Why Is Indiana Jones And The Dial Of Destiny PG-13? Everything Parents Must Know

Contains mild spoilers for "Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny"

The "Indiana Jones" franchise has an intriguing history with the Motion Picture Association (MPA), formerly known as the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA). "Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom" was rated PG despite having several frightening sequences for children, such as a man ripping out someone else's still-beating heart. That movie, combined with others like "Gremlins," convinced the organization that there needed to be something between PG and R, and thus, the PG-13 rating was born. Every "Indiana Jones" movie since has received that rating, and "Dial of Destiny" is no different.

The newest Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford) adventure has received a PG-13 rating for "language, action, sequences of violence, smoking." That's par for the course for the series. The language is pretty mild, with characters saying things like "damn" and "crap." Characters smoke, and Indy does a fair amount of drinking. There's nothing too bad in terms of sexuality outside of characters kissing and some people not wearing shirts. Like most "Indiana Jones" movies, the real content warning comes down to violence and some of the more frightening themes.

"Indiana Jones" films have a long history of depicting graphic, over-the-top violence. "Raiders of the Lost Ark" ends with the Nazis' faces melting and exploding after opening the Ark of the Covenant. "The Last Crusade" sees a man drink from the wrong Grail, rapidly aging until he's nothing but dust. Even "Kingdom of the Crystal Skull" has a guy getting consumed alive by ants. In this regard, "Dial of Destiny" is slightly more restrained. There aren't really any cartoonish deaths, with most characters dying from gunshot wounds, falling out of a plane, or in a plane crash.

In one sequence, a man is handcuffed to a grate underwater, where he presumably drowns. The deaths may not be as graphic as in the past, but they can still scare younger viewers. There's a general sense of peril throughout the movie, including an instance where Indy gets shot and bleeds from his stomach. Things even get dour as Indy discusses sad moments from his life that he wishes he could do differently. 

Ultimately, if your child has seen the other "Indiana Jones" movies and was fine with those, "Dial of Destiny" should be okay to watch. Perhaps there would've been issues if these films were still getting rated PG, but as it stands, it's firmly in the PG-13 camp.