“Deadpool” rated R for a reason

This archived article was written by: David Rawle

The movie “Deadpool” is one of the biggest box office hits of 2016, shattering records in its wake. This isn’t surprising, for Marvel movies are big successes in theaters. What sets “Deadpool” apart from predecessors is it breaks away from that family friendly PG-13 rating and ventures into the rated-R sea. Yes, Marvel made a rated-R movie with every intention of keeping it that way.
After the first week of “Deadpool” showing in theaters, there were two opinion from fans. One being they nailed the character and the other outraged by the content of the movie. Most of the negative comments come from parents who either were appalled that the movie wasn’t kid friendly and were those who brought young children to see the movie and were shocked at what their children saw.
Parents started a petition to make a PG-13 rated version of “Deadpool” during filming. An impromptu screening in January for “Deadpool” fans in New York had Ryan Reynolds (actor playing Deadpool) make a surprise visit. When questioned about the PG-13 version, he replied, “I don’t think so. I mean, you saw it. That would be a short movie. It’s almost a commercial at that point,” ultimately dismissing the theory and petition. Reynolds knows there is no chance the movie will get the PG-13 rating. Reynolds pushed for the R rating.
At first, the rating was debated on whether or not it should be the PG-13 rather than R. The reason behind this was Marvel studios wanted to keep its rating; however, following in Deadpool’s footsteps, Reynolds fought to shoot for the R rating arguing that it was the only way to make this a true “Deadpool” movie.
A few reasons why this decision was set in stone: the first is that’s who Deadpool is the Merc with the Mouth. Then comes the issues with the fans. After the movie “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” where Deadpool made his first appearance, the fans were in an outrage on how wrong this version of was. After getting all of that bad rep, it was important that the producers at Marvel nail Deadpool in all of his uncensored glory.
Once released, fans were not disappointed. The film is full of fourth-wall breaks, blood, violence, vulgar language, sexual innuendos, non-stop action and plenty of unforgiving money shots. The only things that were missing were not enough tacos or chimichangas, and the lack of him talking with his other personalities. Despite those small flaws, Marvel did Deadpool absolute justice and delivered what was promised to the fans.
All things considered, parents should be happy that it managed to stay rated R. After the decision that R was what they were shooting for, the studios went crazy, to the point where they cut a lot of content in order to make sure they didn’t reach the NC-17 rating.
In the end, parents should stop complaining about the movie and should refrain from taking their children to see “Deadpool.”