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The Four Feathers

(2002, Rated PG-13, Action/adventure, Starring Heath Ledger, Wes Bentley, Kate Hudson)
  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 12, age appropriate for kids over 14; suggested age 12.
  • Is it any good?

    4.0
  • Common Sense says

    A decent film with some intense battle violence.

Why We Rated This iffy for Ages 12–14

What to watch out for

  • Messages:

    Black character is loyal and brave but reflects the era in which the movie is set
  • Violence:

    Intense and explicit peril and battle violence
  • Sex:

    None-graphic sexual situation; women stolen and forced into prostitution
  • Language:

    Mild
  • Consumerism:

    Not an issue.
  • Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

    Social drinking and smoking
 

What Parents Need to Know

About The Four Feathers

Parents need to know that this movie has intense battle violence with graphic injuries. Characters are wounded and killed. There's brief nudity in a locker room and a non-explicit sexual situation. The portrayal of non-whites is less offensive than in previous versions of the story but still reflects the prejudices of the era. The enemy is referred to as "an army of Mohammedan fanatics" and "heathens," and the English think they must win because they have "nobler souls."

Read our full review by Nell Minow

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Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about how the movie's plot relates to current concerns about terrorism and the possibility of war. Both sides think that they are doing what God wants them to do. Is there any way to prevent war under those conditions? The director is originally from India. How do you think that affects his portrayal of an era in which British officers referred to non-whites as "wogs" and "heathens?"

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Most Recent Reviews

  1. I rate this title off for age 2 and give it 3.0

    would have been good...

    This would have been a pretty good movie but it had a sex scene so I had to turn it off. And I could tell that it was going to have the "triangle" in it anyways which I always find anoying...so yeah...there are lots of other movies out there that are much better.

  2. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in Kentucky
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 4.0

    Dramatic But Sorrowful Adventure

  3. Adult Reviewer
    Lives in South Carolina
    I rate this title on for age 13 and give it 5.0

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