Here's a brief look at the content found in this dark and ominous sci-fi flick that's been rated PG-13. Profanity consists of at least 9 "s" words, while other expletives and colorful phrases are uttered.
Violence consists of many scenes of towering alien war machines vaporizing, otherwise killing and abducting humans while also creating an enormous amount of destruction of physical property. Military strikes are made against such machinery, while some human on human violence is also present, including some fighting, somewhat distant views of a man shooting others (no impact is viewed) and an implied murder or beating behind a closed door. While people are vaporized (mostly seen from a distance), most of the violence is mild in terms of blood or gore (although bodily fluids are sucked up a big tube from a partially seen body, and some people have bloody scrapes on their faces).
Such scenes, other moments of peril (of which there are many including those of the hide and don't be seen fashion), and disturbing visuals (such as many bodies floating down a river, people trapped in a car underwater, etc.) will likely be unsettling, suspenseful and/or downright scary. That's especially true for younger kids where this dark material could induce all sorts of vivid nightmares. There are also some analogies to the aftermath of the events of 9/11.
Tense family material concerns a divorced father and his kids not being close (with some arguing and other such material) and then him worrying about their safety during the attacks. Some characters have bad attitudes (including the alien invaders who are barely personified, but want to kill all Earthlings), while two men briefly drink schnapps in one scene.
If you're still concerned about the film and its appropriateness for yourself or anyone else in your home who may be interested in seeing it, we suggest that you take a closer look at our detailed listings for more specific information regarding the film's content.
For those concerned with bright flashes of light on the screen, various scenes have some of that.
For those prone to visually induced motion sickness, some of the camerawork is rather jumpy and/or does move around a bit.