild and occasional, with words like damn and hell…
Swearing stays very mild and occasional, with words like damn and hell dropped into tense moments. There is nothing stronger here, so language is unlikely to be the thing that gives parents pause
Sex / nudity Romance is light. Katniss and Peeta are sold as star-crossed lovers for…
Romance is light. Katniss and Peeta are sold as star-crossed lovers for the cameras, which leads to a little hand-holding and a kiss, but nothing goes beyond that
Drugs / alcohol Haymitch, the young tributes' mentor, is drunk through much of his scre…
Haymitch, the young tributes' mentor, is drunk through much of his screen time, and alcohol is a constant feature around him. It reads as a sad crutch far more than anything glamorous
Frightening Children are hunted through dark forests, stung into terrifying halluci…
Children are hunted through dark forests, stung into terrifying hallucinations, and chased by snarling beasts near the finale. The constant sense that anyone could die next keeps a heavy, anxious mood running through most of the film
Self-harm / suicide Late in the film, characters threaten to take their own lives in protes…
Late in the film, characters threaten to take their own lives in protest. No act is shown, but the threat is central to the confrontation
Child peril / abuse Children are forced into lethal combat, and several are injured or kill…
Children are forced into lethal combat, and several are injured or killed on screen. One death is mourned openly, giving the peril real emotional weight
Gore / death / weapons Deaths happen often, but the camera usually cuts away before injuries t…
Deaths happen often, but the camera usually cuts away before injuries turn graphic. You see bodies, a little blood and plenty of weapons, without the lingering wounds a harder rating would bring
Grief / bereavement Katniss mourns a fellow tribute, while memories of her father remain in…
Katniss mourns a fellow tribute, while memories of her father remain in the background. The film gives those losses quiet, tender moments
Flashing lights We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
We have not confirmed whether this version contains flashing lights.
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Talk after watching
- The games are broadcast as entertainment. How does the film make us think about watching other people suffer for a show?
- Katniss volunteers to protect her sister. What would you be willing to risk for someone you love?
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The Hunger Games
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