Iron Man
NZ release: 01 May 2008
Violence Rated on: 29 January 2025
What’s it about?
After being kidnapped and held captive in a cave in Afghanistan, billionaire engineer Tony Stark creates a unique weaponized suit of armour to escape his captors and fight evil.
The facts
- Directed by Jon Favreau
- Starring Robert Downey Jr. (Sherlock Holmes), Gwyneth Paltrow (Shakespeare in Love), Terrence Howard (Hustle & Flow), Jeff Bridges (The Big Lebowski), Shaun Toub (Crash), Faran Tahir (Star Trek), Clark Gregg (The Avengers), Paul Bettany (A Beautiful Mind), and Jon Favreau (Swingers).
- English, Persian, Urdu, Arabic, Kurdish, Hindi, and Hungarian languages.
- Runtime: 126 minutes
- 1st release in the Marvel Cinematic Universe
Why did it get this rating?
This film game was cross-rated by the Film and Video Labelling Body. You can find out more about cross-rating here.
Violence
This film contains a number of explosions and fight sequences with some blood shown. Some deaths are implied off-screen. While there are some moments of violence, a lot of it is offset by humour.
The strongest moments of violence in the film include:
- Soldiers line men up on their knees to be shot. The soldiers receive orders to “take care of things,” and gunshots are heard.
- A character shoots several soldiers before they execute innocent men. We see them slump to the ground dead, but no injury detail is seen.
- We see bloody tissue being removed and a device implanted from a man during a surgical procedure, while he screams in pain.
- One character uses a device to produce a high-pitched whistle that causes another man's veins to pop out and he goes limp.
Coarse language
The film contains some coarse language. The word “bitch” is used twice, and there are frequent uses of “hell,” “prick,” “damn.”
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.
Further information
Recent featured decisions
Violence, cruelty, offensive language, sex scenes and content that may disturb
When savvy surfer Zephyr is abducted and held captive on a boat by a shark-obsessed serial killer, she must find a way to escape before becoming part of his ritualistic feeding to the sharks below.
Content that may disturb, offensive language
This documentary revisits the tragedy and aftermath of rapper Travis Scott’s 2021 Astroworld Festival in Houston, Texas, co-organised by Live Nation. Ten people, aged 9 to 27, lost their lives due to poor planning and understaffing of the event.
Told through festivalgoer footage, harrowing 911 calls, and interviews with survivors and families, the film raises questions about the responsibility of artists in an industry that pushes them to amplify their performances to drive revenue.