While director Tim Miller's Deadpool has received one of the MPAA's most strict ratings here in the United States, heading to theaters next week with an 'R', the folks over in the U.K. have been a tad more lenient. Instead of giving the Marvel Comics film an '18' or an 'R18', the superhero story has instead received a rather self-explanatory '15'. Before you start to think that this means the movie isn't as over-the-top as promised, however, know that the difference in rating is probably more reflective of the British Board of Film Classification's less-prohibitive perspective.
The MPAA's classification of Deadpool has "warned" audiences of "strong violence and language throughout, sexual content and graphic nudity," and looking at the standards for the BBFC's '15' rating, it's understandable why the X-Men spin-off title got the label that it did in the U.K.
- strong violence
- frequent strong language (e.g. 'f***').
- portrayals of sexual activity
- strong verbal references to sex
- sexual nudity
- brief scenes of sexual violence or verbal references to sexual violence
- discriminatory language or behaviour
- drug taking
Basically, if you're hoping that Deadpool will still be the cursing and sex-filled bloodbath that the red band trailers promise, you're very likely going to walk away from the theater satisfied. Tim Miller, Ryan Reynolds, and screenwriters Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick fought long and hard for the latest big screen comic book movie to maintain an R-classification, and that's what's being delivered to your local theater next week:
Does this mean that British teenagers more mature than American teenagers? Without any firm data in front of me I can't really say for sure, but this situation more than likely just another example of simple cultural differences. It's been well established over the years that the MPAA gets really serious when it comes to nudity and sexuality in films, and it's entirely possible it was just that element that ultimately established the difference between the British and American ratings.
Deadpool tells the story of Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds), a soldier living a blissful life with the woman he loves (Morena Baccarin) when he is struck by tragedy. Learning that he has inoperable cancer in his liver, lungs, prostate and brain, he opts to join a super secret program that promises to turn him into a superhero. Unfortunately, what they really want to do is turn him into a super slave - and while Wade is able to escape, he leaves with an incredible healing factor, horrifically scarred skin, and a psychopathic new look on life. Look for the film in theaters on February 12th.
You can check out some of the more exciting superhero trailers in the video below.
