Is Snake Eyes Suitable For Children? How Violent Is It?

Warning: Mild spoilers for Snake Eyes ahead.

Paramount’s Snake Eyes hits theaters this weekend, but how violent is it and is it suitable for children? The movie is an attempt to reboot the G.I. Joe franchise, which has a lot of promise but keeps falling flat when it comes to movie adaptations. Despite the franchise always having been one aimed at children, the new movie tries to be a bit more adult, and it could mean leaving some younger or more sensitive viewers at home.

Snake Eyes is an origin story for the titular protagonist, historically the Joes’ most enigmatic member. The movie removes his mystery, giving Snake Eyes (Henry Golding) a backstory involving his father being murdered in front of him when Snake Eyes is just a child. As a result, he grows up on the streets and dedicates his life to vengeance and finding the man who murdered his father. By the end of the movie, he’s finally figured out his place in the world, and a potential G.I. Joe movie universe is set up nicely.

Still, it earns its PG-13 rating for “sequences of strong violence and brief strong language.” Snake Eyes, after all, is a brawler who trains with ninjas, and there are a number of different fight scenes in the movie. The fights are largely bloodless, but they are brutal, with inventively violent moments. The opening underground cage match fight finds Snake Eyes taking a visceral beating before choking his larger opponent with a chain; a later fight scene involving Scarlett shows her slamming men’s heads off counters and smashing them into mirrors. Once the G.I. Joe’s origin story moves to Storm Shadow’s Arashikage Clan compound, the majority of the fights are more slick and stylish, employing the balletic grace of the ninjas. Even so, katanas and bladed weapons offer a different kind of violence, and one memorable bloodless sequence involving a bladed fan being used to slash people’s throats still being quite brutal even without the blood.

There are a few other intense moments that don’t involve actual fighting, as well. At two different points in the first act, two different men are held on their knees at gunpoint, execution-style. In the second, the better angels of Snake Eyes’ nature speak to him and he lets the captive go. The first, however, is the flashback scene in which his father is murdered, and while there is no dead body shown, there’s no way to disguise that a man just got shot point-blank in the head and kids may have questions about what happened to him. Again, the scenes are bloodless, but the setup is intense enough and the tone menacing enough that it may upset some younger viewers. Also, for those concerned about language, Snake Eyes does make full use of its PG-13 rating, including its one allotted use of an f-bomb. Swearing is relatively infrequent, but curse words are sprinkled throughout the movie.

Lastly, parents may want to consider the messaging of the movie. Setting aside the intensity and threat of violence from most of the fight scenes and action sequences, Snake Eyes isn’t a hero. While he has traditionally been a hero in the G.I. Joe franchise, the new Snake Eyes frames him as a antihero–in fact, one might argue he borders on being a bad guy. Because of his obsession with vengeance, he makes a number of deeply questionable moral choices that betray good people, and he does it long past the point he might have been realistically redeemed. Every parents’ mileage may vary, but for those parents who like to be discerning about who their kids view as fictional role models, a post-movie conversation about his actions and whether or not they were right might be worthwhile. Ultimately, Snake Eyes is no more than PG-13, but it pushes that rating right to the limits, so know that going in.

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