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2016: The Return of Unapologetically R Rated Successes?

posted 8 years ago by gljbradley
4 replies | jump to latest

This is just an observation, guys. With 2016 coming to an end, I want to take notice of how it seems like R rated films released in that year signals the return of films for teens and adults. In the last couple of years, PG-13 films have dominated the market and that's fine. But it seemed like there were barely any R rated films for the older audiences to have a variety of choices. What's worse, some films start out as R but then get toned down to PG-13 to bring in the younger audiences.

Movies should appeal to everyone, not just children. Teenagers and adults need love, too. Plus, the almighty dollar in Hollywierd is so heavily focused that the art of filmmaking becomes lost and almost non-existent. Though, the latest Mad Max and John Wick movies seem to be good signs that R rated films are gaining traction again.

If this film, The Revenant, and Sausage Party has taught us anything, it's that R rated films can be critically AND financially successful without them being toned down just as long as they are quality-filled and keeps the audience enthralled.

[–] DracTarashV 8 years ago

Yep, many have been feeling this way thanks to the success of Deadpool, Fury Road, John Wick, The Equalizer, Deadpool again, and most likely the upcoming Logan. My prediction is, if a "a couple" more R Rated movies, particularly those of the action genre, experience financial and critical success, then Hollywood will certainly take notice - especially of the financial part - and perhaps demand a much needed change. Of course, a good movie is a good movie regardless of its rating. But you cannot deny for over a decade there's been an excess of PG-13 movies, and it's frustrating because many of these movies would've definitely been more effective if they hadn't been toned down. (And to be fair, I do think so many of these PG-13 flicks have been targeted at teens more than anyone). The hard-hitting violent movies, on the other hand, have mostly been low-budget and are not given a real chance to make an impression on the masses. So yeah, hopefully things will change.

You want something corny? You got it!

[–] gljbradley 8 years ago

I agree! A good movie is a good movie regardless of the rating and that's what should really matter. It's unfortunate that a lot of movie studios and filmmakers tend to forget about that nowadays.

A lot of my favorite movies are rated PG-13 and there's nothing wrong with the rating itself. It's the ridiculous and dated as hell rules surrounding it and the entire MPAA in general. Like 20 years ago, PG-13 used to be a functional rating until sometime in the 2000s when the "puritanical" members of the MPAA thought that seeing blood or someone naked in a PG or PG-13 film was somehow wrong for children. Look, I get that there are some things that aren't appropriate for children. But, no blood when someone gets seriously hurt in a PG-13 film? That's not how it works in reality.

With the obscene amount of PG-13 films that's been released so many times, it's like there was almost no place for R rated films to exist. It seemed liked the adults were getting left out in the cold more and more while the children and teens were having all of the fun. Films like this one, The Revenant, John Wick, and Fury Road gave me hope.

[–] TheGreatGeekGod 8 years ago

The R-rated, while used less in a long time, there were still moments where the R rating still proved profitable. The horror genre has 90% stayed R throughout all of this and has almost always seen profit.

[–] observation 8 years ago

Hopefully these movies will not be "R" rated for the simple reason of making money. BUT the bottom line is money. Dead pool on a 58 million dollar budget generated over 700 million in ticket sales w/o China markets + over 80 million in DVD/Blue Ray sales. This is what the "R" means to the studios. Prior to Dead pool they did not want to risk the money for the story now we will see. Will they risk alienating some to possibly gaining more??. The verdict is still out on this one, but you can bet that whatever Dead pool does, this movie has pushed the envelope to the left, the gloves are off & this one movie can now do what the other comic books may NOT get away with ANYTHING IT WANTS!!

Words have consequences!