The Post-Gazette reviews movies from a family perspective:

'Superman Returns'

Rated: PG-13.

Best for: Mature children 9 or 10 and older.

What you should know: The movie is 154 minutes long, and that's without previews or commercials. Even more important, though, the film has disturbing images and scary, tense moments, with characters from a little boy to Superman himself facing grave danger.

Language: Two or three mild four-letter words are used.

Sexual situations and nudity: References are made to a couple spending the night and questions raised about a child's parentage. Also, it's obvious that a gigolo married a much older woman for her fortune.

Violence/scary situations: This is where the movie earns its rating. A starving dog appears to have eaten another animal. Characters are kidnapped, a thug grabs a woman by her hair and bangs her head on the floor, and an asthmatic child gasps for breath. A man is killed, off camera, and people face drowning or injury when the land undergoes seismic shifts. A plane appears headed for a crash in an extended sequence. A car careens out of control. In one of the most disturbing scenes, Superman is severely injured.

Drug and alcohol use: Adults have a beer or glass of wine.