It’s understandable why not every movie out there is filled to the brim with obscene language, brutal violence, and explicit (let’s say) “adult” content. Certain things are only appropriate for viewers of a certain age, broadly speaking, and film would be oddly restrictive if every movie was required to have such content. Diverse films and tones are good, and so is the idea of different movies appealing to different people of different ages.
Yet sometimes, certain films come along that feel like they should just be a bit more full-on than they really are, with one getting the sense that the central story would’ve been served better by an adult rating (something like an R-rating in the U.S.), instead of having aimed for a lesser rating (again, to stick with the U.S., like a PG or PG-13). The following movies all serve as examples of this feeling, being films – admittedly, not all terrible ones – that did viewers a disservice by not pushing the darker or more adult parts of their stories far enough, when it came to presentation.
10 ‘Live Free or Die Hard’ (2007)
Director: Len Wiseman
Image via 20th Century Fox.
A series of great highs and lows, it’s an interesting experience working through the five Die Hard movies, with the fourth of the bunch, Live Free or Die Hard, having its flaws, yet also perhaps feeling over-hated. It really leaned into the idea of “John McClane getting old,” with that leading to a good deal of comedy and being the main reason he was once more out of his depths, here involved in a mission to take down some technologically-savvy terrorists.
Unfortunately, Live Free or Die Hard shied away from the bloody violence and profanity of the previous three Die Hard movies, being a tamer affair that was still fun, but it was nonetheless hard to shake the feeling that something was missing. Of course, the fifth film, A Good Day to Die Hard, brought back those R-rated elements, though such things scarcely helped the movie overall; it quite easily felt like the weakest Die Hard movie in any event. Still, it could’ve been something that helped Live Free or Die Hard, and perhaps even did, as demonstrated partly by the film’s unrated cut, which had some stronger language (probably a good thing) and some added CGI blood (not such a good thing, in all honesty; squibs are always more satisfying).
Live Free or Die Hard
Release Date June 20, 2007
Director Len Wiseman
Runtime 128
Watch on Tubi
9 ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ (2009)
Director: Gavin Hood
Image via 20th Century Studios
It’s never fun digging up X-Men Origins: Wolverine and reminding people it exists, because it honestly feels like something that should be forgotten about. It was a prequel/origin story centered on Wolverine, one of the standout characters of the three prior X-Men films, but the execution was just off. It was a murky and dull film, and its PG-13 rating hampered it in ways that the same rating didn’t necessarily hamper those other X-Men movies.
With a focus on Wolverine and his tendency to slice through enemies, this movie would’ve been a good opportunity to up the violence and bloodshed a little, with Wade Wilson/Deadpool also being featured here… but not allowed to be his profane, snarky self. X-Men Origins: Wolverine felt neutered, and looked even worse post-2017, as that was the year Logan came out and got acclaim for its willingness to make an uncompromising Wolverine film with an R-rating.
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Release Date May 1, 2009
Runtime 107 minutes
Watch on Disney+
8 ‘Terminator Salvation’ (2009)
Director: McG
Image via Sony Pictures
To say the Terminator franchise should’ve concluded after James Cameron directed the first two might not be too large a hot-take at all, because The Terminator (1984) and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) are easily the best two of the lot. Some other sequels and follow-ups may have their fans, but generally speaking, you’re not likely to find too many defenders of the intriguing-sounding – yet ultimately disappointing – Terminator Salvation.
The idea of a Terminator movie actually taking place well into the future and focusing on the war always spoken about in previous movies should’ve been a surefire hit, but it disappointed in some of the same ways the aforementioned X-Men Origins: Wolverine did (and hey, both came out in 2009). Those earlier Terminator films weren’t necessarily bloodbaths, but the violence was intense and impactful as needed, and profanity was used to expert effect (also when needed). Salvation was neutered in these regards, and felt like a much less hard-hitting and gripping film as a result… plus the fact that it technically wasn’t great, and the screenplay left a good deal to be desired. All around, not such a good film, it’s safe to say.
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7 ‘Argylle’ (2024)
Director: Matthew Vaughn
Image via Universal Pictures
It would be great to see Matthew Vaughn make some sort of comeback, because his more recent films have left something to be desired. When he’s on a roll, he’s capable of making high-energy, funny, and stylish action movies (he was behind the “Freebird” scene in Kingsman: The Secret Service, after all), but when he misfires, something like Argylle can be the result, and that’s a film that’s harder to defend.
Look, racier humor, Sam Rockwell saying the F-word 50+ times, and some bloodier violence might not have made Argylle good necessarily (there are other, deeper problems), but Vaughn indulging in such things before has paid off; see Kick-Ass and the first Kingsman, for examples. A little more edge in Argylle might not have gone a long way toward making it good, but it might’ve gone some way toward making it at least a little better. It felt like a movie that wanted to be wild, bold, and unrestrained, but was reined in somewhat by its PG-13 rating.
Argylle
Release Date February 2, 2024
Director Matthew Vaughn
Runtime 135 minutes
Watch on Apple TV+
6 ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ (2018)
Director: Bryan Singer
Image via 20th Century Fox
Bohemian Rhapsody was a frustrating film, and both those who kind of liked it and those who strongly disliked it would hopefully agree that it could’ve been better. It’s hard to imagine someone loving every inch of this Queen/Freddie Mercury biopic, given it tackled the story at hand in a formulaic and very safe way, significantly toning down aspects of Mercury’s wild life to keep things PG-13.
Not everyone was asking for the film to be so explicit it would turn off some adults, but including a little bit more honesty regarding sex and drugs alongside the rock and roll would’ve helped. Case in point, Rocketman came out the year after Bohemian Rhapsody, and though it wasn’t obscene, it did have some more profanity, sexual content, and drug use, overall feeling more honest about the life and times of the artist at its center, Elton John.
Rent on Apple TV
5 ‘AVP: Alien vs. Predator’ (2004)
Director: Paul W. S. Anderson
Image via 20th Century Fox
Pitting two of the greatest sci-fi villains in movie history against each other – the Alien series’ Alien and Predator’s Predator – should’ve been a whole lot more entertaining than it ultimately was in AVP: Alien vs. Predator. It’s a film that feels out of sorts with both of the series it borrows from/kind of belongs to, having a narrative that focuses on the Predator race breeding the Xenomorph species to be hunted for sport.
Perhaps fans could look over things like continuity and logic if the creature violence/action/mayhem was satisfying, but the film’s PG-13 rating prevented that from ever being a saving grace. Teen-friendly carnage in a film featuring either the Alien or Predator species could never really satisfy, and it just feels doubly disappointing when both iconic types of monster appeared here, in the same film, and were both done a disservice by the movie’s rating being what it was.
Alien vs. Predator
Release Date August 13, 2004
Director Paul W.S. Anderson
Runtime 101 minutes
Watch on Hulu
4 ‘The Expendables 3’ (2014)
Director: Patrick Hughes
Image via Lionsgate
Not at all learning from the mistakes of Live Free or Die Hard, The Expendables 3 is now remembered as another unfortunate example of a hard-hitting action movie series diluting itself down by having a PG-13-rated installment. The first two movies in the series weren’t masterpieces by any means, but they satisfied to some extent in providing hyper-masculine – and sometimes grisly – action set pieces, with The Expendables 2 in particular ending up surprisingly decent, all things considered.
The Expendables 3 just felt a bit tired as a film to begin with, but the lack of just about anything by way of grit and blood in the action scenes tanked this entry in the series completely. Like the aforementioned Die Hard series, the next movie tried to return to basics with an R-rating, but it was probably too little too late, once again, given Expend4bles wasn’t particularly good either.
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3 ‘Suicide Squad’ (2016)
Director: David Ayer
Image via DC Studios
2016’s Suicide Squad and 2021’s The Suicide Squad work together to complicate the idea of mature content in certain movies being better. The former was PG-13, achieving box office success while also being critically derided, while the latter was R-rated, and underperformed initially but received much better reviews. Box office intake and critical consensus are two very different things, admittedly, but at least going by which film was better, it was certainly the R-rated one.
If Suicide Squad (2016) had been a little more hard-edged, perhaps it would’ve made more of an impression on detractors. This is essentially The Dirty Dozen but with comic book villains, after all, and so a certain meanness, grittiness, and grisliness would’ve felt appropriate, potentially making the film more entertaining or, at the very least, a little more coherent/tonally consistent.
Suicide Squad
Release Date August 5, 2016
Runtime 123 minutes
Watch on Max
2 ‘The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2’ (2012)
Director: Bill Condon
Image via Summit Entertainment
No movie in the romance-heavy Twilight series was ever going to push things far enough to become R-rated, but a person can dream. Said person might well dream about the final film in the series, 2012’s The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2, taking things far enough to get an R-rating. This easily has the most going on narratively out of any movie in the series; it’s not much, but it’s something.
It all builds to a big, schlocky battle near the film’s end, and even with the PG-13 rating, it’s probably the most entertaining part of the Twilight series (even if it unfortunately ends up just being a vision). If this battle in The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 2 had become an all-out bloodbath, that would’ve definitely made an impression, though, though it is unintentionally hilarious how limbs and heads are popped off during the battle without any blood.
Rent on Apple TV
1 ‘The Meg’ (2018)
Director: Jon Turteltaub
Image via Warner Bros. Pictures
Jaws had its gory moments, but never went too far, and even got itself a PG rating by 1975 standards (though if the PG-13 rating had existed back then, it would’ve easily got one). So any movie about a big shark posing a big threat to people doesn’t need outrageous gore by default, but such a thing can help. It did help Jaws in a few key moments, too, even without the R-rating.
Unfortunately, The Meg is not Jaws; it’s not even Jaws from wish.com or Jaws at home. It’s just a dull, clunky, and unsatisfying monster movie, having the audacity to be about a prehistoric shark wreaking havoc in the modern day, but without also having the confidence to introduce some schlocky gore or memorable scenes of violent carnage. If it had gone all-out, maybe it could’ve been something. It’s hard to imagine such an approach actually making The Meg worse.
The Meg
Release Date August 10, 2018
Runtime 113 minutes
Watch on Hulu
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