We recently had a his and hers film weekend with one night at a `chick flick` and the other where The CIA’s most dangerous former operative is drawn out of hiding to uncover more explosive truths about his past.
Now, in case you haven’t seen either and you`re hoping to find the DVD in your Christmas stocking look away now. If you lead a busy life then just watch the trailer where the spy hero shoots a bound and hooded opponent, breaks the noses of another two, gets involved in a riot by throwing petrol bombs then steals a police motorbike, about 10 seconds later he`s switched transport to an armoured car (again courtesy of the police) and driven it the wrong way down the main street in Las Vegas before crashing through the doors of a packed casino. All of this in two minutes.
In the other the heroine falls pregnant and says f**k a lot but the body count more or less stays even.
So where am I going with this ? Well, one is a film rated ok for 12 year olds to watch, and the other 15, and it`s not the one that shows your children how to ride a bike whilst shooting baddies and not wearing a cycle helmet that meets with censorship disapproval.
I had a look at the BBFC guidelines for film ratings, 38 pages and my eyes glazed over, but not before I learnt it`s best not to use sweary words or show parts of the body – though it`s ok to show a body being hit with a petrol bomb provided it says no more than ‘Gosh, that`s a bit hot`
So, name the second biggest ever grossing film where 1,500 died but the censor was more concerned with the scene where the kind but poor artist sketches the semi naked heroine?