Taken 2 re-edited to get 12A rating in the UK
Three scenes in Taken 2 have been cut, it's been revealed, so the film can get a softer rating...
Uh-oh. You might remember that the Liam Neeson-starring Taken was a pretty hard-edged action film, that wasn't shy of a bit of violence and swearing. In the UK, it got a 15 certificate in cinemas, and a harder, 18-rated cut was presented on DVD and Blu-ray.
Taken 2 is due in cinemas in the first week of October, and a similarly hard-edged film was expected. However, the BBFC website has just announced the classification of the film in the UK, and somewhat oddly, Taken 2 has been given a 12A (the equivalent of PG-13 in the UK).
Taken 2 hardly sounds like fodder for a 12-year old to us, even appreciating that the rating isn't always the be all and end all. However, closer examination reveals, sadly, that the film has been cut to meet a targeted 12A rating.
On original submission, the film was set to be classified 15, in line with the first film. However, according to the BBFC, "During post-production, the distributor sought and was given advice on how to secure the desired classification. Following this advice, certain changes were made prior to submission."
Those changes amounted to three scenes, which were subsqeuently re-edited (we don't have specific details as to how much footage was affected), to earn a 12A.
We can't help thinking that this is one instance where chasing a broader certificate may well isolate part of the audience who liked Taken in the first place.
Taken 2 arrives in the UK on 4th October 2012. And, thanks to the certificate, you can basically take a six-year old with you if you like, and that's okay.
Who'd have thought it? The Taken sequel chasing a family-friendlier certificate, by choice...
BBFC.
Follow our Twitter feed for faster news and bad jokes right here. And be our Facebook chum here
Disqus - noscript
This nothing new, with Besson produced fair, but it's usually the US that wind up with a PG-13 rated version,(Lockout, Colombiana, Taken), not us.
:(
I don't get it. There will be an audience going to see Taken 2 that won't legally be able to watch the first film.
Noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!! Whoever made this decision, I will find you.
FFS
Looks like I'll be waiting for the disc release then.
Hurry up on Blue-ray,i'm not wasting money at the cinema on a 12A family film,which shouldn't be...
££££$$$$ its almost getting to be a waste of time paying money to go to the movies. Let's face it. Everyone on here pays their good hard earned money week in, week out to enjoy the art we love only to be short changed. Two months later we're asked to buy the 'proper' cut on a multitude of formats. Movie studios are worse than record companies who blame it all on illegal downloads. Give us what we deserve as customers and treat us with respect, and perhaps we'd gladly pay to support their 'product'.
Very disappointing news. The reason why Taken was different from other modern action movies because it was so shockingly violent. Hopefully we'll see the intended director's version on blu ray.
The BBFC have a long history of using this tactic. They advise the distributor what cuts would qualify for a target certificate. The distributor (not the director) makes the cuts. Then, the BBFC boast that they hardly ever make any cuts to films.
Seriously stupid decision that will see a lot of people who would have gone to see the movie either wait for the DVD, or even more damaging, torrent the US version.
This is literally the worst news I have heard in months. Take that as you will.
"I will find you, and I will impair you physically, but temporarily. "
I was going to actually go to the cinema to watch this.... until I read this! NOW I WON'T BOTHER. Thank you you f*cking Hollywood morons! You greedy, dumbass hacks! Aren't there enough films for teenagers already?!!!!
Whats that whirring sound....? It's Sam Peckinpah spinning in his grave!
I didn't get to see the first one at the cinema. Similar to the Bourne films, I feel like the action would mostly be the same as previous instalments, but I would still relish the chance to see it on the big screen. Sounds like half the experience will be taken away now. Dammit! (And I did have the "I will find you..." joke in mind, but I realise I'm coming to the party far too late to crack that one....)
That's not fair on the BBFC. At the end of the day, their job is to rate a film that is presented to them. They do give advice, but its the distributors who make the call, and they are the ones we should be angry with. Its hardly a tactic on the part of the BBFC to instruct distributors of what is acceptable at what category - its their job. You might argue that they shouldn't be offering that advice, but its done at the behest of the people paying the bill, not because they want to interfere and cut films.
I just hope the distributor is wise enough to realise that there is a market for the harder cut on Bluray. Recent examples like The Woman in Black and Immortals were similarly cut for rating by the distributors, only for the cut version to be the only version then made available on DVD and BluRay. No excuses for that at all, and its crass and pointless decisions like that that does drive people to import and illegally obtain films.
I was hoping the 18 certificate Dredd would have negated this kind of attitude.
This guarantees that I won't be seeing Taken 2 in theatres. What's the point? I'll just wait until the Blu-Ray hits and pick it up then. Really terrible decision by the distributor and I'm really hoping that the box office reflects that.
It's easy to see why film makes want a 12A rating, just look at the highest grossing films on wikipedia, out of the top 50 the only one I can see that is a 15 is The Matrix Reloaded at number 46. The fact of the matter is a hell of a lot more money can be made with a 12A certificate. It's a shame they have to cut stuff out of the film for this but thats just the way it is.
Release movies in different versions at the exhibition sites. Grandpa and the grandkids can go to the PG version of "Killers Kill With Joyful Abandon" and I can go to the Rated-X For Brutal Violence version. Everyone will be happy.
They're authoritarian scumbags.
Here's a half-baked theory: movie studios say "we're cutting an upcoming action sequel and releasing it with a lower certificate, cutting out some rough 'mature stuff'" (see The Expendables 2 as well as Taken 2). The result: lots of fans of the original and die-hard action aficionados all amped up to see blood, violence and bad language get very angry and kick up a storm on the internet. As that happens the film's media presence grows - it gets extra publicity that it might not have generated.
Then - and this is where the media conspiracy really kicks in - the studio pulls back successfully reminded everyone just how much they love the first movie and how making an effort to see this hard-edged adult actioner is now essential. Could this all be a risky effort just to make sure that apathetic audiences return to watch Bryan Mills beating people up? *dusts off tinfoil hat*
So Liam Neeson won't be shooting anyone in the face?
It's not illegal to see a 15 or 18 certificate film. It's only admittance or sales that the certificate is for.
You can let your children see whatever age rated films /media you deem appropriate regardless of age in your own home with no legality issues.
So any children going to see Taken 2 in the cinema can still legally see the first film.
Stories like this are overblown, it's not like it's huge sections of the films.
It's just minor cuts from 3 scenes. It could be something simple like a head butt or something, the film will remain very much the same.
Stupid decision, Taken is on of my favourite movies and doing this takes away from all the action of the first
Good. Then they won't miss my money as I wait for hard cut version. I was truly going to go. Taken, cut version, had no edge.
.... KILL THEM ALL.
This types of films shouldn't be for kids. Why the hell must we devote so much time to make an amazing intense film and make it look like some kid's film? Hell, we might as well add merchandise to make it look even more cheap and crappy! I do care about kids, but I do prefer it when the adolescents can have their chance on something that is genuinely for them but is still a classic.
This also means I will still see the film, but take a more indifferent approach in case the film sucks.
I have an Unlimited Card, so at least I can see how much the film sucks. It's kind of mean, but the only ones who will be paying would be my parents. I justify this action by seeing as many films every month.