A PG-13 Punisher Picture?

By Rafe Telsch: 2008-08-15 08:36:14

Marvel anti-hero, The Punisher, is taking another shot this week, and not the good kind. This year’s sequel, Punisher: War Zone, already had several things working against it - a crappy first movie, a lack of any names returning from the first movie, and recently rumors that director Lexi Alexander had been removed from her own picture. Now it sounds like the movie is about to get dumbed down a bit - a fatal flaw for a hero like Frank Castle, the Punisher.

Latino Review says they have it on good authority that Lionsgate is looking for a PG-13 edit of Punisher: War Zone, cutting down violence and bloodshed, elements that are essential to the kind of hero the Punisher is. Just look at his name - “The Punisher”. He punishes people! That doesn’t mean he puts them in the corner or makes them mop floors. He kills, maims, and tortures people. The kind of thing that doesn’t play well in a PG-13 flick.

The suggestion is the desire for the lower rating is prompted by the success of The Dark Knight, which somehow managed to pull off a PG-13 despite some pretty gratuitous content. We’ve all admitted it’s the darkest Batman flick ever and probably deserved an R. Lionsgate is likely eyeing the success of that movie and figuring they can do the same with Punisher, despite the fact that Punisher should be even darker than Batman.

Don’t get me wrong, a PG-13 rating for War Zone would be a terrible mistake, but at the same time, it’s not a death knell. Live Free or Die Hard and The Dark Knight pushed the edge of the PG-13 rating, making it work without ruining their story. But they had a good story first, and I’m not confident War Zone does. Meanwhile, the first Punisher movie was rated R and totally misused that rating. Castle’s entire family gunned down and not a drop of blood to be seen.

I haven’t had high hopes for Punisher: War Zone and Lionsgate certainly isn’t doing anything to alleviate those concerns. I’m guessing the next move for the picture is a drop down to direct-to-DVD status, which is pretty much what most of us were expecting from the film in the first place.

UPDATE! The guys over at FSR have apparently tracked down their own anonymous source who says this rumor is wrong and that the movie will actually be rated-R. Who should you believe? Flip a coin, or just wait until the MPAA actually assigns a rating.

RELATED: comic book movie, lionsgate, punisher

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Beast Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 10:53
The first one was awsome, it was smart and clever. This one just looks crappy without thomas jane, I wish he would have stayed. But it was taking to long for them to get started, I for one will not be seeing this new one until it comes out on dvd.

Frank Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 19:03
FYI this rumor is apparently bogus:
http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/punisher-still-to-punish-in-r-rated-way.php

Nomad Says:
August 15th, 2008 at 19:05
That story never rang true to me. I believe THIS guy:

There is a rumor that has started circulating around this little thing called “the internet” that Lionsgate is pushing for the next installment of The Punisher to be rated PG-13. Given all we know of the franchise, this immediately smelled foul. Not being without charms and fully utilizing our ruggedly handsome looks, we tracked down our own source who is, of course, “close to the production.” Their word? *beep*

We could add some words in front of that, like “complete,” “total,” or “utter,” but it throws off the feng-shui of the post, but they would be appropriate. It looks like this originated over at Latino Review, who indicate that they have their own source. Now, I love those Latino Review guys, but I have no idea who they’re talking to. I do, however, definitely know our source and know that I trust them completely. Punisher: War Zone will be Rated R for Rambo-Levels of violence. Which is a good thing, because the kill count of Rambo (another Lionsgate release) was 236 and featured some of the best gore violence in years.

Now, while being Rated-R, the film is still facing a troubled production run, detailed by our Neil Miller at the end of last month. Who knows what else is going on in making the film “presentable,” though it probably has to do mostly with timing. While our source is more than enough for me, for you kids keeping count at home there are a few other things to keep in mind. First, former Marvel Entertainment CEO Avi Arad (and current Marvel producing partner) Avi Arad has always said that The Punisher was one character who would carry the R-Rating at Marvel (the other being Blade). Second, producer Gale Anne Hurd spoke at great length at Comic Con about the film and stressed the level of violence that would be in the film. Lastly, the exclusive footage shown at Comic Con, which was very well received, was definitely from a film that was Rated R, and it was the point they were selling - brutal.

In summation, this PG-13 rumor is total *beep* Punisher: War Zone is still not a ship sailing smoothly, but it will come to theaters with that Rated R stamp all over it on December 5. And just in case you need more evidence of the R-Ratedness, have a look at the clip below, which was launched a few weeks back at Comic-Con.

http://www.filmschoolrejects.com/news/punisher-still-to-punish-in-r-ra ted-way.php

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