Warner Bros.' DC Films: Quick Thoughts About Comics Looking Towards R-Rated Films

     After ignoring what fans have been bitching about for years, the box office numbers of Fox's Deadpool film, and last weekend's Logan raking in huge numbers, have made some studios rethink the ratings on their own films.  Deadpool had over $130 million just for the opening weekend.
     The Wrap reports that an Insider at Warner Bros.' DC Films recently said that, "With the right character(s)" they would definitely make an R-rated film.  A "100% yes," they would consider making a more adult oriented movie.

     Granted there have been previous R-rated superhero films such as Blade, Kickass, and Watchmen, but I worry that the studio goal is to simply make money, without putting in the effort to understand why Deadpool and Logan are doing so damn well at the box office.
     DC Comics in film has generally been handled very poorly.  Zack Snyder doesn't seem to grasp what makes these iconic characters important and lasting, and the result can be clearly seen in the vast difference between the abominable Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice and Christopher Nolan's tremendous Batman: The Dark Knight.  Would making BvS: Dawn of Justice an R-rated film give it the boost it needed?  Not really, as the extended version showed.  It was a better version than the theatrical cut, but it still fell short of what is should've been.  They need to learn character insight before a rating will make a difference.  Deadpool nailed the character, and Logan got it almost 100% right- it made a giant leap forward and I think the first 2/3 is amazing and then it falters a bit.  What is important with Logan is they learned that they need to make a good film first, then add the R, as I'd been complaining about for years.  It's why X-Men: Apocalypse was garbage, they didn't make a good story.

     Not every comic book movie needs the grittier reboot.  The rating doesn't matter if the writers and directors don't "get it."  Look at how shitty the first two Wolverine films were.  As the Insider mentions, with the right character an R rating could do very well.  Ben Affleck's Batman in the right hands could be an R rated masterpiece.  Think of Casino or Goodfellas with the Batman- a hardcore crime story filled with the mob focused villains, and maybe a very serious take on the Riddler.  It could be absolutely astounding, but I doubt it would work with Snyder a the helm.  He lacks the fundamental knowledge of the underlying significance of these characters.  We need a Scorsese leading the project, something handled by people that understand more than a simple good looking shot.  They have to know what makes the stories and characters matter, and in the end it needs to come down to substance over spectacle.

     Source [ The Wrap ]