Confirmed News: Terminator Salvation Will Be Rated PG-13

By Jeff Olson
April 15, 2009
Source: SlashFilm

After weeks of rumors circulating that the newest installment in the Terminator franchise would be rated PG-13, we can now confirm that those rumors are indeed true. Slashfilm is reporting that Fox will air a behind the scenes look at the new movie and the promo ads for this segment are advertising the movie as PG-13. For some time now there has been question as to what the film would be rated. All three predecessors in the Terminator franchise have been rated R for violence. The news that this movie will take a softer rating is disappointing to fans of the series who look forward to see a big budget action film that is ultra violent. Director McG had been pushing for a R rating but the studio clearly wanted to expand its’ audience by offering a “everyone is welcome” PG-13 rating.

A couple weeks ago news broke that the film was definitely slapped with a PG-13 rating after the rating was discovered on a promotional site for Pizza Hut. And as ridiculous as that source sounds it turned out to be correct as we are reporting today that the film will indeed be rated PG-13.

20th Century Fox, the studio behind the film, has a history of taking movies which are made as R films and cutting them down to increase both their audience and their opening weekend box office. Liam Neeson’s Taken was originally filmed as a R rated movie. Fox decided it wasn’t as marketable so they toned down the violence and language and the MPAA gave it a PG-13 rating. This clearly worked as intended as the film was a huge success grossing over $130 million to date.

So can the same method work for Terminator Salvation? Sure, because this movie has name recognition, a popular director, a huge star, and a bad-ass movie trailer. The elements are all there for a hit blockbuster. The rating may alienate fans of the franchise, but they will without a doubt flock the theaters to see the movie. Terminator Salvation is seeing the same action taken against it that Live Free or Die Hard endured in 2007. The fourth Die Hard movie saw a PG-13 rating, and while it still was a box office success, the movie lacked that “Die Hard” feel that fans of the original three remembered. There is something about John Mclaine (Bruce Willis) smoking, swearing, and killing terrorists that is just so damn appealing. Live Free or Die Hard suffered from being “soft,” and this is the same problem that I fear Terminator Salvation will face. How violent can you be with a PG-13 rating? That is for the MPAA to decide, but on May 21st, the film will face “judgement day” from Terminator fans around the world.