‘Batman v Superman’ Has an MPAA Rating

ScreenCrush’s Comic Strip is a weekly roundup of the hottest superhero movie/TV news items. From Marvel to DC and points in between, if it pertains to costumed comic book heroes, we’re covering it here, bringing you our expert analysis. This week, we overanalyze the rating of Batman v Superman, dive into the latest Marvel news, and mourn Sinister Six.

Batman v Superman is Rated PG-13 For All of the Obvious Reasons

So Zack Snyder’s Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice has been officially rated by the MPAA and it’s – drumroll, please – PG-13. No shock there. There’s always a weird pocket of comic book fans who are convinced that these stories need to be rated R, but that’s never going to happen, especially since a PG-13 rating guarantees bigger box office. Plus, why does a Batman and Superman movie have to be for adults only? That’s weird, selfish thinking that derives from the mindset that superheroes are Very Serious Business and not Kids Stuff. Let’s get real here. The fact that grown adults enjoy superhero movies is a bonus. If they don’t delight 12-year olds, they’ve failed.

Okay. With that ranty piece of housekeeping out of the way, here’s why the film earned that rating:

Intense sequences of violence and action throughout, and some sensuality.

Now, let’s do what all nerds do: obsessively analyze this rating, even though there’s no real reason to do so.

That first part is expected. Every superhero movie is violent, but Snyder is the one supplying the “intense” part of the equation. For better or worse, the man films his fights and battles with a stylized ferocity that is unlike any other working filmmaker. We can debate his actual storytelling all day (he’s had his ups and downs), but he can direct the hell out of a fight.

The “some sensuality” portion of the rating is essentially code for “there are girls in this movie and therefore, there is cleavage, along with the mere suggestion that people have sex.” Since Amy Adams’ Lois Lane tends to do her brilliant reporter thing in comfortable street wear, we’ll go out on a limb and suggest that that MPAA has issued this warning to save youngsters and their overprotective parents from Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman costume.

Drew Goddard Has Us Mourning the Supposed Death of Sinister Six

Screenwriter and director Drew Goddard claims that his Sinister Six movie could still see the light of day, but we don’t believe him.

While making the press rounds for The Martian (his screenplay is the best thing Ridley Scott’s shot in ages), the mad genius behind The Cabin in the Woods has been fielding all kinds of questions about his aborted super-villain team-up movie. With Suicide Squad on the way, this project feels redundant. With its connection to the now-dead Amazing Spider-Man movies, it feels unnecessary. And that’s a shame, because Goddard is a storyteller with an exceptionally good head on his shoulders and the thought of him making a movie all about Spider-Man’s rogue’s gallery sounds like a blast.

Speaking with IGN, he talked about how you balance an entire ensemble of villains:

When you’re doing just a straightforward superhero movie, you don’t need a lot of villains. The focus is on one guy. I think with Sinister, it’s different. To me it’s less about too many villains and more about too many antagonists and there’s a distinction. You never say, like, The Dirty Dozen has too many characters. They’re all villains, or you could argue that. But they’re protagonists. The trick with Sinister, is that I was making everyone the protagonist and less about six-on-one and more about coming at it a little differently. That was the idea… You can still have protagonists be evil. That’s the secret. Look at something like, say, Reservoir Dogs. They’re protagonists but Michael Madsen is a complete psychopath! It’s OK, you can do both.

Look, anyone who mentions Reservoir Dogs and The Dirty Dozen as touchstones when describing their comic book bad guy movie is a-okay in our book. If we’re lucky, maybe Goddard can make a Sinister Six that lives within the Marvel Cinematic Universe now that Sony and Marvel Studios have forged an alliance. We can hope, right?

Your Necessary Dose of Marvel

The stars of Captain America: Civil War were guests at the Salt Lake Comic-Con this past week, where they were free to flap their gums about their new movie. Here is Captain America himself, Chris Evans, speaking about the themes of the movie and even confirming some story details:

Tony actually thinks we should be signing these accords and reporting to somebody and Cap, who’s always been a company man and has always been a soldier, actually doesn’t trust anymore. Given what happened in Cap 2, I think he kind of feels the safest hands are his own, and these are understandable concerns, but this is tough, because even reading the script, you think I think I agree with Tony in a way, and I do agree that to make this work, you do need to surrender to the group. It can’t just be one person saying this is right and this is what we’re going to do.’
But Cap has his reasons, he certainly has his reasons, and he is a good man and his moral compass is probably the cleanest, This is a tough thing. This is what made it so interesting while we were filming, and it’s hopefully what will make the movie great is nobody’s right, nobody’s wrong. There’s no clear bad guy here. We both have a point of view, which is akin to most disagreements in life and politics.

Meanwhile, Anthony Mackie was asked about who should take up the mantel of Captain America if Evans ever left the part and he gave this surprising answer:

I don’t think we need a new Cap. I don’t think Cap needs to change. I think (Sebastian Stan) would be a great Cap, but then we’re left without Bucky. I think I’d be a great Cap, but then we’re left without a Falcon.

Given Mackie’s public enthusiasm for Sam Wilson/The Falcon becoming the new Cap in the pages of the Marvel comics, we can’t help but wonder if this is misdirection. Could a transition actually be in the works and he’s trying to obfuscate it? That wouldn’t be the first time an actor involved in a superhero franchise has out-and-out lied.

Oh, and here’s the latest Avengers: Age of Ultron gag reel, because you know you need it: