MONARCH SITE 52 — "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is now in theaters and hoping to reign supreme at the box office. But before you let your kids run off with their friends to the theater, or you take your family out for a movie night, here's what parents need to know about the monster movie.

The movie is rated PG-13 and has just about all the troupes you'd expect to see in a monster movie trying to stay under the R rating. This article is simply here to let you know what to expect from a content perspective in the movie and is not a commentary about what is or is not appropriate for your kids or for you. Only you can make that distinction, this is just to let you know what is in the film to help you make an educated decision.

Sexiness

On a scale from 1 to 10, I'd have to say "Godzilla: King of the Monsters" ranks about a 1.5. I'm not sure I even saw two people kiss in the film. The closest thing is a veiled joke about Godzilla and another monster mating. The film is incredibly tame in this category, but it makes up for that in other areas.

Language

I expected to hear some language in "Godzilla," but there was more than I thought there would be. The "S" word is said throughout, and a lot of the utterances come from a child. The so-called R-rated word is said once very clearly and then it's almost said another time, but the character stops himself short before actually saying the word.

There is also a fair amount of religious exclamations and other smatterings of curse words. I don't think the movie necessarily deserved an R rating for language, but much more and it would have earned it.

Violence

This, as you may have guessed, is where "King of the Monsters" really earned its rating. There is nonstop violence throughout the film. Monsters fighting monsters, monsters eating humans, humans killing humans. It's got it all. The violence isn't always graphic, but some of it is. There is a moment where several people are shot and many of those shootings are brutal. There are also moments when the monsters kill some humans fairly graphically and others violent deaths happen off-screen.

Whether it's happening on- or off-screen, however, there is a lot of violence and a lot of people dying pretty much nonstop.

Review: 'Godzilla: King of the Monsters' doesn't reign supreme

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is a monster movie that focuses in the wrong area and leaves the fun in the rearview mirror.

Scary

This is a monster movie, so it's supposed to be a little scary. I wouldn't say this is a horror film by any means, but some younger audiences may be frightened. There are a lot of giant monsters destroying cities and killing thousands, while other humans are killing people at the same time. The whole tone of the film is dark and the color palette matches the mood. I'd say this film is geared toward an older audience and not younger kids.

Conclusion

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" earned its PG-13 rating in a few different areas and likely isn't geared toward younger audiences. It's tamer than some PG-13 rated films in some areas and much more intense in others.

"Godzilla: King of the Monsters" is rated PG-13 for sequences of monster action violence and destruction, and for some language.

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