Beowulf - Should It Be 12 or 15?

I

imn

New member
IF YOU HAVN'T SEEN THIS YET, PROBABLY BEST NOT TO READ THIS POST!

Just home from watching it, and thought it was a pretty good film. One thing that really surprised me though was the 12 rating and what the film got away with!

There is a bit of swearing in it and some sexual swearing that some under 12's probably shouldn't be hearing. Because it's CGI they probably got away with it, but at times you could just think to yourself "this is like Shrek telling Donkey to "f*ck off", something that you never thought you'd hear or expect to witness! Bastard, bollocks and wank were some of those I heard uttered as well as some mild to strong hints at blow jobs and sex. Even during a song they men appeared to be ready to say either 'tw*t' or c*nt' just before they are interrupted from saying it.

Also there is some nudity and a fight scene featuring male nudity cleverly hidden that could have come straight out of the opening credits of Austin Powers 2! Some shots of male arses though and Angelina's boobs are out too. Her 'down below' parts looked like a Barbie doll in close up, but still...!

Then the violence, again granted it's CGI, but even at that, monsters getting stabbed in the eye, their stomachs ripped open, hearts getting pulled out by hand, people getting limbs pulled off or even ripped in half. I don't know, should this have been a 15? There was a couple who brought their seemingly 10 year old son to watch this with them and I couldn't help thinking afterwarRAB how awkward they must have felt with some of the content. I wondered what they would have said if he had have asked them what a 'wank' was?

What do you think, was this suitable for a 12 rating or should this have been a 15?

Paddy :D
 
Well the 12 rating advises parents that there is adult content they may not want their child to see - it boils down to their decision and the BBFC do give consumer advice:
 
It should have been 15. But because it's a "cartoon", it got away with a 12.

I also think the 15 rated Batman films have been re-rated to 12 too.
 
They certificates are much more liberally based these days - which may partly account for why we have a load of 12year olRAB who swear like troopers, have sex and fight eachother. :)
 
Batman Returns is still a 15, due to an imitatable scene involving a microwave and an aerosol spray can. If WB had cut that scene out, it would have been a 12 along with the 1989 Batman.

Paddy :D
 
Ive just been an the odeon has big warning signs about it up now ,last week nothing ..lol
maybe some whining parents taking lil toddlers an been complaining at their gross stupidity for taking their lil darlings in an not realising a fantasy hack an slash film may have violence in it ,lol
Like going to see a war film an moaning because people get shot/killed
 
I just saw it and was quite shocked by how violent and sexual it was. I can't complain about the bits with Angelina Jolie though! Even though it was CGI it was damn hot! :D
 
I brought my son and his friend to it and was shocked by the violent and sexual content. I only wish I had read more into what the story was about because my son was scared. We came out after half an hour and watched Fred Claus instead. I would not recommend this for children who are squeamish.

I think it should be 15
 
I'd say 12 is about the right age. Glorifying the conquest of "virgins" is just how they talked in those days. Even the women back then took pride in their menfolk's raping and pillaging, as long as it happened abroad. That might make some squeamish but it's history, and I wouldn't shelter anyone over 12 from that. They balanced it out by showing the Queen giving the King attitude at every turn, so it's not all just caricatures. Anyway, teens know there's such a thing as sex and the violence was too cartoonish to be scary or traumatising.
 
I think this the problem with the 12a thing. This film could probably be a 12. I think these days a 12 year old would have seen much worse violence/sexual content (probably for real even) than is portrayed in the film. I'm 21 and even I was a bit shocked by the gore/language, purely because I wasn't expecting it, especially with kiRAB so young in the cinema. If it was purely a 12, i.e, people 12 and over could watch it, I think the rating would be OK, but the fact that any little kid can be taken in to watch this with a stupid parent who thinks it's another Shrek is the problem with the 12a rating.
 
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