Two Avatar queastions.

December 18, 2009 11:37 AM

Regarding Avatar: Is it appropriate for an 11 year old (who's REALLY into scifi) and which 3D system?

I figured that some small percentage of the MeFi crowd has seen Avatar already so it would ask this now: How appropriate is the movie for an eleven year old boy who LOVES scifi movies and books?

Also, if / when my kid and I view the movie should we pick Real3D or IMAX 3D?

posted by cowmix to Media & Arts (12 answers total)

A movie review site for parents suggests 13 and up is appropriate, but these are very flexible guidelines. And one reason for the age rating is the length of the movie (2 1/2 hours). The few site readers who have commented are saying, on average, that 11 and up is fine.

Disclosure: the person who wrote the review is a member of my family.
Additional disclosure: this being metafilter, you should know that this review website is entirely non-religious.
posted by hhc5 at 11:47 AM on December 18, 2009

My 9 YO made it out unscathed. He said it was violent but not bloody. He said it was the best movie ever.
posted by Scoo at 11:48 AM on December 18, 2009

Personally - I am taking my daughter who is 11, we can discuss it afterwards if she has concerns.

We are going to IMAX 3d (never tried IMAX 3d before).
posted by jkaczor at 12:10 PM on December 18, 2009

Violent but not bloody is a definitely true. There's no sex, there are mostly naked blue humanoids. He/she should be fine. Oh, there are plenty of "shits" and whatnot, but I'm not sure the F-bomb was ever even dropped.

Real3D was cool, but I've never seen anything in IMAX 3D.
posted by papayaninja at 12:16 PM on December 18, 2009

How appropriate is the movie for an eleven year old boy who LOVES scifi movies and books?

This describes me at that age and I saw far worse things at age 11 and grew up to be reasonably well adjusted and I'm pretty sure whatever issues I did or do have wasn't caused by a SciFi movie.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 12:21 PM on December 18, 2009 [2 favorites]

I would recommend Real 3d, because in the past IMAX 3d gave me excruciating headaches. I don't know why this is, but it made watching some movies really painful. I don't have this problem with Real 3d it seems, but then again I don't really have a large enough sample to make an informed statement, I tend to avoid things which cause me pain, of course I made the exception for avatar. Great movie.
posted by Carillon at 12:36 PM on December 18, 2009

Real 3D, IMAX 3D, do you have to wear the glasses?
posted by Rash at 12:40 PM on December 18, 2009

I gave it a 4/10 for nudity, 8/10 for violence (LOTS of gunfire), 4/10 for language. Appropriate for 11 year olds as long as you're willing to help them through a few questions they might have afterwards.*

*Note: I am a paid movie critic for content-driven reviews
posted by banannafish at 1:13 PM on December 18, 2009

Response by poster: Rash: Both require glasses.
posted by cowmix at 1:33 PM on December 18, 2009

I think it would be fine for most eleven year olds.
posted by smoke at 4:04 PM on December 18, 2009

Just saw it in real 3D this afternoon. Your kid will be fine!
posted by special-k at 4:26 PM on December 18, 2009

Seems like it would be ideal for Sci-Fi loving 11 year olds, though of course THEMES INCLUDE: MILD (LARGELY BLOODLESS) GENOCIDE, LOTS AND LOTS OF SHOOTING.
posted by Artw at 7:36 PM on December 21, 2009