Captain America: The Winter Soldier

What’s it about?

Struggling to hold onto his role in the modern world, Steve Rogers teams up with fellow Avenger, Black Widow, to battle a new and familiar threat known as the Winter Soldier.

The facts

• Directed by Anthony Russo and Joe Russo
• Starring Chris Evans (The Avengers), Scarlett Johansson (Lost in Translation), Sebastian Stan (Black Swan), Anthony Mackie (The Hurt Locker), Samuel L. Jackson (Pulp Fiction), Robert Redford (Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid)
• English and French languages
• Runtime: 136 minutes
• 9th release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Why did it get this rating? 

This film was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.

Violence

The film contains frequent fight scenes, though the violence feels slightly more realistic than other marvel films. There are lengthy fight sequences involving car crashes, electrocutions, kicks, punches, and shooting, with sound effects of crunching bones and scenes of gunfire where people are killed.

Some blood and bruises are seen after characters are shot and injured, but minimal detail of actual injury is shown.

Some of the strongest moments of violence in the film include:

• A character is thrown into the rotor of a small place, causing the man and plane to explode.
• During a car chase scene, one character is seriously injured and fractures his left arm after crashing his car.
• Two main characters fight intensely with  bloody gunshot wounds shown.
• A character is forced to undergo a process where his memory is erased, and he is turned into a deadly soldier. This scene involves the character screaming in pain and may be unsettling for some younger viewers.

Coarse language

The film contains very few uses of mild offensive language, such as “s**t” and “son of a bitch,” used only twice throughout the film.

When content stays with you: 

We all have our boundaries, and it’s completely okay if something you’ve watched is weighing on your mind. If certain content lingers with you, consider having a chat with friends or whānau to debrief about what you’ve just seen. But if you’re still feeling affected, please reach out to any of the following helplines for support.  

• 1737
• Safe to talk
• Lifeline
• Youthline

Further information 

• Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
• Brain development – how it works, why it matters