Rise of the R Rating

            For comic book films as they exist now; in a world of extended, expanded, and shared universes, one ceiling had yet to be truly broken through. The R-rating. That all changed with the release of Deadpool earlier this year. This is not to say that Deadpool was the first to garner this rating, as films such as the Punisher and Blade films, Sin City, and 300 had all earned that rating in the past. But Deadpool was the first to truly take it to the mainstream and to make it cool. Now studios are clamoring to take advantage of that success and to push out their own films in that style. While I applaud this, I really think we should exercise caution going forward. 

                The world, post-Deadpool, has presented us with a double-edged sword in the making of comic book and superhero movies. On one hand, there is a breath of new life and diversity into the genre at a time when superhero fatigue is becoming an ever-increasing possibility (although other types of diversity are still something that needs work, but that’s another discussion). It opens up new storylines and characters that would otherwise be impossible without severe alterations to the source material. There are two excellent examples of this; one that is being made, and one that I would love to see be made in the future. The one that is in production is Wolverine 3, which is using the Old Man Logan story. Doing that PG-13 would be like making Mad Max PG-13. It would result in losing much of the tone of the world and of the story, watering down the brutality integral to the setting. In this case, you would lose a lot of what makes that story feel the way it does, and what it makes you feel to watch or read it. The one I would love to see get made with an R-rating is a standalone Batman film using the storyline of Death in the Family. In the DCEU, you don’t want to see how Bruce Wayne becomes Batman. We all know how that happens already. What we should see instead is how he becomes this Batman, and that could all relate back to that Robin costume in the Batcave. This is a perfect story to address it and that can be successful with an R-rating while also utilizing the dark tone the DCEU has cultivated so far. Win-win, and at the very least opens the door for Jason Todd/Red Hood later on, if not a full-on expansion of the Bat Family.

                There is of course a second side to this: while the option is nice, not all stories and films need that R-rating. This is something we should be careful not to lose sight of for the sake of being edgy and/or trendy. PG-13 (or less) superheroes can still exist and be every bit as powerful and fascinating as those rated higher. There are two excellent examples of that. The first is a PG-13 spy thriller that was not only one of the best superhero movies ever, but a legitimately excellent and excellently-made movie that raised the bar across the genre. I refer of course, to Captain America: The Winter Soldier. In fact, the three Captain America films are some of the best not only of the MCU, but of the genre as a whole. They have smart action but also humanize the characters and make them far more interesting as people than they are often portrayed. I cannot think of what would legitimately be gained from tweaking them into an R-rating. Especially after the extended version of Batman vs. Superman, which added runtime but almost nothing to the story, and the R-rating added even less. This leads me to my other example, which is also probably the best incarnation of its property: Batman: The Animated Series. This was a show for children, a cartoon about as far from an R-rating as it gets. And yet it was everything that the DCEU is striving for: dark, compelling, excellently acted, mature, and sophisticated in its storytelling far beyond what one would expect. The emotion and gravitas of the plots are much more evident as an adult, and yet it still appeals to kids even today. 

                In summation, the rise of the R rating in modern comic book movies is a momentous occasion. In giving greater acceptance to this higher rating, we open the door to ideas that would have been scoffed at or heavily edited and watered down before. We can now take a greater look at themes and ideas too ‘mature’ to fit into the PG-13 world of current cinematic universes (although not Netflix series!) and dissect them in greater depth. What a time to be alive, right? But as we celebrate this accomplishment, we should not discard all that came before, should not toss away all that can still be done within the framework that has already been created. Not every character can or needs to fit into an R-rated world, and that’s okay. That’s what makes these stories so great, that they can exist on multiple levels and are accessible across all ages. And we should take care not to forget that. 

                So what do you guys think? Do you feel that there are superheroes/comic book characters that should only exist in a more mature setting? Are there ones that definitely should not? What kinds of R-rated comic films would you like to see? Let me know what you think!