James Gunn Responds To Complaints On ‘The Suicide Squad’ And BBFC Rating

James Gunn. the director of 'The Suicide Squad' — James Gunn

DC’s ‘Suicide Squad’ was a done deal. The first installment of the series was a disaster. The reviews weren’t very good, and the box office performance wasn’t much better. Many thought it was a one-and-done, with the franchise dead in the water.

But then James Gunn came around and released ‘The Suicide Squad.’ This soft reboot was received far better and even went on to spawn a spin-off show, ‘Peacemaker.’ But what was different this time?

People Complained That ‘The Suicide Squad’ Rating Should Have Been Higher

Posters of both the 'Suicide Squad' films — Posters of both the ‘Suicide Squad’ films

The 2021 American superhero film was R-rated which played a big role. It allowed Gunn to go insane with every aspect of the film. Needless to say, he was in his comfort zone.

Some might even say it’s one of the most gruesome DC Comics projects to have come from Warner Bros. to date. Though it has a higher rating, some in the UK feel its classification was a little off.

As reported by Yahoo UK, The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) revealed 2021’s movie rating which was contested the most. The honor went to James Gunn’s ‘The Suicide Squad,’ which got a 15 rating.

Though some people complained. According to the report, it was only ten people—who all likely thought the rating should have been higher.

The BBFC defended its decision. They claimed, “The focus on action within a comic, fantastical, superhero context mitigated against the violence and gore.”

They also noted how the film’s “lighter tin and a greater emphasis on irreverent dark comedy counter the increase in bloodshed [when compared to 2016’s Suicide Squad].”

The Director, James Gunn Responds To These Complaints

Cast of 'The Suicide Squad' — Cast of ‘The Suicide Squad’

Gunn responded to this information in a very calm way. The director simply shrugged it off, saying in a tweet: “still only ten complaints.”

As the ‘Super’ writer said in his tweet, at the end of the day, it is only ten people’s complaints. So this doesn’t really represent most of the audience.

What’s interesting is that a 15 rating in the UK is basically what an R-rating is in the United States. As ‘The Suicide Squad‘ was rated R when it was released, this UK ruling was not surprising.

Anything higher than that rating, in the US system at least, would be an NC-17 rating. Which rarely is assigned to projects as it severely limits profitability and where the project can screen. There was certainly nothing in the film that would have justified bumping the rating up to that point.

So who will get the honor next year? People have started placing their bets on ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness‘—some of those Illuminati deaths are brutal. Even Ms. Marvel star Iman Vellani was thrown off by Black Bolt’s demise.