‘The Batman’ Receives Official Rating From MPAA

Matt Reeves’ The Batman has gotten its official rating from the MPAA. The film is rated PG-13 for “strong violent and disturbing content, drug content, strong language, and some suggestive material.” (It also apparently has the alternate title Vengeance.)

Disturbing content and drug content and strong language and some suggestive material? What’s it take to get an R rating around these parts?

This is pretty much in keeping with every live-action Batman movie since 1989’s by Tim Burton. That film was rated PG-13, as was Batman Returns, Batman Forever, and Batman & Robin. Ditto for Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins, The Dark Knight, and The Dark Knight Rises. There was an R-rated version of Batman v Superman on home video (the so-called “Ultimate Edition”) but the theatrical cut of the movie was PG-13 as well, for “intense sequences of violence and action throughout, and some sensuality.” What, no suggestive material?!? Not even some suggestive material?

The trailers for the movie have played up the dark and disturbing plans of the Riddler, played by Paul Dano, who wraps his victims heads on duct tape. They also emphasize the intense action scenes featuring Robert Pattison’s Batman, who seems to get shot a lot and shrugs it off because, well, he’s Batman and he’s wearing an extremely well-armored costume. Ultimately, though, this Batman is no more adult than any of the others, at least as far as the MPAA is concerned.

Here’s The Batman’s most recent teaser:

The Batman is currently scheduled to open in theaters on March 4, 2022.

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