Now don't get me wrong, I am all for the cinema having a wide selection of movies so that there is something for everyone to go and see but some movies are just not designed for the younger ages. It's a fact. Some movies warrant more sex, violence, dismemberment, gratuitous nudity and awesomeness than others. Therefore you have these ratings U, PG, 12, 15, 18. These allow us to make sure the right movies get the right measure of the above mentioned to ensure viewer enjoyment.
However some silly bugger thought it would be a good idea to add a new rating. A curse if you will, a blight upon the silver screen world. The 12A rating. Now this means that small annoying children can now get in to see potentially awesome movies with their parents. But in order for this to work, the potentially awesome movie has to be edited and watered down so that the younger than should be allowed in child won't get f***ing nightmares.
Take for example Die Hard 4 (I simply to refuse to call it 4.0). Fine there was a lot wrong with that movie but it was made worse with the addition of this pointless 12A rating. All we wanted was a return to the awesomeness that was the original Die Hard movies, (yes I know the fourth movie of a series is never anywhere near as good as the original, especially when it has been made 19 years after). All we desired was an awesome action movie with guns, terrorists, cheesey one liners and of course the coveted "Yippey Ki-Yay Motherfucker!"
What we got was guns, an exploding helicopter and a harrier jumpjet under a freeway (strangely similar to True Lies me thinks)!!! No blood splattering head shots, no decent swearing and no beating the bad guy to death with the but of a gun because he ran out of ammo. Not that this is why I go to watch these films but it's a Die Hard movie, you expect it. And so you have sat through all 128 minutes of this and when it comes to the end of the film, you hear him start saying that immortal line "Yippey...." and now you're thinking "finally, the one line we've been waiting to hear for the entire child friendly 128 minutes" and then you get "Ki-Yay....BANG" as he shoots himself through the shoulder to kill the big bad boss. NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO, NUH UH, YOU DO NOT COVER THE ONE LINE, THE SIGNATURE CATCHPHRASE OF JON McCLANE WITH A MOTHERF***ING GUN SHOT!!!!!!!!!!
I know that in the long run this is all about money and that really the 12A rating is here to stay. 15 practically no longer exists and fewer 18's are being seen as most releases are aiming at getting everybody of every age into see it. Some movies can still be made into decent films under a 12A rating but some films deserve more to make them better and as a result can't be held to the standards of a 12A rating.
I bet that if the Hunger Games had been a 15 the experience would have been entirely different. The books were far more graphic than the film was. The film hints at what the book described in detail. Some people have told me that nothing was really lost in the experience of this film through a 12A rating. I say otherwise. I've read books and I know that if they had used the detail in the book for the film, there is no way it would have ever been a 12A!!!! I mean for crying out loud it is a story about 24 kids fighting to the death till only one is left standing. They're given swords, bows, spears, nets etc and you hardly see a thing. It's still enjoyable but so much was lost from it being a 12A rating.
If Prometheus gets hampered with a 12A rating then oh dear god will I lose it!!!!
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