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Parents' Guide to

Iron Man & Captain America: Heroes United

By Brian Costello, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 10+

Frequent cartoon violence in action-packed superhero tale.

Movie NR 2014 71 minutes
Iron Man & Captain America: Heroes United Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 1 parent review

CSMContentDefault
CSMContentDefault Adult
April 25, 2015
age 7+

This title has:

Great messages
Great role models
Too much violence
See all 1 parent review

What's the Story?

Captain America (Adrian Pasdar) and Iron Man (Roger Craig Smith) are somewhat friendly rivals who engage in practice fights -- Captain America is more inclined to be deliberate and logical, Iron Man to "fly by the seat of his pants." But when Red Skull (Liam O'Brien) and his henchman Taskmaster are determined to create an army of Hyrdra Brutes to conquer the world, Captain America and Iron Man must work together, respect each other's fighting styles, and find a way to stop Red Skull from carrying out his evil schemes.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (1 ):
Kids say (2 ):

The best aspects of IRON MAN & CAPTAIN AMERICA: HEROES UNITED involve the action and the animation. The action is unrelenting from the very first minutes of the movie and does not stop until the very end. That alone keeps things interesting. The animation is quite incredible, especially in the way these fight scenes are represented. If this was all there was to the movie, it would still be enjoyable.

However, the dialogue and some of the story line aren't as strong. Some conversations are trite -- especially the scenes in which Captain America and Iron Man taunt each other in a cocky manner. The stor yline is confusing at times: We know Red Skull wants to conquer the world and has seriously fascist leanings, but the talk of "repulsor cannons" and other high-tech weaponry is needlessly complex, especially for young superhero fans. Also, the convenient arrival of (SPOILER ALERT) the Hulk seems a bit too easy. That being said, this movie is worth seeing for the gorgeous animation and the nonstop action; Iron Man and Captain America fans will find lots to enjoy.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about cartoon action violence. How is violence shown in this movie, and how is it similar to and different from the ways other movies -- animated or live-action -- show violence?

  • How are Captain America and Iron Man represented in this movie, and how are they similar to and different from other representations in comic books and movies?

  • In what ways are the Red Skull and the Hydra Brutes made out to be similar to Nazis from World War II?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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