X-Men: Apocalypse
NZ release: 18 May 2016
Violence, offensive language & content that may disturb Rated on: 15 December 2025
What’s it about?
In the 1980s, the X-Men must defeat an ancient all-powerful mutant, En Sabah Nur, who intends to thrive by bringing destruction to the world.
The facts
- Directed by Bryan Singer
- Starring James McAvoy (Split), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games), Oscar Isaac (Dune), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), and Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One)
- English language
- Runtime: 144 minutes
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
This film contains stylised superhero action violence, involving fistfights, gunfights, and fighting between characters, causing bloody injuries and deaths. Battle scenes are intense, and characters are killed in various ways, but the violence is more fantasy than realistic.
Some of the strongest moments of violence include:
- One character slices another’s neck open with a long blade, and the open wound is shown clearly before it quickly heals and closes back up.
- Men are decapitated, but a cloud of dust partly obscures the moments of impact, so there is no blood shown.
- A character is kicked in the side of their knee, causing their leg to break, with bone-crunching sound effects and an unnatural angle of the leg, but no blood shown.
Content that may disturb
A character goes through a graphic transformation where bloody wounds open on his back with bones protruding from them slowly as he yells in pain, which is likely to disturb some viewers.
Offensive language
This film contains the use of offensive language, with words like “f*ck,” “a**,” and “sh*t.”
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
Why are ratings and content warnings important for me and my whānau?
Brain development – how it works, why it matters
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