X-Men: Dark Phoenix

What’s it about?

After Jean Grey begins to develop incredible powers that corrupt her and turn her into a Dark Phoenix, the X-Men are forced to decide whether her life is worth more than all of humanity.

The facts

• Directed by Simon Kinberg
• Starring James McAvoy (Split), Michael Fassbender (12 Years a Slave), Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones), Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road), Tye Sheridan (Ready Player One), Alexandra Shipp (Straight Outta Compton), and Evan Peters (American Horror Story)
• English and French languages
• Runtime: 113 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 is run over by a train after they are left on a train track, but there is no blood, and it happens very suddenly.
• A main character goes on an uncontrollable rampage, killing many characters by touching their heads and disintegrating them.
• During the opening scene, a woman and her dog are implied to be killed by aliens, but nothing is shown.
• A human with superpowers uses his metal-wielding abilities to hover more than thirty guns in the air and shoot them all at an alien, but it simply keeps walking towards him without being affected. We see its skin shoot away, revealing its true, alien form, but it heals back instantly, without blood.

Content that may disturb

The deaths of sympathetic characters may be emotionally impactful for some viewers. Some may also find scene where one of the main characters converts her uncontrollable rage into violence and killing disturbing.

Offensive language

This film contains the use of offensive language, with words like “f*ck” 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.  

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

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