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About The Expendables 3 being rated PG-13

Yeah, everyone else has chimed in on this weekend's announcement at Cannes that The Expendables 3 will be rated PG-13. And opinions, much like theories, are like assholes -- everyone has one and they all stink. But I still feel the need to say something on the matter.

The Expendables 3 will be rated PG-13 when it hits theatres later this summer. The first two were almost going to be rated the same until the fan base pissed and moaned all over the idea. I admit, when the first flick came out, I was one of them.

When we grew up, action movies were rated R. They were the horror flick of our generation, only we had R-rated horror flicks too. It was a glorious time to be a genre-movie fan.

Movies like Commando, Predator, and Robocop wouldn't be the films they are if they weren't rated R. Rambo: First Blood Part 2 would, if released today, be rated PG-13 with no trimming necessary. Fact. Go back and watch it again.

Take out the CGI gore, and the first two Expendables are PG-13 movies. There's no nudity or, if memory serves, a single God damn swear word in either movie. They tried to make an R-rated Die Hard movie with A Good Day to Die Hard and all they did was add a couple of fucks in there to do it. The rest of the flick was PG-13.

The action flicks we grew up with were rated R because they were exploitation movies. Graphically violent exploitation movies. There's nothing exploitive about The Expendables except making a buck on a bunch of over-the-hill action stars. Don't get me wrong, I love the movies. I even love the second one, which most people seem to hate. And I will always be a fan of the people in them. Yes, even Bruce Willis.

When folks walk into a theatre Aug. 15, The Expendables 3 isn't going to look much different than the first two movies. It will still be violent, if that's what people are worried about. In fact, PG-13 movies are way more violent than the action movies of old. They just aren't as bloody.

On a final note, none of The Expendables stars, save for Willis, have had a hit in years. And Willis isn't in this one. PG-13 equals more filmgoers in seats, and that's what Stallone and Lionsgate need with this increasingly expensive franchise.

I'm still looking forward to The Expendables 3 and could give two shits what it's rated. Last word.
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