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!
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