Does an "R" rating make it a better film?

With the reveal of the Suicide Squad cast and the double confirm of Ryan Reynolds returning to play the Merc with the Mouth. Many felt that these films should be rated R. This rating would make these films so much better. However, would it really make it better? I can simply say no, but would that be a me thing to do? Here's why I say so.


What rated R really means:

Let's be real, the rating is really just a boundary for the writers and directors of the filming industry. Most of the time they will get as close to that boundary before a PG-13 becomes R and before R becomes NC-17. However, it doesn't necessarily mean the content will be worthwhile let alone good. So why fill a movie with unnecessary gore, violence, language and nudity? That doesn't make a film.


Consider Your Audience:

I said this before in a previous blog. These movies are made obviously for thousands to millions of comic book fans. It's also however for the millions to billions who aren't. If these films were made with all the crazy content that only comic readers like myself would only understand. Then the other demographic will not be interested and will not give it a shot. This is a industry where they want to make money. So they'll make sure these films will get everyone else not just us.


Things we don't need to see:

Just because these characters have done it doesn't mean we need to see it. Here's an example, Assault on Arkham is a animated film based on the Suicide Squad. There's a scene where Harley encounters Joker. He made it very clear that he physically abused her. He referenced her bruises healed up nicely. Their volatile relationship was made clear without having to see Joker putting his hands on her. Our imagination is really good, things can be implied and our minds can take us there. We don't need everything to be  shown to us in order to understand the situation.


R isn't better:

The Punisher:

When The Punisher starring Thomas Jane came out in 2004. Even though it was R, people hated this film because it wasn't as violent as the comics. If anyone ever read Punisher comics, it can get pretty rough. Apparently this movie didn't have that level of content and many weren't happy.

The Punisher: Warzone

This movie came four years later. Ray Stevenson looked good as old man Castle. This film is R as well and had all the content people were asking for. This is the Punisher everyone wanted and it bombed! Everyone was so unhappy with this film. So it shows that making it R and giving it crazy content doesn't make it a solid film, Warzone proved it along with many others.


Characters That Didn't Need to Go All The Way:

Wolverine:

In the comics, Wolverine is killing.....everything. I mean he cut Silver Samurai's hand off and then gave it back to him. That's the kind of man you get when  you read the comics. However, in the movies, when he slashed through folks, you know that person is dead. You didn't need to see limbs flung about everywhere and liters of blood on the floor to know he's dangerous. And let's keep in mind that you see plenty of Hugh Jackman cheeks in these films and they're PG-13. Just remember that when you're asking for an R rated film.

Joker:

Nobody is more volatile and unpredictable then the Clown Prince of Crime. I mean Joker is a very rough character. In the comics he had done things like skin a man, cut his own face off and other crazy things. However, in the movies, you didn't have to see all the stuff he was doing. When he cut Gamble's face in The Dark Knight, you knew it happened, you didn't have to see it. This was even true with Nicholson's Joker, you didn't have to see him spray acid on his girlfriend to know it happened.

The Incredibles:

Here's the thing about this film. Folks died in this movie. However, its just a fleeting thing in the movie, we didn't focus on it. No gore, no language, no nudity. Just a good solid comic book action movie with great characters and story. Now yes, it is a Pixar film. It still shows that it can be good without doing something crazy with the content.

Movies can be great or horrible regardless of the rating. However, adding more content doesn't make it better. Sometimes, less is more in a film. At the same time a bare bones movie isn't great either. Let's keep in mind that an f-bomb, extra blood splatter and an exposed nipple doesn't make a movie great. I hope the guys who write these films consider the characters' foundation are more important rather the mayhem they can unleash. We may like what these guys can do, but we also like what these characters are about, substance people, substance!

Who I Would Be

Every universe has characters I would love to be for various reasons. So here are my choices in each universe.




Marvel Universe:

Falcon:

I would love to be Sam Wilson. One, he's a Wilson, I'm a Wilson. I already have that covered. Two, he is one of the few people who were Captain America's official partner. And actually had the mantle of Captain America passed to him. That's a triple yes for me.


The Patriot:

Both of my characters are connected to Cap......huh. I would love to be Elijah. I mean his grandfather was the first black Captain America. Then he gets the privilege of using Cap's old shield and now has powers similar to his.



DC Universe:

Mr. Terrific:

I would love to be this guy. He's rich, smart and physically capable of taking folks to town. And you gotta love that jacket and the orbs. New 52 version looks ok, I prefer this version.


John Stewart:

I would love to be a Green Lantern. The way my imagination works, I would be unstoppable.



Top Cow:

Ian Nottingham:

Other than his obsession with Sara. Ian is an awesome martial artist/ninja guy. He also can be accepted by the Witchblade which is really cool. And he's ripped, really ripped.


The Darkness:

I love me some Jackie Estacado. Before they made him super serious, he was always making me laugh. I love his powers. They are based on the shadows of darkness. His darklings are also based on his personality. I want little minions based on my personality, it would great and loud.



Benoist:

This dude is major cool. He's a cyborg pit fighter. A tech engineer, one of the experts in his field. And he acts like a typical.....me, ha!

My Favorites of All Time!!

As I walk through this crazy world, I will continue place things on my list of favorites. I think we all will. From movie to music, from food to colors our favorite list will expand. Our all time favorite however, is exclusive to the things we favor over all. These are the things we argue over, show unconditional loyalty to and will support almost no matter what. So here are my all time favorites. I'm sure you won't agree, but their my favorites, so face!!!



Favorite Movie: Man of Steel

I really love this movie. Zack Snyder's take of the iconic hero is really good. One thing DC does different than Marvel is that they automatically accept most of the super powered heroes in their universe. I like how Man of Steel did the opposite of that. A little realism in a fantasy world.




Favorite Videogame: Mass Effect

I have and still play this game. Everything about it like, a lot. From the custom character to the moral choices you man, I love it. I can't wait for the fourth installment to come out so I can play that one on the constant.



Favorite Anime: Dragonball Z

Just saw the most recent DBZ movie and loved it. It reminds me about everything I liked about Dragonball Z. Goku is and will always be my favorite character. I can't wait for the next movie they do.



Favorite Marvel Character: Wolverine

James Howlett a.k.a. Logan is currently dead now. However, in his early days, he was pretty awesome. I loved the mystery of the character's past and everything. Now yes, they've elaborated more on that in recent issues, but he's still cool. Marvel will bring him back, and when they do, he's going to be.......wow.




Favorite DC Character: Robin

Now this is Timothy Drake humans and yes this is his Red Robin gear. However, I personally think he was the best Robin. Batman admitted he would become a better detective than him. He was a better leader of the Titans. I think he should have taken over the mantle of Batman in the Battle for the Cowl story.




Favorite Martial Artist: Bruce Lee

Now there are many good martial artists out there. However, I was raised on Bruce Lee. Chinese Connection is still my favorite movie. This man had revolutionized the martial art world and the film industry in one move. Pretty awesome guy.




Favorite Artist: Michael Turner

Will always be my favorite. I met him when he was fighting cancer.....again. He was a very nice man and loved his fans. His artwork always spoke to me. He's on a short list of people who continue to inspire to write. I appreciate his work and his friends who continue his legacy.




Favorite Book: Ender's Game

Now I never seen the movie, but I know this book. Orson Scott Card is a genius. This is more than just a science fiction novel. There were so man layers to this story, it's one of the greatest.

My Video Game Journey

I was talking to my buddy the other how games have changed. It went from one button and a joystick. Now to elaborate controllers, fightsticks, gaming mice and etc. Being an 80's kid, I have spent a good part of my life playing a variety of consoles. So here's my console journey humans. Now I haven't owned all these consoles, however, I have played almost all of them.


Atari 2600

My siblings and I saved all our money to get this system. Let me tell you how far we've come. We paid $50 for this console. I remember we would go to Goodwill or other thrift shops and buy the cartridges for like $1-5. We got all of these, except Frostbite, E.T. and Moon Patrol are missing from this picture.


Sega Master System:

My uncle gave us his old system when he upgraded to the Genesis. We played the mess out of this system. My brother and I became hardcore SEGA fanboys once we were exposed to this system. We played everything from Space Harrier, Alex Kidd, to Zillion and Transbot. Ah, good times.


Super Nintendo:

My grandparents got this console for us. We were super excited. She got us some weird Marble Madness type game. We did eventually get Super Mario World and Link to the Past, Mario Kart. We played this so much and unlocked.......everything!!! Out official exposure to fighting games were on this console. Where we first played Street Fighter and Killer Instinct.



Sega Saturn:

When I was 16 years old, I got my first job at Little Caesars. With my first check I bought my very own Sega Saturn. I was super pumped about it. I bought just about every game when it came out. I played Panzer Dragon 1 & 2 constantly. I always argued with people that it was better than Playstation and I still kind of believe it.



Playstation:

Upon the death of the Saturn, I did eventually pick up a Playstation. This is where I experienced Final Fantasy 7 and fell in loved with it along with FF8. Then I was officially bit with the RPG bug. I bought Legend of Dragoon, Legend of Legaia and Xenogears. Oh, I can't forget Soul Blade and X-Men vs Streetfighter, love this stuff.



Nintendo 64:

I was late getting this system. However, I still needed one for Mario 64, Ocarina of Time and Killer Instinct Gold and more Mario Kart. And my first exposure to Smash Bros was on the 64. Ah, wonderful times. And yes I did play Golden Eye, but I did it with my friends.



XBox:

Took me a while to get this guy, but I finally did. While many hated the size of the controller, I loved it. I have some big bear hands.



Gamecube:

Before you ask, I did get a black one, hence why I chose it. I love multiplayer games. So when the Gamecube came out I had to get it. It had Legend of Zelda Four Swords, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles, Smash Bros and Mario Kart. I also got it because Link was a playable character on Soul Calibur 2 for this console, so that was a must. Who remembers, Custom Robo? Had that too, loved that game.


Playstation 2:

Had to get this one for Final Fantasy X, X-2, and 12. Among other games, I had  a lot of them. I was the daily rental store for my buddies. Maybe I should have charged them, next time.



XBox 360:

I had to be committed to X-Box for giving me the Mass Effect franchise, I love that game. I know it's on PS3....now! It was a Microsoft exclusive and I own the exclusive collector's edition. Which is supposedly worth $300 on Ebay. I don't know if I want to part with it though. Hey I had to sell my PS2 and all my games and my beloved Gamecube, don't take Mass Effect away from me! It's all I have left......oh boy.



Playstation 3:

I fought pretty hard against getting a PS3. After rid of my PS2, I didn't want to go down that road again. However, it wasn't a bad decision, the Uncharted franchise is pretty cool and all of my Arkham games are on that system. PS All-Star is on there and that's pretty cool. Got Final Fantasy XIV on this too and it was pretty fun until all the elitist ruined the endgame stuff for me. Nevertheless, a really good console.

XBox One:

Now one of my buddies will tell me that the PS4 is better for some nerdy reasons. That's stuff I really don't care about. In truth I was on the fence because I wasn't sure. However, when Microsoft announced that they were exclusively making a new Killer Instinct. The decision was made for me and I have no regrets.

I mean how could I say no to the black man. Now yes, he showed in Season 2, however it was still a good decision and I'm sticking by it.

Now I'm sure some of you noticed I didn't mention like Dreamcast, Sega CD, Gameboy and many others. I didn't personally own them, I lived vicariously through my brother who owned the systems I didn't have. However, I played most of them if not all of them. Man, maybe we should talk about my MMO or RPG journey next time, might be a good idea. What do you humans think?

"Dude, let me be your sidekick!"

I don't care who you are. At some point in your life you imagined yourself the sidekick or partner of somebody cool. Whether it be Zorro, Sherlock Holmes or Hulk Hogan, you wanted to share in the butt kicking, smack talking, tights wearing life they live. Here are the heroes I would love to be their right hand man.


Captain America:

I would love to be his partner. I mean he would buy me a burger and fries. Say really cool but very old man kind of things. Train me in all kinds of skills. Plus, you never know, like Falcon, take over the mantle of Captain America someday. Hey, I can dream!


Batman:

Rolling with Bruce, I would get cool gear. I would learn how to be a solid detective. And even if I couldn't take over the mantle of Batman. I could get a really cool name connected to a bird. Like Hawk......wait, how about Falcon.......that's right. I'll figure it out, I have time.


Wolverine:

He may be a tough, scary claw swing angry canadian. However, he knows how to take care of those under his wing. I mean, he molded Shadowcat and Jubilee into some really solid people. Which means I could be a samurai like Logan. Still need a solid X-Men name. Gotta sit down and really think of some other names for myself.


Big Barda:

Now, yes, Barda would probably say no to me. But I'll still try. I mean, she can train me to be an awesome fighter. Even if I just carried her bags, it would be fine. Because if I was ever in danger of being attacked by muggers, crazy aliens or Miley Cyrus. All I would have to do is cartwheel into her arms, I'll be safe.



Nova:

I've always like the Nova Corp. From their armor to their powers, I mean it would be really cool. Plus I get to meet people like Adam Warlock, Gamora and Quasar. How cool would that be?! I want that helmet, how awesome would I look walking into Walmart sporting a Nova helmet! Well.....it would be cool if there weren't stranger people in there already.



She-Hulk:

Hanging with Jennifer would be awesome. She's a super smart, talented lawyer. Being her assistant, I would get paid well, get good benefits. In addition to that, hanging with her I could possibly meet, any of the Fantastic Four, Avengers or even Nick Fury. Like I said before, if I was in danger, or need a warm hug, cartwheel into arms. Yeah buddy!!

Marvel, take your stuff back!!

Marvel has proven that they can do their movies and do them well. However, everyone outside of them aren't so great. The Amazing Spider-Man is proving to be a success and the X-Men franchise has been saved thanks to Bryan Singer. However, there are some characters that need saving. Here are the characters that need saving, Marvel!



Dr. Doom:

Victor Von Doom is one of the most iconic villains in the Marvel Universe. However, in the current reboot, Victor is getting punched in the mouth and what we love about him is being stripped from him. He's not called Doom in the reboot, his name is Victor Domashev. He's not a genius like Reed, he's a hacker/programmer and Doom is his name on his blog. What?! So I'm assuming in this universe he doesn't rule the world twice, he just blogs about it, because that's easier. Now granted we haven't seen any footage yet, however, what we do know doesn't sound promising.




Aunt May Parker:

And no, we're not getting this May Parker, that would be great. Apparently, a May Parker movie is in the works. She will be younger, sexier and spunkier. She will be going on a espionage mission? I don't know. I wish they would just focus on the good things of May and not this weird thing they're doing. Here's the kicker about this film. Apparently in the cinematic universe, it will be implied that she's actually Peter's mother. What?! Marvel, stop them from doing this.







Namor:

I think like Universal has the rights to him. And we have seen.....nothing. Marvel give us Namor so we can see him in Infinity War. Between him, Black Panther, Iron Man and Black Bolt, we have a large part of the Illuminati right there! Let's make it happen people!







Ghost Rider:

I haven't seen the films. However, all have agreed they were horrible. Even though Cage is a huge fan of the character, I'm pretty sure he ruined the franchise. A number of the fans of the character agreed. I have a buddy who loves this character and made it clear they weren't great.  Marvel take this back and give us the New Fantastic Four, we can get Wolverine, I'm pretty sure. And speaking of James.






The Wolverine:

Now I love Hugh Jackman as I'm sure I have mentioned before. However, Fox has constantly messed with this character and I would like them to stop. We need a better Origins movie, I want to see the right James Howlett, not the hot garbage they have given us. Take this guy back Marvel and give us New Fantastic Four! I will continue to scream this until this happens.







Deadpool:

Now the test footage that was revealed online shows me that Fox understood how they messed up on Wade in Origins. However, being a Wilson myself, I want my fellow Wilson done correctly. I would rather see Marvel do it, since he's everywhere in the Marvel universe, worked with all kinds of  characters, He did actually destroyed the Marvel Universe at one point. Come on Marvel, have him destroy the universe!!





Silver Surfer:

Rise of the Silver Surfer made our very own Norrin Rad pretty crappy. I hated that. He looked great on film though. So it shows a decent solo film will work. If Marvel takes him back, we will get the Surfer we actually want. And Galactus will show himself and not be......whatever he was in the previous film. And he could join the Defenders, that would be great!!!