Is the new Godzilla movie appropriate for kids?

Like a lot of other people that grew up in the 80s, I sat glued to my TV many Saturday and Sunday afternoons watching Godzilla movies. Back then (I’m sounding old here), we had only a few stations and one of those stations was bound to be showing a Godzilla feature. I loved Godzilla and even had a huge Godzilla toy that would launch his hand through the air with the push of a button. His tongue, which looked like a flame, also stuck out. I loved that toy. Many Star Wars men met their fate as the result of that flying hand. And unfortunately, on more than one occasion, my older sister sported a black eye as the result of having a little brother with an awesome Godzilla toy.

But that’s beside the point.

I’m writing to discuss whether or not the new Godzilla movie is appropriate for kids. And I’ll start off by saying, yes, I think it is. At least it was for my almost ten year old son. There are quite a few intense scenes and if you have a sensitive child, then you might want to pass. For my grizzled veteran of a child, the movie hardly phased him. I didn’t take my 7 year old to see the movie, but I think she could have handled it as well.

And there’s actually very little objectionable material in the movie. Although you know that thousands perish as the result of the rampage through cities that occurs, you see only a handful of people die. There are a few swear words, but they do not dominate the movie, and there aren’t any sexual references. (The PG-13 rating was given for the mass destruction that occurs throughout the film.)

Godzilla is similar in theme and intensity to Pacific Rim. In my opinion, Pacific Rim is more intense than Godzilla with about the same level of destruction. If your kid liked Pacific Rim, they will like Godzilla.

My son wasn’t the only one that liked the film. With my Godzilla nerd-like fascination, I particularly enjoyed the film. It was a throwback and things happen in the film that will cause fans of the original movies a great deal of happiness. In fact, the theater was filled with Godzilla peeps clapping and cheering at some of Godzilla’s moments.

As we left the theater, my son grabbed my hand and said, “That was awesome.” I just watched Louis C.K.’s stand-up routine on words, so I won’t use that word. I’ll say that I really liked it, though, and would recommend the movie to anyone that sat glued to their TV as a child and watched Godzilla destroy cities and fight his foes.